For Amos, an opinion:

The reason our system is so out of balance is because, occassionally, we DO need strong leadership. While the framers may not have intended the Executive Branch to be the equivalent of a full time head of state like a King -- it's mission is to enforce the laws passed by Congress -- as humans, we are used to having *A* leader. Committees by nature are slow and have difficulty making the quick judgements needed in a time of crisis; and the world moves much faster than it used to.

The time we usually most need strong leadership is during war. I think the framers understood this, hence the position of the President as Commander-In-Chief. As a result, during wartime we tend to lose civil rights and Congressional power for the sake of convenience and efficiency of one man -- the President aka the head of the military. Unfortunately, after the crisis is over we don't get them all back, and the damage is cumulative.

And the average populace understands this too -- we tend to rally around a President when we need decisive leadership. Even a bad decision is often better than no decision at all. This inevitably leads to the use of war or violence as a political tool on the part of the Executive Branch. Bomb a few people for a trumped up reason = gain some popularity. Example: Clinton's Monicagate withdrawal of weapons inspectors from Iraq and subsequent bombing campaign. Diversion by war.

During the Cold War, rights were eroded away under a constant so-called and mostly theoretical Communist Threat. Any action was politically justified if you could say it was anti-Communist. After the Cold War was over, civil rights were slowly being restored at the expense of the power of the government.

This is not a lesson that has gone unheeded. A perpetual state of war is the easiest way for a individual politician to wield the most power -- and whatever their motives are, anyone who is drawn to politics and power is going to be drawn to the way to gain themselves the most power. The War on Drugs didn't quite do the job. Nor does the current administration deny their perception of the future of the US needing to be a perpetual state of war, this time versus terrorism; fighting terrorism even while we nurture it elesewhere.

No matter how smart and able a President is, they are going to make mistakes. Maybe big ones. And the zeal and passion that gets you elected is not necessarily a good way to do your job. A strong legislature can moderate both tendencies; a strong judiciary can keep both other houses in check. Without it, the country is at the whims of an individual and all of their personal character flaws and mistakes.

And I think most Americans instinctively understand how distorted our government has become. It's the kind of distortion that brought down the Roman Empire. Unfortunately, instead of becoming more involved in democracy to fix the problem, most of America keeps hoping for the perfect President to do "it" for them, whatever "it" may be in their opinion.

It CAN lead to a government collasping under it's own weight, ala the Roman Empire. Barring a massive revolution (which would no doubt lead to a lot of lives lost) or the utter humbling of the US on the world stage (equally unhappy to contemplate), there are no quick solutions. I personally think the best hope is to get citizens reinvolved in democracy, but it's unlikely to happen as long as we have average citizens who feel like government is something THEY do (the rich, the families of the powerful). And the influence of citizens is hopeless compared to the political influence money will buy.

Getting the money out of politics might not be a solution, but it could be a good start. It couldn't hurt. Individual citizens care about issues in a way that a corporation or a large government can't. Corporations don't care about a clean environment for example, because they exist to make money. But individuals -- no matter what their politcal affiliation -- almost always do when it comes to the environment in their back yard.

No government composed of politicians who have sold their souls to moneied interests will ever declare a War on Hunger or a War on Ignorance; there's no profit in it. But a group of citizens might.

Amos, I don't think your daughter will grow up in a US without a Bill of Rights. Maybe. But I strongly suspect that a revolution will happen in my lifetime -- hopefully more huge revitalization than revolution -- but I don't see the current trend of affairs surviving. It will probably get much worse before it gets better, but Americans remain a group of stubborn and willful bastards, and the second and third generation immigrants will probably lead the charge to mold America into the shape they were promised, but rarely get.