Most Americans automatically say the Constitution is a sacred document that sets forth the most perfect form of government on earth. In spite of all the criticism of what the government is doing or not doing, people believe the fundamental form given in the Constitution guarantees the best, most democratic government in the world; For conservatives, the problems of today are only the result of the deviation from the form of government given in our sacred Constitution. The proof of our excellence is that we have the most powerful and prosperous country in the world. Our power and prosperity are the result of our government. This is what we have been taught in school and by the media--and we have learned our lesson well. Most Americans would say other countries should be copying our form of government, given how powerful and prosperous we have become.
Much of the writing about the Constitution supports this view that our government is nearly perfect and does not need changing. The 2007 book by Lane and Oreskes[1], for example, is an unreservedly self-congratulatory account of the origins and development of the Constitution, replete with comments on how well written and insightful and nearly perfect the Constitution is, and how well it has done in surviving for 220 years without major changes.
Our government is not perfect, however. Much of the arguing and bickering characteristic of much of the daily news can be attributed not just to the particular issues, but to the structure within which it takes place. The U.S. government was set up with the assumption that the President and Congress are separate and independent, with the expectation that they will cooperate in running the government. There has always been the potential for conflict--and it did not take long for the conflict to appear. When Secretary of the Treasury Hamilton in 1790 tried to work too closely with Congress in developing the budget for the government, Congress rejected his efforts, fearing the President and his cabinet would have too much control over Congress. From then until the 20th Century, when coordinating the budget became too complex for Congress to handle by itself, Congress jealously guarded its budgeting authority from incursions by the Executive. Opposition between Congress and the President was just assumed, and has continued since. Thus tension between the President and Congress has existed from the beginning.
[1]Lane, Eric and Oreskes, Michael The Genius of American: How the Constitution Saved Our Country and Why It Can Again New York: Bloomsbury USA, 2007
