Chapters 8 & 9

The Presidency

8-1

President and Vice-President

Qualifications for President

Formal: • Natural born citizen of U.S.• 35 years old• resident of US for 14 years before taking

office

Qualifications for President

Informal: • Government experience• Money – ability to raise• Political beliefs – moderate • Personal characteristics – generally male married WASPs

Succession

1. Vice-President

2. Speaker

3. President Pro-Tempore

4. Secretary of State

5. Cabinet secretaries, in order that department were first created

Vice President’s Role

According to Constitution:• Preside over Senate and vote in case of a tie• Helps decide if the president is disabled and

acts as president should that happen

Actual:• Whatever the president assigns

8-2

Electing the President

Electoral College

Originally:• Electors voted for two candidates of their

party. • Candidate with highest vote was president;

the other was vice president

1804 – 12th Amendment• President and VP voted for separately

1820’s• States began putting presidential candidates

on ballot; electors chosen by popular vote

Electoral College

Why?• It was a compromise between

those who wanted the legislature to choose the president, and those who wanted popular vote.

Electoral College

How does it work?• When you vote for a presidential

candidate on the ballot, you are actually voting for electors.

• The electors’ names may or may not be on the ballot.

• The electors meet in December in the state capital to officially cast their votes.

Electoral College

In case of a tie:• Election goes to House of

Representatives.• Each state gets one vote (no matter

what their population).• If the representatives are unable to

agree on a candidate, they lose their vote.

Electoral College

Issues: • “Winner takes all” system.

– Margin of victory does not matter.• Winner of popular vote may not win electoral

vote.– This has happened four times.– Happens when the loser has a larger margin

of victory in the states he wins, thus gaining popular votes, but does not win in enough states to have sufficient electoral votes.

2004 Elections Map

2004 Elections Cartogram

Electoral College

Issues: • “Faithless electors”

– An elector is not legally obliged to vote for his party.

– Occasionally an elector defects.

Electoral College

Arguments against:• Candidate can win the popular vote but

lose the election.• If there is a tie, the election is decided

unfairly, because populous states have the same vote as small states.

• It favors republicans, who predominate in less populous states.

Electoral College

Arguments for:• With popular elections, candidates would

focus on areas with high concentrations of population.

• With the electoral college, a candidate must win a large number of states to win.

• Popular elections would erode federalism; they would take away states’ rights.

Quotes from Famous Inaugural Speeches

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt, during Great Depression

“ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”- John F. Kennedy

8-3The Cabinet

Two Main Jobs

1) Advise the President

2) Administer large bureaucracies

Selection

• Nominees often selected before president-elect takes office.

• Nominees must be approved by the Senate. Generally they are approved.

• Nominees names are often deliberately “leaked” to the press to gauge Congress’ and the public’s response.

Selection Considerations

• Background in field of the department• Satisfy interest groups• High level administrative skills and

experience• Geographic balance in cabinet• Race and gender balance in cabinet• They need to be willing to take the job

Role of Cabinet

• Usually meet with the president once per week or less.

• “Inner cabinet” – Secretaries of state, defense, treasury and attorney general.

• They may compete with or not agree with each other on policy.

• They may have conflicting loyalties – president, department, interest groups.

Names

• Secretary of War Secretary of Defense

• Secretary of State Secretary of Foreign Affairs??

8-4Executive Office

Selection

• Usually longtime supporters of president

• Do not require senate confirmation

Reputation

Secretaries and top advisors may be:• Highly respected

– Henry Kissinger won Nobel Prize

• Loved or hated– Donald Rumsfeld left office

• Celebrities or unknowns

Chapter 9Presidential Leadership

9-1Presidential Powers

Presidential Powers in Constitution

• Commander-in-Chief• Appoints executive department heads• Conducts foreign policy• Appoints federal judges• May pardon people convicted of federal

crimes or reduce prison sentences or fines• Makes sure Congress’ laws are “faithfully

executed”• Delivers annual State of the Union address• May call Congress into special session

Limits on Presidential Powers

• Congress – overrides of vetoes• Courts – judicial review• Bureaucracy – may be unintentional• Public Opinion – may prevent reelection

9-2Roles of the President