VETO; ACTS OF CONGRESS; BILLS, COURSE OF).
This fact is important not because of the fre quency of Presidential vetoes, but because it enables the President to dominate Congress in a large measure; by a threat to wield this weapon he may prevent the passage of bad laws and compel the elimination of objectionable features from otherwise good ones. Article II, § III provides that the President ((shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.'" No method of communicating with Congress is suggested or prescribed and both the written message and the speech in person have been employed. Con gress is not compelled to act upon the Presi dent's recommendations and seldom does com plete the suggested legislative program, but as the legislation advocated by the President pre sumably coincides with the policy of the by which he has been elected, as the majority of the members of Congress usually have the same political affiliations; and as the outcome of future elections is much influenced by the char acter of the legislation and the manner of its execution, the President's recommendations rarely are refused serious consideration and generally are enacted into law. Moreover Con
gress can ill afford to ignore public opinion and if the President be a capable party leader and can arouse public interest sufficiently to consti tute a public demand he is quite sure to obtain the desired results. In recent years the Presi dent's influence has depended largely upon his ability to control his party whether through force or persuasion.