22 Comments
Emily Muller
2/26/2014 08:21:48 am
I think it all depends on who the president is. Personally, I think it's best if the people vote and decide what the main decision is because if you have a crazy president making all the decisions the country could go mad. Then again, if you have a wise president who makes a really good decision even if most the people disagree and turns out to be an excellent decision then it's good. However, I don't think most presidents would make really good decisions on their own, so I think it's best to let the people decide.
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Arjana Begzati
2/28/2014 01:53:32 am
Hey Emily, I agree with you that the president specifically makes the difference to the whole discussion. You also concluded, that in the end the best would be if the people choose, without having to worry wether the president will make wise decisions for his people. Good job!
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Elayna Muller
2/28/2014 02:19:06 am
I like that you want the people to decide, but I think that it would be really chaotic to have ALL the people decide. I agree that everyone should have a say, or a voice, in what's going on, but if the people all became selfish and hated other countries and were racist and sexist, then it would lead to utter ruin. I just don't think the people can be trusted with that much power because then it would go to their heads. Besides, how do the people decide what the vote is for a certain bill or whatever? Wouldn't they need a leader to help them stay organized and not have it just be an ongoing argument? I love the people and it would be great if we all could make the decisions (or at least important ones), but I just don't think we could handle that much power without either abusing it, having it be too much, or having it become almost like another Civil War. The people wouldn't agree on hardly anything is my issue. I'm done now!!
Luke Stewart
3/3/2014 02:28:21 am
I agree that it should not be the president but more the topic that is being decided.
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AJ Brandt
3/3/2014 02:34:24 am
I agree that it really who the president is.
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Arjana Begzati
2/28/2014 01:20:48 am
According to my opinion, it is much wiser for a group of people to make laws. Therefore, I support the congress in making big decisions, like laws and deciding whether to go to war. By having the congress make laws, I also think that laws are created which incorporate the ideas of more people of the country, since congress represents the people. In this way the people's voice is represented more accurately, even without having a direct democracy where everyone votes for the laws directly. I believe direct democracy is the most democratic form of government, but it also has some disadvantages regarding the long procedure. Therefore, I think that if the congress is made up of representatives of all people and views of the country, it allows for the creation of laws in a wiser way than letting one person determine rules for all according to his or her ideas. And in fact, even if the congress does not represent all people, due to its number of different people, a wider range of opinions is always present when comparing it to a president. Since the president can always veto a decision, I think the law making system is constructed very fairly and well.
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Elayna Muller
2/28/2014 02:22:24 am
How do we know that Congress represents the people? How do we know what's "in their hearts" and if they're really in it for us and not themselves? For power? I guess the same could be said of the president, so I really like your answer! You supported it well and made some excellent points. You've officially made it hard for me to decide, job well done! ;)
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Elayna Muller
2/28/2014 04:47:38 am
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Timmi Keisel
3/2/2014 02:47:39 am
Elayna, I admire your strong opinions! I agree that Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are great supporting examples that the president should make laws; however, do you think there have been times Congress has made good decisions in law making also?
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Rachel Frantz
3/2/2014 06:50:39 am
I love your ideas Elayna. I know you said it would be the people's fault if a poor president was elected, but would it be their fault since the electoral votes matter so much more than the popular vote?
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Megan Chintala
3/2/2014 11:45:03 pm
Absolutely love this answer Elayna. You did great getting to the point. Your added opinion really makes your answer come alive. Enjoyed it! Keep it up!
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Kirsten Comstock
3/3/2014 12:50:41 am
Elayna I love this answer. I love how you put in your own strong opinions. You made great points. Good job!
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Timmi Keisel
3/2/2014 03:04:18 am
I believe this answer really depends on the president. Both Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln were take charge kind of presidents and did a number of good things for our country. Abe Lincoln began the Civil War to abolish slavery. Theodore Roosevelt created national parks and pushed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Hepburn Railroad Regulation Act. It seems that the presidents who want to take charge and make laws and make a difference have had the right ideas and opinions on how to do things. Presidents like Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt are the presidents that people still talk about and recognize. They knew what was right for our country and didn’t hesitate to do it. In my opinion, Taft (who thought congress should make laws) didn’t really go down in the books as an outstanding president like Roosevelt and Lincoln did, or at least more so than Taft.
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Keeya Marquez
3/2/2014 09:58:22 am
I completely agree that perhaps presidents who take risks and make their own decisions definitely are more famous than those who don't. Great answer.
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Rachel Frantz
3/2/2014 05:07:23 am
I believe there to be pros and cons to both ways of law making. I however, find myself siding more with Taft’s way then Roosevelt’s. Roosevelt managed to tackle many problems that may not have been addressed for a considerable amount of time had the President not taken initiative and made a law. For example Roosevelt created the Pure Food and Drug Act. This act helped improve the health of the country and made out country better. Without Roosevelt stepping up and creating this act the impure processes in food packaging places could have gone on for many more years. However, I find there to be much risk in Roosevelt’s idea of the president making the laws without going through Congress. I believe Taft’s way of going through congress is what has kept America from having a dictator like Hitler. The president making the laws is all fine and dandy if you have someone in office like Lincoln or Roosevelt; however, there is no guarantee that someone won’t obtain office and abuse their powers. I also believe Taft’s way to have been better for our country. It provided a sense of safety by limiting the power of one person. I like how the president still has some power, but a lot of the power belongs to the group of people who make up congress.
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Zane Boerner
3/3/2014 01:29:15 am
I definitely agree. Giving that much power to just one person would only work with a few people who can handle the pressure and responsibility.
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Keeya Marquez
3/2/2014 09:54:13 am
I think that it heavily depends on what president is in office as well as who is in Congress. With Teddy Roosevelt, the president making the decisions himself certainly worked amazingly well. However, if we get a president in office follows the same path as Teddy but they aren't in the best interest of the country, there would obviously be very big problems. With Congress making the majority of the decisions, we have it more spread out among different people so that many different ideas are shared and no one has complete control. The only problem with Congress making decisions, is that often times it takes so much time for very different people to all come together on one decision. I personally prefer the separation of powers much more, as it acts as a safety valve. It ensures that we don't have one person making horrible decisions that aren't in our best interest.
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McCall Etl
3/2/2014 11:11:16 am
I personally believe that Taft's idea of Congress making laws with the President making sure they are constitutional is the way to go. Roosevelt (and Lincoln) may have been better presidents making the decisions themselves, but they were good men. Roosevelt did have questionable actions with his way too though. I thinks its better overall for a larger group to make the decisions that will effect a huge group of people. Presidents that have good moral ideas and ideas that are right should still contribute to these laws and acts being passed, but I don't think its a good idea to have them have sole power. Like a couple people said before, I feel like a person with sole power could eventually turn in to a Hitler, and we see how that turned out.
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Megan Chintala
3/2/2014 11:54:43 pm
There is a lot to be said about this question. People would agree to disagree I think. But my opinion is that people should vote for their President. They should decide who they want to run their country. Who they want to be their leader. Who they want to follow in making this country a great country. I dont think it is right for the Congress to decide. Because all they ever want is their money. Congress shouldnt be making laws in my opinion. They would fit them to their liking and not take into consideration of the rest of the country. As for Presidents making laws and decisions, they do look out for us and they want us to be happy. Yet again not everyone will be happy with the decision but at least Presidents are making an attempt to support us. Yes you may get a bad president every now and then, but its what you take from that experience that influences your vote the next term around! You know what kind of president you want and what kind you dont want. Your added opinion counts. I believe that with the President making decisions, it has made our country very successful in its years. Because they are making it fit to us and what benefits us. And it has worked.
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Kirsten Comstock
3/3/2014 12:48:33 am
This is a question that really gets you thinking. There are good and bad things about both. I think that in the past when the president has made the laws it has gone pretty well, for example like Roosevelt and Lincoln. If they wouldn't have done what they wanted to and did things their way the world would be a lot different. On the other hand, those two were both good presidents and if you got a bad president for a term that made bad decisions, that would be terrible because it probably wouldn't help the people. Now if you let congress decide and make the laws there are good and bad things about that too. Sometimes I feel congress might not have the best interest and what's right for the people, but then again there are a lot of people and a lot of opinions in congress so you would be getting a lot more options than just if one president was making the decision. So I personally think that it would be better if congress made the laws like Taft wanted because you get more opinions.
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Zane Boerner
3/3/2014 01:24:55 am
I think that it depends entirely on what president is in office. Giving that much power to one person can be extremely risky because you can end up with people abusing the power. Presidents like Lincoln and Roosevelt have proven that some presidents can handle it and use it to be very effective in office. Since we would not be able to tell how the president would handle that much power before they are put into office, I think that it is the safer route to have congress make the laws. If congress makes the laws you have a lot of people giving their opinion instead of just one; however, passing laws could take a long time which would not always be very good. In hindsight both ways have worked well for our country but it is probably better if congress makes laws.
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AJ Brandt
3/3/2014 02:09:57 am
I think that congress should make the laws Like Taft wanted. Congress makes decisions mostly based on the opinion of their constituents, but most presidents act on behalf of their party or personal opinion. Like other people have said it mostly depends on who the president is.
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