What can and can't the president do, and how do we know? When the framers of the U.S. constitution left vague the powers of the executive branch they opened the door to every president to decide how much power they could claim. This week, how the office of the presidency became more powerful than anything the Founding Fathers imagined possible.

If you would like to read more about the topic:

• The New Imperial Presidency: Renewing Presidential Power After Watergate by Andrew Rudalevige
• Crisis and Command: A History of Executive Power from George Washington to George W. Bush by John Yoo
• FDR Goes to War: How Expanded Executive Power, Spiraling National Debt, and Restricted Civil Liberties Shaped Wartime America by Burton W. Folsom and Anita Folsom
• The Cult of the Presidency: America's Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power by Gene Healy

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