Presidential candidates tend to offer a story of national revival that begins with one person: themselves. It is a Great Man (or Woman) Theory of political change. Something is wrong in America, and salvation lies in the providence of one good individual.
There are several problems with the GMT. First, and most obviously, divided government makes it impossible for any one person to do much of anything in Washington, and this is a feature, not a bug, of the Constitution. Second, even if the federal government were a monarchy, some of the most significant policy decisions happen at the local and state level, where federal power holds little sway.
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By: Derek Thompson, The Atlantic
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