Every president wields a certain level of power. Irrespective of party affiliation, background, training or political ideologies, these elite individuals always will have bestowed upon them a unique ability—and even understanding—that with the office comes a level of power they can use to advance a good greater than themselves.
I’m not referring to “authority,” defined here as the duties, roles, and tools of the officeholder by sheer virtue of the office itself. That is clearly delineated by Article 2 of the Constitution, federal laws, and other statutory instruments that set out those duties reserved only for the commander in chief.
No, I’m talking about raw power—the unspoken influence that every holder of the highest office in the world possesses. An undefined yet potent and palpable sense to steer the body politic as he discerns.
What that individual chooses to do with power is the X factor that makes a good president great, or even a bad president good.
