“A people may be unprepared for good institutions, but to kindle a desire for them is a necessary part of the preparation.” John Stuart Mill so observed in his Representative Government. Likewise The Alter of Kelm includes this aphorism: “Ask not if a thing is possible; ask only if it is necessary.” Today let us ask whether a presidential system of government is necessary for Israel.
To simplify matters, let us ignore the controversy as to whether the original Constitution of the United States exemplifies a “Democracy” or a “Republic.” True, Article IV, Section 4, of the Constitution guarantees to every State of the Union a “Republican Form of Government.” But for present purposes, let us yield to contemporary terminology, which designates the U.S. as a Constitutional democracy.
Presidential electors often confuse those who study the Constitution for the first time. Most people never hear or see the phrase until they vote for them. Then they see ballot instructions: “Presidential Electors: vote for one slate” or words to that effect. Nor do they see the names of Presidential electors. Instead they see the names of Presidential (and Vice-Presidential) candidates. And they might think that Presidential elections are a federal issue, with which no State may interfere. This is wrong. The people choose Presidential electors, and States decide how they choose them.
The Constitution of the United States has been in force longer than any similar instrument in the world. Yet our government often does not run as the Constitution says it should. The people can check that, but only if they know what the Constitution really says. CNAV today introduces this course to show what the Constitution really means.
