Here we are in the 2008 post-convention quagmire with Obama/Biden and McCain/Palin set to play the same old promise & blame game for the next 60 days and see whose insults stick to whom. Unfortunately for the citizens of the United States, neither candidate can do anything they say they will do. They never have.

I’ve said this before, but for some reason few people get the message. The President of the United States cannot raise or lower taxes & tariffs. He or she cannot pass laws or amend the Constitution. Nor can the president protect Social Security, fund social programs such as universal health care, or pass regulations or laws controlling the energy industry.

The U.S. Constitution demands that laws and taxes be enacted by congress. The President is only an administrator (thus, the term “Administration” given to the office of the U.S. President). The President and his cabinet oversee the administration and enforcement of congressional actions. They collect taxes and enforce laws and regulations. The only power the President has over domestic law and finance is the veto. The President holds sway over congressional activities with about the same influence as the Speaker of the House.

So as we listen to solutions to ‘Issue #1” in this election – The Economy – the voter must ask themselves not what the presidential candidates promise, but what their congressional representatives promise.

Foreign policy is another matter. Foreign Policy is an area were presidential promises CAN be kept with fidelity. But there is a hitch in this too. Precedent, intelligence, treaties and agreements (both public and private) can tie the hands of a President when it comes to new policy or overturning past policy. Many secrets and awkward alliances move under the currents of foreign policy.  A misstep can cause unforeseen irreversible diplomatic damage – even loss of life.  So they can ‘promise’ to change foreign policy with reckless abandon, but it rarely happens after they get behind closed doors and hear all the grizzly intelligence and diplomatic details.

Unfortunately for this country, and its citizens, the Presidential election is mostly a beauty pageant. More centered on how much a person alleviates your fears rather than governs your country. In the end, the person who you would like to meet and work with personally will get your vote. They will govern only as well as the people around them will allow them to. How they develop their cabinet, their circle of advisors and staff the administration will be the real test of their ability to govern.

In the last few weeks I have seen the who’s and why’s of successor selection in the Vice Presidential nominees. To date, this is the first inkling we as citizens have as to the thought process, judgment and integrity of the candidates. Obama selected someone to lead the country in his absence and to confer with on matters of state. McCain chose someone whom he hopes will help him get elected.

Nuff said.

JB