The powers of the president are extensive. Executive actions are effective changes of the law without Congressional approval. He has direct control of our armed forces, can grant amnesty, commutations, reprieves, and even pardons. He can establish informal treaties with foreign leaders (executive agreements) without Congressional approval; he can choose not to disclose information deemed to be a matter of national security (executive privilege). He appoints any vacancies in the Supreme Court; appoints the head of the major departments of the United States which are responsible for a huge portion of the American bureaucracy. Perhaps most obvious of all, he is able to veto laws that have been passed by Congress and, in today's divided Congress, effectively kill them. Obama is no monarch, but he is the president, and that office has tremendous power that he can utilize to achieve his policy goals without shredding the constitution.