Post date: Nov 7, 2014 11:38:02 AM
The American President is going to have a tough time of it this century. There are over 300 million Americans now, and the Census Bureau projects that there will be 400 million by 2039. How does one President represent the hopes and desires of so many people? Poorly.
Coming soon there will no single group that represents a majority of voters; unless you can count all women as a single voting bloc. Without a discernible majority it will be difficult for traditional Democracy to work; where the views of the majority regulate the entire population.
At most only about 80% of Americans can vote (legal voting age) and only about 60% will vote (in a good year). Can a President govern based on one data point - vote count - from so few people out of the many?
What person can govern a country were .1% of the population has enough money to outspend every other group combined in media advertisements. There are a few hundred companies which, again, have enough money and will power to lobby for change that may or may not be in line with what is best for the entire nation. Will the bully pulpit be louder than the combined noise from all the news channels, websites, direct phone calls, tweets, and Facebook posts?
There are two obvious paths for a President to take.
The first option is to lead from the front. Try to lead the people to a better future regardless of what the polls say and regardless of the opinions in the press. Think Emancipation Proclamation: The President governs by fiat and lets the country catch up to the policies, laws, and court judgments later. If a President takes this course, even on one issue, then there will be tens of millions of Americans who immediately cry "Dictator!"
The other option is to navigate the opinions of all of the constituents and find compromise. This is a quixotian task. Some constituents will not compromise. Some constituents have desires that are irreconcilable with the desires of their opponents. And some constituents have a financial interest in making a lot of noise about the conflicts, the hurt feelings, and the crazy opinions of measurably minority view-points. If a President follows the course of compromise then there will be tens of millions of Americans who label the President as “wishy-washy, feeble, ineffectual, weak, vapid, effete, gutless, spineless, limp, namby-pamby, spiritless, indecisive…”
What will the American government will evolve into over the coming century considering these stark challenges to Democracy as we know it today? Whatever happens, I am sure that a loud minority will not like it and no single majority will have asked for it.