The President can exercise no power which cannot be fairly and reasonably traced to some specific grant of power in the Federal Constitution or in an act of Congress passed in pursuance thereof. There is no undefined residuum of power which he can exercise because it seems to him to be in the public interest.
Interpretation
The President's powers are limited to those explicitly granted by the Constitution or Congress.
This quote by William Howard Taft emphasizes the principle of limited government powers, underscoring that the President cannot act beyond the authority explicitly granted by the Constitution or Congressional acts. It serves as a reminder that authority in governance is derived from the foundational legal documents and not from subjective interpretations of what might be deemed in the public's interest.
In practice
During a lecture on constitutional law, one might reference this quote to illustrate the limits of presidential powers.
The secret of Masonry, like the secret of life, can be known only by those who seek it, serve it, live it. It cannot be uttered; it can only be felt and acted. It is, in fact, an open secret, and each man knows it according to his quest and capacity. Like all things worth knowing, no one can know it for another and no man can know it alone.
The intoxication of power rapidly sobers off in the knowledge of its restrictions and under the prompt reminder of an ever-present and not always considerate press, as well as the kindly suggestions that not infrequently come from Congress.
We must dare to be great; and we must realize that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice and high courage.
I think his greatest fault is his failure to accord credit to anyone for what he may have done. This is a great weakness in any man.
There is nothing so despicable as a secret society that is based upon religious prejudice and that will attempt to defeat a man because of his religious beliefs. Such a society is like a cockroach - it thrives in the dark. So do those who combine for such an end.
As a people, we have the problem of making our forests outlast this generation, or iron outlast this century, and our coal the next; not merely as a matter of convenience or comfort, but as a matter of stern necessity.
Grant me thirty years of equal division of inheritances and a free press, and I will provide you with a republic.
The Senate has been debased to the level of a forum of hate and character assassination sheltered by the shield of congressional immunity.
We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.
Long Island is shaped the way it is largely because of Robert Moses. Long Island is a perfect example of how political power shapes people's lives every day.
The biggest lesson I learned from Vietnam is not to trust [our own] government statements.
I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.
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