The president operates within a system of separate institutions that share power. Without congressional authorization and funding, most presidential proposals are nothing but ideas, empty of action. Theodore Roosevelt longed to "be the president and Congress, too" if only for a day, so that he would have the power to adopt as well as propose programs. Whether a president's initiatives are likely to succeed or fail depends on several factors, including the force of circumstance, the stage of the president's term, the president's support in Congress, and the level of public support for the president's leadership