Presidential Question

Here is a question I received from a supporter:

"Okay, I've got a question for you.

How much sense does it really make to base your presidential vote on whether or not the candidate supports abortion?

It seems to me that the president doesn't have a whole lot of effect on the issue since he can't really change the laws and that the vote might be better spent on issues for which the president is directly responsible.

I know that the president can certainly affect legislation, encourage or discourage it, and veto it, but apart from nominating Supreme Court justices, there doesn't seem much that the president can do with regard to moral issues."

I do not recommend being a one issue voter. While I feel very passionately about the issue of abortion, there are many other life and death issues a President will face besides abortion. With that said, this is life and death of babies on an enormous scale. I will be the first candidate who could have been legally killed before I was ever born. Again, I feel very passionately about this issue. But, again, the President faces many life and death issues.

The official role of the President is clearly outlined in the Constitution. In the negative, the President does not propose laws and the President does not rule on the Constitutionality of those laws. The President does have command of the military, signs or vetoes bills, appoints Cabinet members, grants pardons, plays a role in treaties, and appoints judges among other duties.

The most important function of the President at this time is his/her role as leader of the United States of America. While one may look at the official list of functions outlined by the Constitution and question the importance of the position, the true importance and power of the position is in its role as this nation's leader. Leaders set vision, set the agenda and set the tone of the discussions that happen over the issues.

Our government is designed to divide powers between the branches. Very few powers are reserved for one branch exclusively. The President appoints judges, the Legislative branch confirms them. The President signs or vetoes bills, but the Legislative branch sends the bills in the first place and can override a veto.

What this means is that, to effect change in our nation, there needs to be a certain amount of agreement between the three branches of government. So, what does this mean to the voter?

Voters are farthest away from the selection of Supreme Court Justices. Voters select a President, who nominates Justices and Congress confirms the Justices.

Due to the numbers of Senators and Representatives, an individual voter selects only 2 out of 100 Senators and only 1 out of 435 Representatives. That equals about 1/2 of 1% of the Legislative branch.

However, each voter gets to cast a vote for the President of the United States (I won't go into detail on the whole elector deal).

So, in direct response to the question, the President gets to set vision and lead the nation, would have the power to sign or veto legislation if a pro-life Congress passed such legislation, and nominates Justices who could rule on the issue of abortion. In essence, this is very similar to what was stated in the question. However, the importance of these powers/responsibilities of the President are such that no other person can execute them. I typically will not vote for a candidate that is pro-abortion. That candidate has, so far, always shared many other views which I do not agree with. This has made my decision simpler.

In general, you should vote for someone who you believe will make the best decisions for the nation. That's where my candidacy gains momentum. Most politicians today are concerned about their political career, their pay, their friends. I am running for President not because I feel that I am special and deserve power. I am running for President because the role of President (and any leadership role) should be filled by someone who understands and tries to live out the concept of selfless service. The President needs to make decisions on what is best for the nation, not what is best for himself/herself, for the party, for my "rich friends" (republicans), or for "those stupid poor people" (democrats).

As I run my campaign, I will not lie to you. I will state my positions as clearly as I can, and stick to them, unless I come to believe differently. If that happens, I will explain why that has happened clearly. I won't simply go "middle of the road" with my positions so that I can waffle on them later. My goal isn't to make myself look good or woo you to vote for me. I will tell you what I believe and I expect you to vote for me because you believe I will make the best President out of the available candidates. I think the most fundamental questions you must ask of any candidate is "Do I trust him/her? Can I believe what he/she says?" Without trust, all else is meaningless.

Aloha.