presidency

pres·i·den·cy   (prěz'ĭ-dən-sē, -děn'-)    n.   pl. pres·i·den·cies The office, function, or term of a president. The office of president of a republic. The office of the President of the United States. A governing body on a local level consisting of three men. The chief administrative body of the church. Mormon Church A governing body on a local level consisting of three men. The chief administrative body of the church.

Main Entry: pres·i·den·cy
Pronunciation: 'pre-z&-d&n-sE, -"den-
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -cies
1 a : the office of president b : the office of president of the U.S.; also : the American governmental institution comprising the office of president and various associated administrative and policy-making agencies
2 : the term during which a president holds office
3 : the action or function of one that presides

presidency

chiefchief executive office of the United States. In contrast to many countries with parliamentary forms of government, where the office of president, or head of state, is mainly ceremonial, in the United States the president is vested with great authority and is arguably the most powerful elected official in the world. The nation's founders originally intended the presidency to be a narrowly restricted institution. They distrusted executive authority because their experience with colonial governors had taught them that executive power was inimical to liberty, because they felt betrayed by the actions of George III, the king of Great Britain and Ireland, and because they considered a strong executive incompatible with the republicanism embraced in the Declaration of Independence (1776). Accordingly, their revolutionary state constitutions provided for only nominal executive branches, and the Articles of Confederation (1781-89), the first "national" constitution, established no executive branch. For coverage of the 2008 election, see United States Presidential Election of 2008.

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