Political majorities and their visionary superintendents are the archenemies of Madison’s constitutional republic. For his part, Madison purported to preempt popular tyranny by propagating factionalism, checking vice with vice in what Henry F. May calls a “complex masterpiece of balance.” But if the Constitution is fundamentally anti-majoritarian, then where does this leave the President of the United States, the man elected by a majority (usually) and expected by that majority to take meaningful political action in furtherance of his stated campaign agenda? The short answer is that it leaves him in a very difficult position indeed.