Presidents also fulfill the role of leader of their political party. Although this power is not mentioned in the Constitution, presidents represent the best interests of their party and work to make sure that members of their political party get elected to positions within the government. The role of the president has changed greatly since its inception. Some of these changes have been because of the personality of the president involved. Tenacious presidents like Abraham Lincoln greatly increased the war powers of the presidency during the Civil War. Franklin D. Roosevelt took charge of the nation's finances during the Great Depression and launched the New Deal. The Vietnam Era brought a change as people reacted negatively to the powers of the president in running a war that Congress had not declared. Subsequent scandals like Watergate also had the effect of decreasing the powers of the presidency. The power spectrum bounced back with Ronald Reagan and it is a continual balancing act for the chief executive between being a strong president and a steward of the Constitution. The modern president's...

"After two hundred years of experience, it seems undeniable that the locus of the foreign policy decision-making process in the United States is the White House. In foreign affairs, the president has become what one commentator has called the 'ultimate decider' and the 'decision-maker of last resort'" (Crabb & Holt, 1989, p. 5).
The formal powers delineated in Article II of the Constitution in addition to the informal powers that the role of the president has gradually acquired are flexible enough to allow a president to function in the 21st century international world. Some of the intentionally vague language of the framers has allowed the expansion of formal and informal powers to suit the needs and personalities of the presidents involved.

References

Crabb, C., Holt, P. (1989). Invitation to Struggle: Congress, the President, and Foreign Policy. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly.

Turner, M., Switzer, K., Redden, C., (1996). American Government: Principles and Practices. Columbus, OH: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.