1. The Presidency
Chapter 11

2. Who Can Become President?
 To win the $400,000 salary, rapidly age 20 years in 8 years,
plus gain $169,000 in free expenses and services you must:
 Be a natural born citizen of the United States
 Be at least 35 years old
 Been a resident within the United States for at least 14 years

3. 1992 2000
Bill Clinton

4. 2000 2008
George W. Bush

5. Overview: Model of the Framers
 Presidential Power
 Directed
 Executor of laws passed by Congress
 Appoints, but with the advice and consent of the Senate
 Commander of troops called into action by a Congressional Declaration
of War
 Little or no initiative
 Law-making power of the president can be traced to Article II, Section 3
 “He shall recommend to Congress…the consideration [of] such measures as
he shall judge necessary and expedient”
 Basically, the president can recommend legislation that he feels is important

6. Hamilton Regarding the Executive
Branch
 Federalist #70
 A strong and energetic executive branch requires unity, duration
in office, adequate resources, and sufficient power
 Hamilton argues against a plural executive (more than one
president)
 “tends to conceal faults, and destroy responsibility”
 Singular presidents are better suited to wield the full potential of his
power in a quick and effective way
 Additionally, a singular president does not have to deal with endless
arguments and disputes with other executives with the same power

7. Many Roles of the President
 President has 5 constitutional roles
 Head of State
 Chief Executive
 Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces
 Chief Diplomat
 Chief Legislator of the United States

8. Many Roles of the President
 Head of State – role of the president as ceremonial head of
the government
 Symbolic activities
 Decorating war heroes
 Dedicating parks and post offices
 Receiving visiting heads of state at the White House
 Going on official state visits to other countries
 Representing the nation at times of national mourning
 9/11
 Hurricane Katrina

9. Many Roles of the President
 Chief Executive – role of the president as head of the
executive branch of the government
 President is constitutionally bound to enforce the acts of
Congress, the judgments of federal courts, and treaties
signed by the United States
 “Duty to faithfully execute the laws” is typically seen as a
source of great constitutional power for the president

10. Many Roles of the President
 As Chief Executive, the president has a federal bureaucracy
consisting of 2 million federal civilian employees
 However, the president has little to do with the day-to-day
functions as most of these positions are filled by civil service
employees
 Civil Service – a collective term for the body of employees
working for the government
 Applies to all those who gain governmental employment through a
merit system
 The president cannot use his appointment power to recommend civil
service employees

11. Many Roles of the President
 However, the president has appointment power over jobs for
the cabinet, subcabinet, federal judgeships, agency
heads, and several thousand lesser jobs
 Appointment power – the authority vested in the president to fill a
government office or position

12. Many Roles of the President
 Commander in Chief – the role of the president as supreme
commander of the military forces of the United States and the
state National Guard units when they are called into federal
service
 President is the ultimate decision maker in military affairs
 Presidents have exercised more authority in this capacity than
any other role

13. Many Roles of the President
 War Powers Resolution – law passed in 1973 spelling out the
conditions under which the president can commit troops
without congressional approval
 Requires the president to actively consult with Congress when
sending American forces into action
 Once troops are sent, the president must report the deployment
to Congress within 48 hours
 Unless Congress approves the use of troops within 60 days or
extends the 60 day limit to 90 days, the troops must be
withdrawn
 This legislation was primarily a response to American
involvement in Vietnam during the 1960s

14. Many Roles of the President
 Chief Diplomat – role of the president in recognizing foreign
governments, making treaties, and effective executive
agreements
 President can extend diplomatic recognition (or refuse it) to
foreign governments
 President can negotiate treaties with other nations, but the
Senate must approve it by a 2/3s vote
 Successful treaty – Clinton and NAFTA (1993)
 Unsuccessful treaty – Wilson and the League of Nations (1919)

15. Many Roles of the President
 Chief Legislator – role of the president in influencing the
making of laws
 Presidents in the 20th century have increasingly played a
prominent role in creating legislative agendas
 State of the Union address – annual message to Congress in
which the president proposes a legislative program
 Message addressed to Congress, the American people, and the world
 Its impact on public opinion determines the way in which Congress will
respond to the president’s agenda

16. The President and Legislation
 Responding to legislation
 If the bill is signed by the president, it becomes law
 If the bill is not signed after 10 Congressional working days, it
becomes law without the president’s signature
 The president can reject the bill and send it back to Congress
with a veto message indicating his/her issues with the bill
 Congress can then change the bill to secure presidential approval, or
 Congress can reject the president’s objection and override the veto with
a 2/3s vote in both the House and Senate

17. The President and Legislation
 Responding to legislation
 Pocket Veto -- If the president refuses to sign a bill and Congress
adjourns within 10 working days after the bill has been submitted
to the president, the bill is killed for that session of Congress
 Line-item Veto – allows the president to veto individual lines or
items within a piece of legislation without vetoing the entire bill

18. Other Presidential Powers
 Constitutional Powers – power vested in the president by
Article II of the Constitution
 Statutory Powers – powers created for the president through
laws enacted by Congress
 Expressed Powers – powers of the president that is
expressly written into the Constitution or into statutory law

19. Other Presidential Powers
 Inherent Powers – powers of the president derived from the
statements in the Constitution
 “the executive Power shall be vested in a President”
 President should “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed”
 Essentially powers defined through practice rather than law
 Emergency powers are a prime example
 Emergency Powers – inherent power exercised by the president
during a period of national crisis
 FDR – Japanese internment during WWII
 GW Bush – Patriot Act and other necessary means to fight the war
on terror

20. The Institutional Presidency
 The Modern Presidency is Institutional
 Circumscribed by rules, expectations, and organizations
 The presidency is now a leadership role
 Budgetary power and legislative agenda-setting
 The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921
 Established the framework for the modern federal budget
 Essentially gives the president the first strike in budgetary politics
 Created the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
 Created the Government Accountability Office (GAO)
 Non-partisan audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of Congress

21. F.D.R. and the Institutional
Presidency
 Agenda-Setting: The first “Hundred Days”
 Set a standard that virtually all presidents attempt to adhere to
 Personal Presidency
 Electoral connection
 Use of media
 “Fireside Chats”
 President as the national savior
 President as party leader
 Begins with Theodore Roosevelt and becomes institutionalized with
Woodrow Wilson

22. Presidential Influence
 Authority is important but power means more than authority
 The president is powerless unless he/she has the power to persuade
others of their views
 19th century model of the presidency was one of clerkship
 The president followed Congressional orders and executed laws
 20th century model is all about new possibilities for persuasion
 Institutions and bureaucratization take a backseat for TV, Internet,
radio, national media, etc.
 Where are we now?
 The persuasiveness of the individual occupying the executive office
is more important today than in the past

23. Going Public
 A president “promotes himself and his policies in Washington
by appealing to the American public for support”
 How does he/she do this?
 General public appeal (TV, Internet, radio, national media)
 Going to specific constituencies (or interest groups) where swing
votes for legislation lie
 Unique presidential strategy
 Aside from the few members of Congress who gain a national
following, only the president can appeal to the whole public

24. Does Going Public Work?
 Optimistic View
 Presidents get a boost in the legislative agenda for programs that
they mention in their State of the Union address
 Pessimistic View
 Underestimating the public’s reaction can have disastrous effects
on legislative agenda
 Overall
 Before going public, a president must be sure that
 They have public opinion on their side
 A counter-mobilization (cohesive opposition) will not occur

25. The Cabinet
 The Cabinet – an advisory group selected by the president to
aid in making decisions
 Includes 15 heads of executive departments and others named
by the president
 Originally included secretaries of state, treasury, war, and the
attorney general
 Neither the Constitution nor statutory law requires the president
to consult with the cabinet
 It is a purely discretionary group

26. The Vice Presidency
 The Constitution does not give much power to the Vice
President
 Only format duty is to preside as president of the Senate
 He/she is expected to participate only informally unless he/she is
breaking a tie
 Presidents traditionally have chosen VP nominees that help
balance the ticket, attract groups of voters, or appease party
factions
 Lincoln choosing Southerner Andrew Johnson in 1864
 Kennedy choosing Texan Lyndon B. Johnson in 1960

27. The Vice Presidency
 Presidential Succession
 8 VPs have become president after the death of a president
 John Tyler “His Accidency” was the first
 Andrew Johnson was probably the worst
 The Constitution is rather vague on presidential succession in
cases of permanent/long-term disability
 Article II, Section 1 – “in Case of the Removal of the President from
Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers
and Duties of the said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice
President.”
 25th Amendment – 1967 amendment that establishes procedures
for filling presidential and vice presidential vacancies and makes
provisions for presidential incapacity