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This week, Coyle and Ed offer up Part II of their discussion of the Executive Branch and the Presidency. In Part I, they discussed the powers and responsibilities of the executive. In today’s episode, they wrap up some questions about those powers from the last episode and turn to the kind of personalities that hold the office, looking at James Bryce’s classic “Why Great Men are not Chosen President.”
Show Notes:
An impromptu discussion of the Third Presidential Debate.
What starts as a quick recap of a Facebook post turns into a discussion of Parliamentarian gov’t vs. Presidential gov’t.
A discussion of whether or not we’ve had any great men as President (other than the Founders and Lincoln), based on Bryce’s essay on the Presidency.
From the Episode:
- Viscount James Bryce, “Why Great Men are not Chosen President“
- Daniel Day Lewis, In the Name of the Father
- Richard Ellis, The Development of the American Presidency
- Robert Caro, The Years of Lyndon Johnson Series