Ron Paul: Liberty and 'The Great Leader' Are Mutually Exclusive

By Ron Paul

This morning I was asked if there was ever an ideal American president. Of course, no one is perfect, but I particularly liked Grover Cleveland who was a gold-standard guy. He was also a non-interventionist when it came to foreign policy and he vetoed a lot of bills.

My biggest issue with the modern presidency is the amount of power that the position wields. Today's president is the exact opposite of what the Founders intended. There were supposed to be "checks and balances" in our government and the office of the president was not designed to run a worldwide military empire.

If there's one recurring pattern that has repeated itself throughout history, it's that there's a great tendency for power to concentrate in the executive. America's Founders tried to figure out a way to avoid such a concentration of power, but alas they failed as well.

Power is now more concentrated in the President than ever.

I'd like for the American president to have about as much power as Switzerland's president. Few even know who Switzerland's president is! That's the way it's supposed to be. 

American individuals should be free, and not constantly barraged by and focused on a 'Great Leader'.

Liberty and 'Great Leaders' are mutually exclusive. It's either one or the other. You can't have both.

America didn't become the wealthiest country in the world because of government or 'Great Leaders'. It was rather the exact opposite. It was the lack of government controls that freed up the entrepreneurial and productive energies of our ancestors.

The "land of the free" needs a good dose of freedom. Weakening the power of government (and especially the president) will get us there sooner rather than later.