 | Two Presidents Are Better Than One: The Case for a Bipartisan Executive Branch Subjects: Presidents -- United States; Executive departments; United States; Political leadership -- United States; United States -- Politics and government -- Decision making; In his latest book, law professor Orentlicher (Matters of Life and Death) proposes a two-party, two-person presidency as a cure for what's ailing the U.S. government. As unlikely as the thought may sound, Orentlicher makes a surprisingly persuasive case for this radical change. With partisanship at a fever pitch, Orentlicher thinks that our political system is badly in need of moderation and compromise. Voters and lawmakers would have less to bicker about, in his view, if they knew there was at least one chief executive representing their beliefs. Moreover, his proposal would push policy and legislation toward a middle ground by requiring both presidents to agree before taking any executive action. Orentlicher delivers a compelling explanation of how such a system would better align with the framers' original conception of the executive branch. However, he too readily discounts the many hurdles, from essential legislation being fatally hamstrung by compromise, to ideological impasse arising between mismatched chief executives. Though the author has an incisive eye for the problems of contemporary government, the solutions he offers are too idealistic to ring convincingly. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. Orentlicher David : David Orentlicher is Cobeaga law firm professor of law and co-director of the UNLV Health Law Program at UNLV's William S. Boyd School of Law. A scholar of constitutional law and a former state representative, David also has taught at Indiana University's Robert H. McKinney School of Law, Princeton University, and the University of Chicago Law School. He earned degrees in law and medicine at Harvard and specializes as well in health care law and ethics. |
