ABSTRACT
The American president is often viewed by outsiders and commentators as the singular impersonation of authority in the world’s sole democratic super-power, capable of reordering realities across the globe and from state to state with the push of a button or a reach toward a red phone. In reality, however, the chief executive sits atop an immense bureaucratic structure that facilitates the president’s policy and political leadership initiatives. That is accomplished by aiding him in gathering and processing the information he needs to make his decisions and implementing, to the greatest degree possible, both his preferences and the legislative dictates that emerge out of Congress and find a positive response upon crossing the president’s desk.
