The president's constitutionally defined powers, found mostly in Article 11, are not impressive. In an influential book, Richard Neustadt has argued that the president's success depends not on any formal power but on his ability to persuade, especially the people within the Washington establishment. From a few vague and unimpressive powers in Article II, the issue is now whether the president has grown too powerful and the presidency too imperial. Under the constitutional system of separated powers and checks and balances, the Congress is one of the strongest checks on the president. Building unity across the branches is therefore one of the greatest challenges confronting presidents, who often propose ambitious legislative agendas to the Congress.
Party alliances are therefore extremely important.
The institutionalization of the Presidency Since the New Deal era, the president has headed a vast bureaucracy responsible not only for implementing government policy but also for providing policy initiatives. The result was the creation of the White House Office and the Executive Office of the President. The White House staff was initially quite small, with presidents often personally answering the telephone and their own mail. The president did not even have a paid secretary until 1857. Rapid growth followed the 1937 recommendation.