Anyone who gets a major party nomination these days is likely to be pretty dismal. The power brokers want someone they think they can control.
Which the Framers anticipated.
It was the original intent for the Congress to run the country, not he Executive, who was to be a neutral referee a final check before a bill becomes law, whose veto could be overridden by Congress if need be.
The investment of so much de facto power in the Executive today is a Constitutional aberration: its not the presidents job to fix the economy, or decide when to go to war, or come up with a plan to balance the budget again, thats Congress job.
And Congress cant function per original intent because Senators are elected by popular vote. The state legislatures were to appoint members of the Senate. There was a reason for that as well: to ensure Congress implements appropriate policies absent subjective retribution by the voters. The people may have their voice in the House, but he Senate and Executive are responsible for final disposition of legislation.
Now we have members of the Senate whoring themselves to the voters, acting in their own best political interest, not the Nations. Congress is no longer able to function objectively, its become a pit of partisan vipers. With Congress unable to execute its Constitutional mandate to address the Nations issues, that responsibility falls to the Executive, which has grown into the bilious bureaucracy now needed to fulfill that role, contrary to original intent.
Its was intended to be a very elegant system: the people participate but do not rule; the Congress and Executive enact legislation subject to the rule of law which is in turn subject to judicial review when the people believe a given Branch has acted unconstitutionally.
The Supreme Court has for the most part acknowledged this original intent by giving Congress wide latitude in its law-making authority as it represents the will of he people.
With the Age of the Imperial Presidency, however, this elegant system has been out of balance for well over 60 years. It was never intended for Congress to be an equal partner in governance with the Executive, and this errant perception of the president as some sort of leader or the like has resulted in needless conflict and acrimony the Framers tried desperately to avoid.
By failing to adhere to the Framers original plan, we alone are responsible for the dysfunctional government we must now suffer.
