Commander In Chief

Can we all get something straight?

There seems to be a large number of people who do not understand what the term "Commander In Chief" means, and the White House seems happy to blur the distinction.

The President serves as Commander In Chief of the Armed Forces. Period. It basically means that in the chain of command of (for example) the Army, he is the highest ranking individual (even though he is a civilian).

In fact, the relevant text of Article II of the U.S. Constitution says:

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States;

That’s it, that’s the only reference to the phrase “Commander in Chief” in the Constitution. So arguably, the President may NOT be the Commander in Chief of the Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or National Guard (although they might well be included under the “Militia of the several States” clause).

But the point is, more and more I’m seeing people use the term “Commander in Chief” as though it conveys some dictatorial power upon the President, as though it gives him the right to give orders to anyone in the nation. I’ve even seen people refer to President Bush as “the Commander in Chief of the United States”, which elides over the very important words “Army and Navy of the”.

Presidents, whether Democratic or Republican, are not kings, dictators nor gods. There are limits to their power, and if we’re going to reference the President’s Commander-in-Chief title, we darn well need to also recognize the existing limits on that title.

Yes, in the grand scheme of things, a petty little battle of semantics may seem beneath concern, but unfortunately we’re living in an era of carefully crafted modes of speech, crafting perception of reality based on words which do not accurately describe reality. So while the omission of "Army and Navy of the” from the C-in-C title may seem trivial, it is more likely a small part of an intentional effort to get the words out there so that more and more people will start to believe the President has more power than he is either Constitutionally granted or allowed.

Liam.