To date, President Bush still asserts the authority to hold enemy combatants with little or no chance of having their case heard before a court. However, some strides have been made to curtail the president's assumed power. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that the president's war powers are not "a blank check." The court said that a U.S. citizen held in a Navy brig in South Carolina and nearly 600 suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban operatives held in Cuba have a right to contest their detentions.10

Despite the ruling, there is still a fight going on whether the detainees have the right to receive legal counsel indicating that the Bush administration is not likely to let go of its newly claimed authority.

The Future of the Presidency

It seems likely that given the trends toward increasing power for the executive branch of the government that similar developments will occur in the future. However, the growth of presidential authority is not inherently bad for the American people. It is a response to the changing climate that the modern world has presented with its changing and difficult threats that come in the various forms but almost always require a single leader to see the country through. The Constitution assures that specific limits will be placed on the president to assure that the office does not reach tyrannical levels of power. Beyond that, the American press will be sure to cry foul when any attempt is made to abridge civil liberties helping to assure that the people they inform can vote changes in that will provide further checks...

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the people to assure the presidency is held in check and it will be up to them to decide how far the presidency is allowed to grow.
Notes

1. Theodore J. Lowi and Benjamin Ginsberg, American Government, (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1992), 138.

2. Dom Bonafede, "Presidential Mythology," National Journal, 12 Aug. 1980, 2.

3. Ibid.

4. Lowi and Ginsberg, American Government, 131.

5. Ibid, 131.

6. "Losing America: Confronting a Reckless and Arrogant Presidency," Publishers Weekly, 5 Oct. 2004, 45.

7. Donald R. Wolfensberger, "The Return of the Imperial Presidency?," Wilson Quarterly, 26 (2002): 36.

8. David G. Savage, "Executive Decisions," ABA Journal, 90 (2004): 18.

9. Toni Locy, "U.S.: 'No legal rights' for detainees," USA Today, 13 Aug. 2004, 15a.

Bibliography

Bonafede, Dom. "Presidential Mythology," National Journal, 1980, 2.

Locy, Toni, "U.S.: 'No legal rights' for detainees," USA Today, 2004, 15a.

Losing America: Confronting a Reckless and Arrogant Presidency," Publishers Weekly, 2004,

Lowi, Theodore J. And Ginsberg, Benjamin. American Government. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1992, 131-166.

Savage, David G., "Executive Decisions," ABA Journal, 2004, 18.

Wolfensberger, Donald R., "The Return of the Imperial Presidency?," Wilson Quarterly, 2002,

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