As Americans spend the next two years debating who should be the next president of the United States, domestic issues are likely to take the forefront of media discussion. Should we establish a single-payer health care system? How should we address climate change? What should the US’s immigration policy look like?
But in each of these areas, the composition of Congress is likely to be more decisive in terms of the actual policy the next president enacts. However, there is one role the next president will play where the individual sitting in the Oval Office will make almost all of the important decisions: that of the commander-in-chief.
The presidency has become increasingly more powerful in determining the course of the foreign affairs of the country, particularly since Congress has stepped back from its traditional role of asserting war powers. Almost every day, the president is briefed on international threats and covert operations, and a massive overseas menu of life-or-death choices. As President Barack Obama showed, the modern White House can even engage in an extensive war of choice — as he did in Libya — without the consent of Congress.
Thus, it is very important to examine the ideas, values and records of all of the candidates as they relate to foreign policy, because there is no arena of governance where the president exerts more power relative to Congress or the judiciary.
Although it is still early in the Democratic primary race and we still don’t know what the full roster looks like, early indicators such as polling of grassroots progressive organizations suggest that the US’s political left will coalesce behind two candidates: Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is likely to enter the race, and Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who announced her intention to seek the party’s nomination on February 9.
In the area of…