The Imperial President By Hank Silverberg The President of The United States! For much of the last hundred years that title invoked the most powerful job in the world. The American President sought peace among nations (Wilson), waged war against mass murderers (FDR), opened a new frontier (JFK), or demanded that the walls of oppression be torn down (Reagan). It didn't always work out that way, but our allies and foes alike learned to respect what the power of the United States really meant to world stability. And they learned that the person in the Oval Office usually wielded that power, aware that it was as fleeting as the next election and the will of the people. Richard Nixon put a big dent in the respect for the office, but in the end he lost his power because of his arrogance and his contempt for the law. From then on, Presidents didn't automatically get respect from the American people--the men who followed had to earn it. Post Nixon, the most powerful man in the