>The presidency itself is not a top-down institution, as many people in the public believe, headed by a president who gives orders and causes the bureaucracy to click its heels and salute.
What a bizarre world when an academic will say such a thing, almost comical really.
Upon reflection I can see your perspective but I also agree quite completely with the article. It is of course true that the 'President' holds much power but if you break down the semantics, you might as well be saying that people are Patriotic and readily willing to serve their country. (ie. clicking their heels...)
What this article is analyzing (the government...and people) is a very complex system and there are many layers. Don't let this article confuse you into thinking that the ideas therein signal a perception that the oval office is not, in a sense, a center of power. Because all available evidence and common sense, as you imply in your comment, points to the obvious fact that the Whitehouse is a center of power in the government and the world.
What the article is saying is that there are other centers of power within the government which, evidence strongly suggests, actually challenge the President's authority on certain geopolitical and bureaucratic concerns, and in some cases, actually wield far more impressive levels of capabilities in terms of influence and direct control. And you better believe that these capabilities are being utilized.
I would even pin a target on the notion that there are significant operational units (assets) which have limited to non-existent communication and reporting to high-ranking government members. And what sane person even entertains the belief that they know every single activity and segment of the US government?
In an organization as staggeringly large as the federal government, there's bound to be plethora of secrets. Some of them are probably pretty benign. Some of them are probably capable of destabilizing the 'united' aspect of government we take for granted. And...really, it's clear to see the fact that the government is not in fact nearly as united as people speak of. This kind of obvious mismatch in mental conception is well-known: cognitive dissonance.
Comical; your allegiance to over-simplified models of megalithic civil structural posturing for political gain of power for variously held personal values.
I am honestly trying to understand what is comical about it? Is it the assumption about public opinion inaccurate or the point about government hierarchy?
What a bizarre world when an academic will say such a thing, almost comical really.