"One of the positive characteristics attributed to presidentialism is accountability and identifiability. The voter in casting his ballot knows whom he or she is voting for and who will govern should this candidate win."

- Linz, The Failure of Presidential Democracy, 1994

nymag.com/intelligence...

"A presidential cabinet is less likely than its parliamentary counterpart to contain strong and independent-minded members."

-- Linz, The Perils of Presidentialism, 1990

"Given his unavoidable institutional situation, a president bids fair to become the focus for whatever exaggerated expectations his supporters may harbor."

- Juan Linz, The Perils of Presidentialism, 1990

"The pace of politics is very different under a presidential, as opposed to a parliamentary, constitution."

- Juan Linz, The Perils of Presidentialism, 1990

"all [presidential] systems are based on dual democratic legitimacy: no democratic principle exists to resolve disputes between the executive and the legislature about which of the two actually represents the will of the people"

- Juan Linz, 1994

www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/u...

"The conviction that he possesses independent authority and a popular mandate is likely to imbue a president with a sense of power and mission, even if the plurality that elected him is a slender one."

- Juan Linz, The Perils of Presidentialism, 1990

news.gallup.com/poll/655955/...

"Nothing about the presidential system guarantees that the country's voters or political leaders would have selected the vice-president to wield the powers they were willing to give to the former president."

- Juan Linz, The Perils of Presidentialism, 1990

Maybe it turns out that Juan Linz was right all along

As it turns out, the Founders were very wrong & Juan Linz was very right. And here we are, watching exactly how & why.

"The absence in presidential regimes of a monarch or a 'president of the republic' who can act symbolically as a moderating power deprives the system of flexibility and of a means of restraining power."

- Juan Linz, The Perils of Presidentialism, 1990

"The plebiscitarian component implicit in the president's authority is likely to make the obstacles and opposition he encounters seem particularly annoying."

- Juan Linz, The Perils of Presidentialism, 1990

"Among the oft-cited advantages of presidentialism is its provision for the stability of the executive."

- Juan Linz, The Perils of Presidentialism, 1990

edition.cnn.com/2025/01/29/p...

"Indeed, the vast majority of the stable democracies in the world today are parliamentary regimes, where executive power is generated by legislative majorities and depends on such majorities for survival."