The Presidency

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Who can be President?

Article II, Section I of the Constitution. U. S. Citizen Minimum age 35 14 year minimum

residence requirement Average age has been 54

and most are white wealthy males.

Electoral College - 2012

Electoral College

Article 2, Section 1 of the U. S. Constitution created the Electoral College. Each state receives as many electoral votes as it has senators and representatives. Electoral college participants may not be members of Congress. Therefore, each state, including the District of Columbia, will have at least three electors. 

Electoral College

4 times in US history presidential candidates have won the popular vote and lost the electoral college. 1824 John Quincy Adams picked by the

House when Andrew Jackson won both, but not by a clear majority.

1876 Rutherford B. Hayes over Samuel J. Tilden.

1888 Benjamin Harrison over Grover Cleveland

2008 George W. Bush over Al Gore (a case that went to the Supreme Court).

Electoral College

If there’s no clear majority the constitution requires the House of Representatives to decide (has happened twice).

In 1800 Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied.

In 1824 there was a three-way tie among William H. Crawford, Andrew Jackson, and John Quincy Adams

Electoral College – The 12th Amendment

“… if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice . . .”

The President’s Roles

Head of State – ceremonialDecorating war

heroesThrowing out the first

pitch at gamesRepresents the U.S.

internationally visiting other countries

The President’s Roles

Chief ExecutiveThe president is

constitutionally bound to enforce acts of Congress, the judgments of federal courts, and the treaties signed by the United States as well as issue statements.

The President’s RolesCivil Servant Power

Civil Service - A collective term for the body of employees working for the government.

Appointment Power - Authority to fill a government office or position. Positions filled by presidential appointment include: the executive branch and the federal judiciary, commissioned officers in the armed forces, and members of the independent regulatory commissions.

Removal Power - Can remove all heads of cabinet departments, individuals within the EOP, and political appointees

Presidential Executive DepartmentsDEPT YEAR S NOTES 2009 BUDGET EMPLOYEES

State 17814

Initially "Department of Foreign Affairs"

$ 16.39 18,900

Treasury 1789 5 $ 19.56 115,897Interior 1849 8 $ 90.00 71,436

Agriculture 1862 9 $ 134.12 109,832Justice 1870 7 AG 1789, but no dept until 1870 $ 46.20 112,557

Commerce 1903 10 Originally Commerce and Labor $ 15.77 43880Labor 1913 11 $ 137.97 17,347

Defense 19476

Initially "National Military Establishment" 1947-49

$ 651.16 3,000,000

Health & Human Services 195312

Originally Health, Education, & Welfare

$ 879.20 67,000

Housing & Urban Development 1965 13 $ 40.53 10,600Transportation 1966 14 $ 73.20 58,622

Energy 1977 15 $ 24.10 109,094Education 1980 16 $ 45.40 4,487

Veterans Affairs 198917

Initially "Veterans Administration"

$ 97.70 235,000

Homeland Security 2002 18 $ 40.00 208,000Totals $3,997.80B 4,193,144

Presidential Appointments

Presidential Pardons & Reprieves

Reprieves - Formal postponement of the execution of a sentence imposed by a court of law.

Pardon - Release from the punishment for, or legal consequences of, a crime. A pardon can be granted by the president before or after a conviction.

President Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon (1974) which led to his loss in the next election.

Andrew Johnson pardoned former Confederate officials after the Civil War.

George H. W. Bush pardoned members of the Reagan administration for Iran-Contra

President Clinton pardoned 140 people on his last day in office.

Commander in Chief

The president “shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States”. (Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution)

Civilian control of the military

Chief

Wartime Powers Presidents have exercised more

authority in their capacity as commander in chief than in any other role, and can send the armed forces into a country in situations that are the equivalent of war.

Congress passed the War Powers Act in 1973 spelling out when the President can act without Congressional approval.

Chief Diplomat

Advice and Consent - Terms in the Constitution describing the U.S. Senate’s power to review and approve treaties and presidential appointments.

Chief Diplomat - The role of the president in recognizing foreign governments, making treaties, and effecting executive agreements.

Chief Diplomat

Diplomatic recognition is the power to recognize or refuse to recognize foreign governments.

Proposal and ratification of treaties.

Recent treaty efforts include S. Korean trade, Russian Arms Reduction.

Executive Agreements - International agreement made without senatorial ratification,

Chief Legislator

The president is responsible for recommending to Congress legislation judged necessary and expedient and creating a congressional agenda.

State of the Union - Annual message to Congress in which the president proposes a legislative program addressed to Congress, the American people and the world.

Chief Legislator

The president can propose legislation, but Congress is not required to pass or even introduce any of the administration’s bills.

The president attempts to use persuasion, calling, writing, and meeting with congressional leaders; influences public opinion; and as head of the party, exercises legislative leadership through the congresspersons of that party.

Chief Legislator – Veto Power Veto Message - Formal explanation of a veto. Pocket Veto - Special veto exercised by the

chief executive after a legislative body has adjourned. Bills not signed by the chief executive die after a specified period of time. If Congress wishes to reconsider such a bill, it must be reintroduced in the following session of Congress.

Line-Item Veto - Power of an executive to veto individual lines or items within a piece of legislation without vetoing the entire bill.

Congress has the power to override the president’s veto by a super majority in each chamber.

Presidential Power

Constitutional Power - Power vested in the president by Article II of the Constitution.

Statutory Power - Power created for the president through laws enacted by Congress.

Expressed Power - Power of the president that is expressly written into the Constitution or into statutory law.

Inherent Power - Power of the president derived from the statements in the Constitution that “the executive power shall be vested in a president” and that the president should “take care that the laws be faithfully executed”; defined through practice rather than through law.

Presidential Power

Emergency Powers - The president can use emergency powers during crises in domestic and foreign affairs.Lincoln suspended “habeas

corpus and issued military funds during succession.

FDR stopped people from withdrawing from banks and exporting of gold and silver.

Woodrow Wilson seized the steel mills.

1976 National Emergencies Act

Jimmy Carter froze Iranian assets during the hostage crisis.

Presidential Power

Executive Orders -

Congress allows the president to issue executive orders that have the force of law. They can enforce legislative

status Enforce the Constitution or

treaties with foreign nations All executive orders must

be published in the daily Federal Register

http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/2011.html

Presidential Power

Executive Privilege - The ability of the president and president’s executive officials to withhold information from or refuse to appear before Congress or the courts.

Limiting executive privilege (United States v. Nixon,1974) - The Supreme court ruled executive privilege could not be used to prevent evidence from bring heard in criminal proceedings.

Abuse of Presidential Power

The Twenty-second Amendment (1951) prevents the president from serving a third term in office.

Impeachment - an action by the House of Representatives to accuse the president, vice president, or other civil officers of the United States of committing “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

AP Photo/Bob Daughtery

Abuse of Presidential Power

The House votes to impeach the officer, it draws up articles of impeachments and submits them to the Senate, which conducts the actual trial. Andrew Johnson was

impeached by the House, but acquitted by the Senate.

President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House but not convicted by the Senate.

Political Party Chief

Presidents extend political power to disciplined party members who support presidential policies through rewarding faithful party workers and followers with government employment and contacts (or contracts). As lead fundraiser, the president is able to draw large crowds of donors for the party through appearances at dinners, speaking engagements, and other social occasions.

President Bush with former FEMA Director Michael Brown

Presidential Constituents

The president has 3 constituenciesThe American

public

The members of his party

The Washington community (Beltway insiders).

Presidents “Going Public”

Presidents go over the heads of congress by “going public” which makes compromises with Congress much more difficult and weakens legislators’ positions. The social media capabilities are endless as new forms like Tweeter, Facebook, YouTube, and phone applications make it easier to reach out directly to the public attempting to influence society.

Presidential Popularity

http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/Presidential-Approval-Center.aspx

Executive Organization

The Cabinet - Includes the heads of fifteen executive departments and others named by the president. Originally, the cabinet consisted of only four officials—secretaries of state, treasury, and war, and the attorney general. Today, the cabinet numbers fourteen department secretaries and the attorney general.

Executive Organization

President Obama added seven additional members to the cabinet. Vice president Chair of the Council of

Economic Advisers (CEA) Administrator of the EPA United States Trade

Representative (USTR) U.S. Ambassador to the

U.N. White House Chief of Staff

Executive Organization

3 Key Offices for the Executive Office of the President (EOP) The White House Office of

Management and Budget

National Security Council

Executive Organization

Key White House Staff Legal council, secretary,

press secretary, and appointments secretary

Chief of Staff - The person who is named to direct the White House Office and advise the president (formerly Chicago Mayor Rohm Emanuel and currently Bill Daley).

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Executive Organization

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Has broad fiscal powers

in planning and estimating various parts of the federal budget

Is a clearinghouse for legislative proposals initiative in the executive agencies

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/

Executive Management

National Security Council (NSC) - Its regular attendees (both statutory and non-statutory) are:

the Vice President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, and the Assistant to the President for

National Security Affairs. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the statutory

military advisor to the Council, and the Director of National Intelligence is the intelligence advisor.

The Chief of Staff to the President, Counsel to the President, and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy are invited to attend any NSC meeting.

Vice President

The formal duty of the VP is to preside over the senate.

The VP is expected to participate when there is a tie vote.

Cannot be from the same state as the president.

Traditionally chosen by presidential nominees to balance the ticket both by location and politically ideology.

Eight vice presidents have become president because of the death of the president. Chris Klwponis/AFP/Getty Images

Vice President

Originally, there was no formal language for vacancies due to death.

In 1967, the Twenty-fifth Amendment was passed, establishing procedures in the event of presidential incapacity.

When a president believes that he or she is incapable of performing the duties of office, the president must inform Congress in writing.

AP Photo/White House, Cecil Stoughton

Succession

The Twenty-fifth Amendment states in Section Two, “Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall be confirmed by a majority in both Houses of Congress.”

President Nixon’s first VP resigned because of alleged receipt of construction contract kickbacks as governor of Maryland, so Nixon chose Gerald Ford as VP.

Succession

If the president and vice president die, resign, or are disabled, the Speaker of the House will become president, after resigning from Congress.

Next in line is the president pro tem of the Senate

The White House