We finish up Thomas Norton's work 'Undermining The Constitution, A History of Lawless Government'. We get the facts in this last chapter on just how electing the President got to it's current mess. I am sure many of you will not be surprised to learn, the current 'campaign' is far removed from what the Founders left us...

....In this chapter may be found the answer to the question of James Bryce (1 The American Commonwealth, 77) as to why our Presidential Office has not been oftener filled by the most competent men. He wrote that Europeans ask and Americans do not always explain "how it happens that this great office, the greatest in the world, unless we except the Papacy, to which any one can rise by his own merits, is not more frequently filled by great and striking men."

That it should be so filled always, was the careful design of the Constitutional Convention.

Let us proceed to search out the causes of the condition which seemed strange to Bryce and which we have tolerated too long.

The constitutional government of the United States is scientific. Science is defined as classified knowledge, or the conclusions which the classification compels. The causes of all the breakdowns of governments in history were gone over in the Constitutional Convention and it was concluded that law making, law enforcing, and law interpreting must be definitely in different hands.

All national and foreign concerns were assigned to the Nation and all others were retained by the States or the people.

All officials, State and National, were put under oath to support the Constitution and observe the boundaries to power specified in it. As far as could be, men with power were chained.
https://exploringrealhistory.blogspot.com/2020/01/part-8-of-8-undermining-constitutionthe.html