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The problem isn't the head of state but the head of government. The solution to that is reduce the powers of the President. I have been having thought that the

The problem isn't the head of state but the head of government. The solution to that is reduce the powers of the President. I have been having thought that the office of President should be split. With separate head of state and head of government that runs the executive branch. Another option would be to have triumvirate with command in chief that commands the military. Maybe the President has power to dismiss the others, or there is system than one person can't take over, like the CnC can never be executive. You could do that with current structure by giving all the executive power to the Vice President, and then President would be left with head of state role. They would run as slate, with the visible, charismatic President, and the unknown, competent VP. If the President dies, the VP loses all his power.

zbirkenbuel 2y ago
I've said that the US needs an elected king. The guy you want to have a beer with, to throw out ceremonial first pitches, even to welcome other heads of state is the king. The person who runs the government and balances congress is the president and should be super boring. I'm imagining George W Bush as idea King material while Gore would have been ideal President material.
- ianburrell 2y ago
  In parliamentary republics, the President is the powerless head of state, and the Prime Minister is head of government. There are lots of terms for head of government like Chancellor, Chief Executive, and First Minister. "King" has too much baggage of being inherited. Most limited Presidents have fixed terms, but I don't think there needs to be term limits for the figurehead. I was thinking that the head of state would attract those who want the spotlight.
red_admiral 2y ago
> triumvirate The two historical examples that immediately come to mind (and explain the Latin term) both didn't end well. I agree with the rest of the points you make. I think in Europe, the CnC is always a military post and needs to have done officer training and risen through the ranks, whereas the head of government (whether nominal or actual) is strictly a civilian role. Whether European models would scale up to something the size of the USA is another question.
- margalabargala 2y ago
  I mean, which non-extant countries have ended well?
  - red_admiral 2y ago
    Czechoslovakia splitting into Czech Republic and Slovakia is the best example I can think of.

zbirkenbuel 2y ago

I've said that the US needs an elected king. The guy you want to have a beer with, to throw out ceremonial first pitches, even to welcome other heads of state is the king. The person who runs the government and balances congress is the president and should be super boring. I'm imagining George W Bush as idea King material while Gore would have been ideal President material.

ianburrell 2y ago
In parliamentary republics, the President is the powerless head of state, and the Prime Minister is head of government. There are lots of terms for head of government like Chancellor, Chief Executive, and First Minister. "King" has too much baggage of being inherited. Most limited Presidents have fixed terms, but I don't think there needs to be term limits for the figurehead. I was thinking that the head of state would attract those who want the spotlight.

red_admiral 2y ago

> triumvirate The two historical examples that immediately come to mind (and explain the Latin term) both didn't end well. I agree with the rest of the points you make. I think in Europe, the CnC is always a military post and needs to have done officer training and risen through the ranks, whereas the head of government (whether nominal or actual) is strictly a civilian role. Whether European models would scale up to something the size of the USA is another question.

margalabargala 2y ago
I mean, which non-extant countries have ended well?
- red_admiral 2y ago
  Czechoslovakia splitting into Czech Republic and Slovakia is the best example I can think of.