EL JURAMENTO DEL CAUTIVO El genio dijo al pescador que lo había sacado de la botella de cobre amarillo: Soy uno de los genios heréticos y me rebelé contra Salomón, hijo de David (¡que sobre los dos haya paz!) Fui derrotado; Salomón, hijo de David, me ordenó que abrazara la fe de Dios y que obedeciera sus órdenes. Rehusé; el Rey me encerró en ese recipiente de cobre y estampo el nombre muy alto, y ordenó a los genios sumisos que me arrojaran en el centro del mar. Dije en mi corazón: quien me da la libertad, lo enriqueceré para siempre. Pero un siglo entero pasó, y nadie me dio la libertad. Entonces dije en mi corazón: a quien me dé la libertad, le revelaré todas las artes mágicas de la tierra. Pero cuatrocientos años pasaron y yo seguí en el fondo del mar. Dije entonces: a quien me dé la libertad, yo le otorgaré tres deseos. Pero novecientos años pasaron. Entonces, desesperado juré por el nombre muy alto: a quien me dé la libertad yo lo mataré. Prepárate a morir, oh mi salvador.

lincoln won 212 electoral votes to mcclellan's 21 votes, and lincoln beat mcclellan. is the main reason lincoln won in 1864.

in the united states, the president is controlled by the

constitution, and in all respects subordinate to it. insofar

as it deals with presidential power, however, the american

constitution has proved to be a highly malleable document.

with very few exceptions,' the constitutional provisions relating to the president have not been changed at all since

they were ratified in 1787. but in the late twentieth century, those provisions do not mean what they meant in

1787. the constitution is a legal document, and it is enforced judicially; but its meaning was hardly fixed when it

was ratified. in particular, the contemporary president has

far broader powers than the original constitution contemplated. it is remarkable but true that large-scale changes in

the authority of the president have been brought about

without changes in the constitutional text, but nevertheless

without significant illegality.

this is a paradox. is it not clear that constitutional

changes, if not textual, are illegal? the paradox has considerable relevance to our current thinking about the presidency in particular and about constitutionalism in general.

perhaps the framers of the american constitution feared

legislative power most of all; 2 but from well-known events

in the twentieth century, it is possible to conclude that it is

presidential power that holds out the greatest risks to both

liberty and democracy. the president is by far the most visible leader in the nation; he is often the only person in government with a national constituency. moreover, he is