The situation which confronted Cleveland when he became President
was so complicated and embarrassing that perhaps even the most
sagacious and resourceful statesman could not have coped with it
successfully, though it is the characteristic of genius to
accomplish the impossible. But Cleveland was no genius; he was
not even a man of marked talent. He was stanch, plodding,
laborious, and dutiful; but he was lacking in ability to
penetrate to the heart of obscure political problems and to deal
with primary causes rather than with effects. The great successes
of his administration were gained in particular problems whose
significance had already been clearly defined. In this field,
Cleveland's resolute and energetic performance of duty had
splendid results.

At the time of Cleveland's inauguration as President, the Senate
claimed an extent of authority which, if allowed to go
unchallenged, would have turned the Presidency into an office
much like that of the doge of Venice, one of ceremonial dignity
without real power. "The Federalist"--that matchless collection
of constitutional essays written by Hamilton, Madison, and
Jay--laid down the doctrine that "against the enterprising
ambition" of the legislative department "the people ought to
indulge all their jealousy and exhaust all their precautions."
But some of the precautions taken in framing the Constitution
proved ineffectual from the start. The right conferred upon the
President to recommend to the consideration of Congress "such
measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient," was emptied
of practical importance by the success of Congress in
interpreting it as meaning no more than that the President may
request Congress to take a subject into consideration. In