I am reminded, every day these days, of the words of Douglas Adams ...
+++++++++++++++
The President is very much in particular a figurehead -- he wields no real power whatsoever ... his job is not to wield power, but to draw attention away from it.
Very, very few people realise that the President and the Government have virtually no power at all, and of these few people, only six know whence ultimate political power is wielded. Most of the rest secretly believe the ultimate decision-making process is handled by a computer; they couldn't be more wrong.
"People of Earth, your attention, please ... This is Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz of the Galactic Hyperspace Planning Council. As you will no doubt be aware, the plans for development of the outlying regions of the Galaxy require the building of a hyperspatial express route through your star system, and regrettably your planet is one of those scheduled for demolition. The process will take slightly less than two of your Earth minutes. Thank you."
It most certainly was ... and because it was, I rank it as one of the two* greatest true horror (not slasher, not fright, but lead-weight-in-your-gut despair) movies of all time.
* Johnny Got His Gun is its only serious competition in that field.