FDR and the New Deal . During the monumental presidency of FDR the social welfare state and the national security state were born. Rural Electrification Administration-utility cooperatives to bring electricity to rural areas. Tennessee Valley Authority-development of the region through dams for flood control, navigation, and electric power. Tremendous boost to economic concentration, as military contracts were heavily tilted in favor of large corporations.
Every president inherits a set of problems and possibilities born of the nation's past development.
One view of the presidency from Reagan to Clinton is that it is both imperial and imprisoned. It is imperial insofar as each administration has demonstrated its commitment to continuing the very high levels of military expenditure of the Cold War and to the use of military force, often unilaterally, throughout the world in defense of what are claimed to be American interests and values. Military might continues to be a lynchpin of American global power and sets it apart from all potential rivals. The power of the military-industrial makes it difficult, if not impossible, for a president to promote reduced military expenditures as a means to cut taxes, reduce deficits, or fund social and environmental programs. Declining voter turnout has denied all recent presidents, whatever they may wish to claim or believe, the kind of broad popular mandate that might allow them to promote democratic policies in the face of entrenched private interests.