The Selection Presidency - 1402 Words

To begin with, the structuring ambition of the selection presidency did indeed shift through each of the benchmarks. Originally, the Founders wanted a selection system that would prevent the use of popular arts (Ceaser, pg 29), meaning that they wanted to avoid someone being selected just because they talked about topics in which stirred interests rather than be selected for being the best qualified. This is why they desired a president who was selected on public service, forcing candidates to do things for the public in order to be selected, in order to be elected by the Electoral College. Jefferson actually took a step away from this, by bringing in issue formation into the selection process, causing a shift in electoral alignment.†¦show more content†¦The next benchmark changed this aspect of an overbearing party, however it would create large amount of power now going to the candidate themselves. Wilson felt that there was an absence of strong leadership in government, and sought a national primary to enhance an individual candidates strengths, allowing them to establish their own popular constituency. FDR carried out Wilson’s plan, and being that FDR established the modern presidency, every president has continued this. The consequences of this has been a connection between the people and the president. By allowing the primaries, if gives the people a chance to input their decision into presidential selection long before the Framers intended them to be able to. The candidates now individually raise issues important to them, and in fact have fallen into the trap that the Framers’ feared. Candidates play on issues the public finds important to get attention, and in the process make their own commitments to the public on what they are going to do about it, when in reality, they do not always have the power to be able to do the things they say they will. This has changed the public’s selection on the president’s selection from the qualifications of the president, to what they promise to do on certain