POSC 101

1. The Presidency
Graphic Source

2. 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.

3. Electoral College - 2012

4. 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.

5. 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).

6. 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

7. 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 . . .‖

8. The President’s Roles
 Head of State –
ceremonial
Decorating war
heroes
Throwing out the first
pitch at games
Represents the U.S.
internationally
visiting other
countries

9. The President’s Roles
 Chief Executive
The 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.

10. The President’s Roles
Civil 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

11. Presidential Executive Departments
DEPT YEAR S NOTES 2009 BUDGET EMPLOYEES
Initially "Department of Foreign
State 1781 $ 16.39 18,900
4 Affairs"
Treasury 1789 5 $ 19.56 115,897
Interior 1849 8 $ 90.00 71,436
Agriculture 1862 9 $ 134.12 109,832
Justice 1870 7 AG 1789, but no dept until 1870 $ 46.20 112,557
Commerce 1903 10 Originally Commerce and Labor $ 15.77 43880
Labor 1913 11 $ 137.97 17,347
Initially "National Military
Defense 1947 $ 651.16 3,000,000
6 Establishment" 1947-49
Originally Health, Education, &
Health & Human Services 1953 $ 879.20 67,000
12 Welfare
Housing & Urban Development 1965 13 $ 40.53 10,600
Transportation 1966 14 $ 73.20 58,622
Energy 1977 15 $ 24.10 109,094
Education 1980 16 $ 45.40 4,487
Initially "Veterans
Veterans Affairs 1989 $ 97.70 235,000
17 Administration"
Homeland Security 2002 18 $ 40.00 208,000
Totals $3,997.80B 4,193,144

12. Presidential Appointments

13. Presidential Pardons & Reprieves
Reprieves - Formal  President Ford pardoned
postponement of the former President Richard
execution of a sentence Nixon (1974) which led to his
loss in the next election.
imposed by a court of
law.  Andrew Johnson pardoned
former Confederate officials
Pardon - Release from after the Civil War.
the punishment for, or  George H. W. Bush pardoned
legal consequences of, a members of the Reagan
crime. A pardon can be administration for Iran-Contra
granted by the president  President Clinton pardoned
before or after a 140 people on his last day in
conviction. office.

14. 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

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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,

18. 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.

19. 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, an
d meeting with congressional
leaders; influences public
opinion; and as head of the
party, exercises legislative
leadership through the
congresspersons of that party.

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. Presidential Power
Emergency Powers - The  Jimmy Carter froze
president can use emergency Iranian assets during the
powers during crises in domestic hostage crisis.
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

23. 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

24. 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.

25. 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

26. 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.

27. 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,
President Bush with former
FEMA Director Michael Brown and other social occasions.

28. Presidential Constituents
The president has
3 constituencies
The American
public
The members of his
party
The Washington
community
(Beltway insiders).

29. 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.

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

31. 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.

32. 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

33. Executive Organization
 3 Key Offices for the
Executive Office of
the President (EOP)
 The White House
 Office of
Management and
Budget
 National Security
Council

34. 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/

35. 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/

36. 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.

37. 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
Chris Klwponis/AFP/Getty Images
the president.

38. 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
AP Photo/White House, Cecil Stoughton
he or she is incapable of
performing the duties of
office, the president must
inform Congress in writing.

39. 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.

40. 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

41. The White House