Is it even possible for a single politician to make a substantive change?

ttwtt78640 said:

Such as ____?

That would seem to require running on this (in order to get elected) and then doing that (despite the campaign promise not to). Perhaps, like Bush "no new taxes" 41.

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Actually, the bully pulpit works a lot better after the election. People tend to discount campaign promises as, well, maybe total BS or something for some reason...

...maybe past experience?

John Kennedy is an example of one politician who spoke out about civil rights, for example. He died before the legislation was passed, unfortunately, but did bring attention to the issue. His "ask not what your country can do for you..." speech inspired a lot of people as well.

radcen said:

Ignore specific names and parties for this question.

Politicians, when they run for office, make all kinds of grand promises. Sometimes even deviating from their own personalities and histories as legislators. So, presuming they're sincere...

Is it even possible for a single politician to make a substantive change in our system?

Or, has the system become so unyielding and unmoving that it's not even possible?

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As I am Canadian i voted abandon all hope..............

SouthernDemocrat said:

They had huge majorities in congress and knew how to use them.

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Of course, but they still had to have the consent of those majorities to get their initiatives passed into law.

I am glad your brought this up. I do not believe there can be any real "change" (to borrow the word from the first Obama candidacy in which he was elected upon), unless you fundamentally change the system in which you refer to. That system, is a large bureaucratic state where the President runs roughshod over the legislature. I think its a matter of national education too. We should not have a national education, that is what 1930s Germany had. As it was intended to be, let the states handle their own public schools, if they fail, they fail. Break down Washington DC to the level that it was intended to be. Which means destroying most of the ABC bureaucracies, eliminating the career long "public servants", and making the federal government fear the people and the states in which they reside. If they do not fear us, DC will do whatever it wants and bring us all down. We need to educate ourselves and our youth that state power and politics is not the answer to everything in life. We gotta stop the decay and bleeding in society before we can have any hopes of real change in the "system." It would not be an easy or short road. It would take a good majority of the people with a lot of dedication and willingness to sacrifice. I do not see it anywhere in our near future. But who knows, one can be hopeful.

radcen said:

Ignore specific names and parties for this question.

Politicians, when they run for office, make all kinds of grand promises. Sometimes even deviating from their own personalities and histories as legislators. So, presuming they're sincere...

Is it even possible for a single politician to make a substantive change in our system?

Or, has the system become so unyielding and unmoving that it's not even possible?

Click to expand...

We already saw it:

"... none of the provisions of Geneva apply to our conflict with al Qaeda in Afghanistan or elsewhere through the world because, among other reasons, al Qaeda is not a High Contracting Party to Geneva."

... common Article 3 of Geneva does not apply to either al Qaeda or Taliban detainees because, among other reasons, the relevant conflicts are international in scope and common Article 3 applies only to 'armed conflict not of an international character."

Signed President of the United States

radcen said:

Ignore specific names and parties for this question.

Politicians, when they run for office, make all kinds of grand promises. Sometimes even deviating from their own personalities and histories as legislators. So, presuming they're sincere...

Is it even possible for a single politician to make a substantive change in our system?

Or, has the system become so unyielding and unmoving that it's not even possible?

Click to expand...

It is a common misconception that politicians, or leaders in general, "do" anything. They don't. By themselves, they're as ineffectual as some dude from Nowhere, Wyoming.

Without cooperation from the system, which requires the cooperation of the people to exist, politicians can't do anything.

So, no. It's not possible for a politician to make any change at all. However, it is possible for the system to let them, and for the people to let or encourage that system to exist.

All substantial change is the work of many people, some passively and some aggressively. The generator of the idea is only the first step.

Depends on what you mean by single politician and substantive change.

One politician working alone can't get much done since that's not how our government is set up.

But one politician can pull together a group of others to push through something they care about.

Obama did it with Obamacare.