To the editor:

It had been suggested that Executive Orders define a President’s “Emperor” status, and a quick check with the American Presidency Project (www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/orders.php) tells us that President Obama may be short of qualifications. However, he could use the precedence set by previous office holders to justify the issuance of additional EO’s.

Since WW II we’ve had several “Emperors” in the White House (listed in order of the average number of EO’s issued per year):

– Truman:117

– Carter: 80

– JFK: 75

– Ford: 69

– Johnson: 63

– Nixon:?62

– Eisenhower: 61

– Reagan:?48

– Clinton: 46

– Bush #1: 42

– Bush #2: 36

– Obama:?33

To become a significant member of this fraternity, Obama needs to grow the number of EO’s issued during his last two years in office. Perhaps an ineffective Congress could provide some incentive.

Ron Lueth

Bokeelia