U.S. executive branch

Your statement that the U.S. presidency is "almost omnipotent" (A House of Cards?, Oct. 4) would surprise Bill Clinton and the four living ex-presidents. The executive branch cannot tell Congress or the courts what to do. Congress can kill legislation initiated by the president, pass their own bills, and present them to the president for his signature. The courts can overturn legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by the president. This sharing of power by the three branches of the federal government is repeated in each of the 50 individual state governments. Each state has its own executive, legislative and judicial branches which are each given broad powers by the Constitution. "Beyond challenge," as your editorial puts it, is way off the mark as a description of presidential power in the U.S.

But your statements do provide you with the opportunity to compare the U.S. and Indonesia. You find fault with the Indonesian House of Representatives for being weak and the media for not reporting it. Rather than simply hoping that the legislative branch and the media get their acts together, I suggest that you shouldn't use the word "government" to refer to the President and his ministers in your news articles. Try "executive branch" or "executive body". If it is a more balanced government that you seek, one place to start is with the language of your Constitution.

GEORGE FORD

Jakarta