Article II Section 3
“He 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; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.”
In the above section it is clear that the President does have the authority per the Constitution to “recommend to their Consideration such Measures..”. Ultimately this becomes a judgment call as to what the definition of recommend is. Recent administrations have “recommended” entire bills that they have written or crafted. It seems that the President should encourage congress to consider serious issues and to seek a solution that best serves the interest of the American people. Oddly enough it might seem that the current administration took this tack with the Health Care overhaul. The author feels that while the tack may have been technically appropriate, the failure is more in the conclusion reached than in the recommendation.
Other items in this section seem fairly standard and are practices with which the average American is familiar. The annual state of the union is something that is analyzed and reviewed, where the President list’s his agenda for a year just after saying that the “state of the nation is ’strong’”. I find that statement ironic considering the list of items they feel need to be corrected.