Thomas E. Cronin

This was one of the basic texts assigned to me in a college class on the American presidency. It's a collection of essays by various scholars, including Cronin, on the structure, powers and precedents of the early presidents from George Washington to James Madison. It's from 1989, so perhaps a bit dated in terms of the latest scholarship, particularly say considering the chapter on impeachment was written before President Clinton's impeachment. But much is still very relevant, as was evident rereading Adler's essay on "The President's War-Making Powers," where he argues that "under the Constitution, the authority to initiate hostilities, short of and including war, is vested in Congress" and the "president has only the constitutional power to repel invasions." He makes a convincing argument that what we've seen since Truman's 1950 involvement in the Korean War is an usurpation from the legislature. He certainly convinced me. I'm only sorry that only political science majors are likely to be exposed to that argument. Under the current situation with Obama pushing for intervening in Syria--whether Congress approves or not--the essay certainly resonated.… (meer)