[Wolfstar]

There's that little "advice and consent" thing in there too, which Hamilton (in the Federalist) said was there to, among other things, prevent the President from picking his friends and cronies.

You can hold the street language. You're right, and I discussed the advise and consent role in a later post on this thread. However, while the senate can say yea or nay to the president's nominee, it is the president in whom the Constitution invests the trust and authority to choose nominees. The senate never has the proactive role, only the reactive one.

[SpringheelJack]

You can hold the street language. You're right, and I discussed the advise and consent role in a later post on this thread. However, while the senate can say yea or nay to the president's nominee, it is the president in whom the Constitution invests the trust and authority to choose nominees. The senate never has the proactive role, only the reactive one.

What I objected to was your claim that the Constitution said in essence, "Trust the president." That is not the case. The Constitution calls for the president's choice to be scrutinized, and if it does not pass, rejected.