College of Western Idaho (CWI) hosted an engaging event on Thursday, Oct. 15, as the CWI Political Science program and Culture, History, and Politics Department welcomed Dr. James Hanley to the Nampa Campus Academic Building for a presentation. Dr. Hanley, who is Associate Professor of Political Science and a Fellow of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding at Adrian College in Michigan, spoke on The Imperial Presidency.
Dr. Hanley’s talk focused on the growth of presidential power over the last 50 years and the political and electoral factors that have contributed to the expansion, regardless of the President’s party affiliation. He traced the expansion of presidential power, from Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon to President Obama, in such areas as war powers, domestic surveillance, rendition, and torture of anti-terrorism suspects. Dr. Hanley also discussed factors that have enhanced presidential authority and eroded the checks and balances provided Congress and the judiciary in the Constitution.
The presentation was followed by a lively question and answer session from the audience of student and faculty.