I like the essay, but I think the "Administrative Presidency" section is superfluous. A lot of the history in this section could have been condensed or removed because it is tangential to the central thesis that, "the first branch of government has slipped in relative importance to the executive branch."
The "From Constitutional to Popular Leader" section flows logically and is convincing. I would appreciate some quantitative metrics, such as number of executive orders per year, number of appointments that the President makes, and definitely some analysis related to budgetary growth- both proportionally and in absolute terms. It is prudent to add some numbers to illustrate the "expansive federal bureaucracy handling the enlarged scope of the federal government's activities."
I would find this essay more convincing if it included a section about how Congress's powers have increased or changed. It is narrowly focused on the actions of the Executive, but this argument could be bolstered by some explicit discussion of Congress's action, responses to increasing Presidential power, or inaction.
Just some thoughts- they may be ill-informed or I may have overlooked some points,
Reid
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