Then maybe it's a quirk in the American English vernacular. A president presides but never rules. A dictator (or absolute king) rules not dictates. A public

Then maybe it's a quirk in the American English vernacular. A president presides but never rules. A dictator (or absolute king) rules not dictates. A public speaker dictates but only occasionally speaks. Ruling party is an English term, Americans using majority/minority parties to describe in power and out of power.