Presidents in the U.S. have different ways to exert their executive powers. The best known are called presidential directives. Presidential directives are “simply written, rather than oral, instructions or declarations issued by the president” .
There are two main types of directives, according to Gaziano: Executive orders, and presidential proclamations, though many other documents have similar functions and effects, they are not considered by the author as types in their own right . Executive orders are written instructions directed to executive branch officials to instruct them on how they should perform their responsibilities. Presidential proclamations are statements issued to a group of people, namely the public, other nations or government officials, that communicate a presidential decision or declaration .
Gaziano cites a work that identifies different types of directives such as “administrative orders; certificates; designations of officials; executive orders; general licenses; interpretations; letters on tariffs and international trade; military orders; various types of national security instruments (such as national security action memoranda, national security decision directives, national security directives, national security reviews, national security study memoranda, presidential review directives, and presidential decision directives); presidential announcements; presidential findings; presidential reorganization plans; presidential signing statements; and proclamations” . But he finds this lists misleading as their only difference is that “they have different headings at the top of the first page” .
Some presidents have used directives in an “aggressive” way. Gaziano mentions Bill Clinton as an example of a president who uses directives aggressively. According to Gaziano, Clinton used executive decrees “in situations where he failed to achieve a legislative objective” . Though Gaziano does seem to condemn Clinton for improper use of presidential directives, he deems aggressive use of executive powers as necessary to project strength as a leader of the free world.
Personally, I tend to disagree with Gaziano given how President Bush made use of his executive powers in regards to the war on terror. Even before the terrorist acts of 2001, the president had been taking unilateral and aggressive decisions that might have fueled discontent among radical leaders. Other things such as surveillance of American citizens, or signing laws that later he would not obey , are signs that giving presidents more discretional powers without effective control from the Congress, and encouraging them to be aggressive would be letting the country at the mercy of personal whim of one person.
Works Cited
Gaziano, T. (2001, February 21). The Use and Abuse of Executive Orders and Other Presidential Directives. Retrieved January 27, 2014, from The Heritage Foundation: www.heritage.org/library/legalmemo/lm2.html
Golson, B. (2006, September 12). Elizabeth Holtzman on Impeaching George W. Bush. Retrieved January 26, 2014, from Truthdig: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20060912_elizabeth_holtzman_impeachment_bush
