Presidential Vs.

Parliamentary
* Presidents take more direct personal charge of policy than the cabinet does in a
parliamentary system. The majority party and the cabinet are a team in a parliamentary system.
But the president is directly elected by the people. Unlike parliamentary cabinets, the presidential
cabinet does not contain party notables. The president is also the head of the army and directly
responsible for foreign policy.

*On September 6,1787, the Founders in Philadelphia abandoned their plans for parliamentary
governance in favor of a presidential system. The presidential system, with its separation of
powers among the different branches of government, is at the core of the Constitution. James
Madison thought that presidential systems are more likely to preserve liberty.
*Presidentialism alone is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for democratic instability.
Presidential constitutions, because they are designed to create checks and balances by pitting
one branch of government against another, may set in motion characteristic patterns of
political struggle involving sharp disputes over the powers of the president, the legislature,
and the courts when other forces trigger a crisis.
*Compared to parliamentary systems, the presidential system suffers less from the danger of
oppression of minorities since votes are led by issues that concern the majority. The
presidential system is better from the point of view of accountability since executive can be
directly voted down.