The challenges of the presidency: could you lead the most powerful nation in the world? (USA).

Before George Washington was sworn in as the nation's first President, he predicted that the experience would be like "entering an unexplored field, enveloped on every side with clouds and darkness."

Despite that somber outlook, many people want the chance to lead the world's richest and most powerful nation. Individuals who run for the presidency are hungry for the unique opportunity to shape our nation and the world.

When George W. Bush, then Governor of Texas, campaigned for President, he promised to lower taxes, strengthen the U.S. economy, and improve schools. Meanwhile, his foreign-policy objectives were modest.

"I think the United States must be humble," Bush said, "in how we treat nations that are figuring out how to chart their own course.

That vision changed radically after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. Suddenly, President Bush was engaged in a new battle--against global terrorism. "It is the calling of our time," he said, "a fight between good and evil."

In October 2001, the U.S. waged war against Afghanistan's Taliban government. The Taliban had harbored terrorists from the Al Qaeda network, including Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11 attacks.

With U.S. forces still in Afghanistan, the President is now preparing for a possible attack against Iraq. That country is believed to possess chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. Bush has said that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who may have ties to terrorists, must be removed from power.

The Bush administration is facing many other challenges abroad, including North Korea's nuclear-weapons program, violence between Israelis and Palestinians, and recent clashes between two nuclear powers, India and Pakistan.

On the Home Front

What about the domestic issues that President Bush made central to his campaign? Now that he has the support of a Republican-controlled Congress, Bush hopes to stimulate the struggling economy, open the Arctic wilderness to oil exploration, and reform Social Security and Medicare.

His other goals include developing an effective missile defense shield (see "Star Wars," p. 5), protecting the U.S. against biological attacks, securing U.S. borders, and filling federal court vacancies.

Despite criticism for his aggressive handling of Iraq, President Bush has won the support of many Americans. Recent polls put his job approval rating at 67 percent.

Lonely at the Top

All Presidents have Cabinet members and other advisers to help them govern the nation. But the Chief Executive is responsible for the final decisions. That can make the job a lonely one.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt pulled the nation out of the Great Depression, when 10 million Americans were unemployed. After agonizing for weeks, President Harry S. Truman ordered the use of nuclear bombs against Japan in 1945. And President John F. Kennedy faced the possibility of World War III during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The decisions a President makes under pressure are often criticized. Many citizens currently believe that the new restrictions on civil liberties are too harsh.

The USA Patriot Act, for example, empowers the government to conduct secret searches, monitor individual e-mail accounts, eavesdrop on discussions between lawyers and their clients, and detain and deport individuals without providing evidence.

President Bush has defended such policies by saying that the U.S. is fighting a war on terrorism.

History shows that a President's power increases during wartime. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus (the right of a person held in prison to appear in court). Anyone who publicly expressed support for the Confederacy could have been arrested, denied his or her right to a trial, and held indefinitely.

During World War II, President Roosevelt authorized the U.S. military to relocate more than 120,000 Japanese-Americans and some Italian-Americans to detention camps. These individuals, who were innocent of wrongdoing, lost their homes, jobs, and businesses.

Both Lincoln and Roosevelt were criticized later for their actions.

Experience of a Lifetime

Although the President's job comes with awesome responsibilities, it has many rewards. To be the U.S. President is to be the most powerful person in the world. President Bush says that it is also the "experience of a lifetime."

Do you think you could lead the nation? Would you want to?