Heidi Alexander: “Yes. I thank the Chair. So as we look back over the history of checks and balances and the imperial Presidency and the…”

“Yes. I thank the Chair. So as we look back over the history of checks and balances and the imperial Presidency and the importance of making certain we do not have an imperial Presidency, we are reminded the reason we did that was a single word: liberty--the revulsion by the Founders who created this system and who then made sure our President was a President, not a King. And George Washington, who exercised great modesty and restraint, impressed into the American character his own modesty and restraint when he asked that he be called ``Mr. President,'' not something more grand, when he retired to Mount Vernon after two terms, when he could have been President of the United States for life. So that is what the Constitution talked about. It said that for these important positions, the President may nominate, but if the Senate does not confirm them, they cannot serve. There is also a provision toward the end of article II, section 2 about recess appointments. Here is what the court said when it got out its American history book and began to compare that with the Constitution: This was written for a time when it took Senator Houston of Texas--I ask, Madam President, that I have time to speak in morning business. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.”