We'll soon know who will occupy the White House for the next four years. If that turns out to be the candidate you opposed, don't fret: Presidents have less influence than you think.

Federalism and the Tenth Amendment give most authority to state and local government. COVID is a good example: Your governor or local school board had more impact on the measures imposed on you than the President did. And the president-elect you're aggravated with will have to share the limited power of the federal government with 535 lawmakers in Congress and several hundred federal judges and justices.

A monarchy vests government power in one person, leading to the kind of abuses that sparked American independence. Here in our constitutional republic (a more accurate term than "democracy"), authority is divided among many political actors.

In Federalist #51, James Madison called this process the "partition of power." He pointed out that strong-willed politicians will naturally struggle for influence, but with federalism and checks and balances, "ambition [will] counteract ambition."

It makes sense. Smart parents know that when there are two hungry kids hankering for the last cookie, separation of powers looks like this: One sibling........

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