Was just reading this book on conservatism and the founding generation and was struck by a relevant paragraph on Presidential power and checks & balances... 
"Members of the revolutionary generation saw themselves as having overthrown a tyrant, King George III, and some were afraid that the Constitution might create a new form of tyranny. Publius explained in Fed 51 that this would be prevented through the separation of powers."
Fed 51: "In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself."
"In a nod to the principle of popular sovereignty the passage concludes: 'A dependence on the people is no doubt the primary control on government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions.'" One of those auxiliaries being the impeachment process.
Today's GOP can stan for the unitary executive & the absolute immunity of the President as much as they want, but they can't do it & still claim to have any understanding or respect for the intent of the founders, or conservative historians like Allitt who've written about them.
