Magleby chapter11 ppt
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This document outlines the presidency, including the constitutional foundations and roles of the president, controversies surrounding executive power, functions of the White House staff and executive branch offices, roles of the president, sources of conflict with Congress, and factors that influence judgments of presidents. It discusses the separation of powers, evolution of presidential power, and managing the modern presidency within the executive branch. The main roles of the president discussed are as chief executive, commander-in-chief, chief diplomat, administrator, and agenda setter through public persuasion.
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Magleby chapter11 ppt
- 2. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. The Presidency 11 The Presidency
- 3. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11Learning Objectives 11.1 11.2 Describe the constitutional foundations and primary roles of the presidency Evaluate the controversies surrounding presidents’ assertion of additional executive powers
- 4. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11Learning Objectives 11.3 11.4 Outline the functions of the White House staff, Executive Office of the President, cabinet, and vice president Characterize the various roles that presidents play
- 5. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11 11.5 11.6 Identify the sources of presidential- congressional conflict and the tools presidents use to influence Congress Identify the factors that influence judgments about presidents Learning Objectives
- 6. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Structure and Powers of the Presidency Presidency and the Separation of Powers Framers and the Presidency Presidential Powers Presidential Removal and Succession 11.1
- 7. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Vietnam War Protest 11.1
- 8. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.1 Presidency and the Separation of Powers Powers in Constitution Run executive branch Wage wars declared by Congress Report to Congress on State of the Union Nominate judges and executive appointees Negotiate treaties Parliamentary governments
- 9. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.1 Framers and the Presidency Single executive Electoral College Twenty-Second Amendment (1951) Qualifications for office Presidential ticket Twelfth Amendment (1804)
- 10. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Presidential Powers 11.1 Vesting clause Commander in Chief
- 11. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.1
- 12. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.1 Diplomat in Chief Treaty Executive agreements Congressional-executive agreements Administrator in Chief Presidential Powers
- 13. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.1 Additional Executive Powers Appointment power Recess appointments Veto power Pocket veto Pardon power Take Care power Inherent powers Power to inform and convene Congress Signing statements Presidential Powers
- 14. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.1 Presidential Removal and Succession Impeachment Johnson 1868 Clinton 1998 Twenty-Fifth Amendment (1967)
- 15. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Johnson takes the Oath of Office on Air Force One 11.1
- 16. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.1 Presidents have power to do all of the following except 11.1 a. negotiate treaties b. deploy armed forces c. declare war d. veto legislation
- 17. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.1 Presidents have power to do all of the following except 11.1 a. negotiate treaties b. deploy armed forces c. declare war d. veto legislation
- 18. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.2 Controversies in Presidential Power War Power Power to Invoke Executive Privilege Power to Issue Executive Orders Power to Submit a Budget to Congress Evolution of Presidential Power
- 19. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.2 War Power Declaring war versus waging war War Powers Resolution (1973) Reassertion of Congressional authority
- 20. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.2 Power to Invoke Executive Privilege Power to keep secrets in the national interest Protect national security Private discussions with advisers about public policy Nixon takes it too far
- 21. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Guantanamo prisoners 11.2
- 22. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.2 Power to Issue Executive Orders Executive orders Force of law, without Congress Executive memoranda Less formal directives
- 23. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. FIGURE 11-1: Average Number of Executive Orders Issued Each Year, by President 11.2
- 24. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.2 Power to Submit a Budget to Congress Budgeting and Accounting Act of 1921 Impoundment Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Line item veto Declared unconstitutional (1998)
- 25. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.2 Evolution of Presidential Power Steady growth of presidential power How prescient were the framers? Significant expansion under Lincoln, FDR
- 26. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. New Deal Works Project Mural 11.2
- 27. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.2 The War Powers Resolution states that the president can deploy troops 11.2 a. only after Congress declares war b. after specific statutory authorization c. if the U.S. or its troops are attacked d. all of the above
- 28. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.2 The War Powers Resolution states that the president can deploy troops 11.2 a. only after Congress declares war b. after specific statutory authorization c. if the U.S. or its troops are attacked d. all of the above
- 29. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.3 Managing the Presidency White House Staff Executive Office of the President Cabinet Vice Presidency
- 30. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.3 White House Staff White House bureaucracy Competitive approach: fight for access Collegial approach: groupthink “Policy czars” Hierarchical approach: tight control Chief of Staff Political versus policy offices
- 31. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.3 Executive Office of the President (EOP) National Security Council (NSC) Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
- 32. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. FIGURE 11-2: Executive Office of the President 11.3
- 33. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.3 Cabinet Washington’s cabinet had four people Obama’s cabinet has 21 members Traditional, not obligatory
- 34. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.3 Vice Presidency Balancing the ticket Increasing role in modern presidency Cheney Biden
- 35. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.3 What is the main duty of the Council of Economic Advisors? 11.3 a. Advise the president on banking regulations b. Advise the president and Congress on trade c. Advise the president on economic policy d. Advise the president on intelligence
- 36. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.3 What is the main duty of the Council of Economic Advisors? 11.3 a. Advise the president on banking regulations b. Advise the president and Congress on trade c. Advise the president on economic policy d. Advise the president on intelligence
- 37. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.4 President’s Job Presidents as Morale Builders Presidents as Agenda Setters Presidents as Persuaders An Impossible Job?
- 38. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. TABLE11-1: What Can Presidents Change? 11.4
- 39. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.4 Presidents as Morale Builders Chief of state Morale builder FDR’s fireside chats
- 40. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.4 2012 election night rally
- 41. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.4 Presidents as Agenda Setters Economic policy Social policy National security policy
- 42. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.4 Presidents as Persuaders Presidential power is the power to persuade (Richard Neustadt) Going public
- 43. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.4 An Impossible Job? Federal government growing Partisan conflict increasing Public trust waning Politicians don’t have nation’s interests at heart Government can’t do anything right
- 44. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.4 What is considered the president’s chief resource? 11.4 a. the power to persuade b. the ability to set agenda c. the right to deliver a State of the Union address d. the ability to know what the public wants
- 45. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.4 What is considered the president’s chief resource? 11.4 a. the power to persuade b. the ability to set agenda c. the right to deliver a State of the Union address d. the ability to know what the public wants
- 46. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.5 Congress and the Presidency Why Presidents and Congress Disagree Influencing Congress
- 47. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.5 Why Presidents and Congress Disagree Competing constituencies Competing calendars Competing campaigns
- 48. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. President Jimmy Carter 11.5
- 49. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.5 Influencing Congress Presidential support score Presidential mandates Public approval Political capital Rally points Reputation
- 50. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. FIGURE 11-3: Presidential Approval Ratings, 1953-2012 11.5
- 51. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.5 Why might a senator from an opposing party vote for a proposal of a popular president? 11.5 a. To feel like a part of a legislative victory b. To generate donations for the next election c. To discourage election challengers by voting for a popular policy d. To win favor with the president and gain greater likelihood of support for personal policies
- 52. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.5 a. To feel like a part of a legislative victory b. To generate donations for the next election c. To discourage election challengers by voting for a popular policy d. To win favor with the president and gain greater likelihood of support for personal policies 11.5 Why might a senator from an opposing party vote for a proposal of a popular president?
- 53. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.6 Judging Presidents How do we judge presidents? Wars Domestic or international crises Economic Natural disasters Political and moral leadership Civil rights and social policies
- 54. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.6 Presidents are often judged by 11.6 a. how well they handle a war b. the state of the economy c. scandals during their term in office d. all of the above
- 55. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11.6 Presidents are often judged by 11.6 a. how well they handle a war b. the state of the economy c. scandals during their term in office d. all of the above
- 56. Copyright © 2015 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Discussion Question Which of the president’s many roles has expanded the most from the Framers' original vision? Why has this role expanded? 11
Editor's Notes
- Obama’s national security advisers gathered in the White House Situation Room to watch live coverage of the Osama bin Laden raid.
- In this chapter you will learn about the powers and responsibilities of the President of the United States. We begin by exploring the formal powers granted to the president in the Constitution and then consider the additional powers that presidents have added for themselves over the years. We will then describe the president’s staff and advisers, analyze the many roles he must play, critically examine his relationship with Congress, and, finally, identify the ways we judge presidents.
- The framers wanted a presidency with enough authority to protect the nation from domestic and foreign threats but not so strong that it would become a threat to liberty. The framers gave the president three central roles in the new government: commander in chief, diplomat in chief, and administrator in chief. As we will see in this chapter, presidents have expanded their powers in several ways throughout the decades. Crises, both foreign and economic, have enlarged these powers. When there is a need for decisive action, presidents are asked to supply it.
- Presidents have to address protests. Americans sometimes converge on Washington, D.C., to protest government policies. Here protesters, mostly younger citizens, gather at the Lincoln Memorial in 1970 to register their objection to the Vietnam War.
- The framers of the Constitution wanted an executive who was just strong enough to balance the warring factions in Congress but not strong enough to overcome Congress or veer into tyranny. They tried to strike this balance in the powers they listed for the executive in the Constitution but, as we shall see, presidents have inferred additional powers since the founding era. The powers of the legislative and executive branches check and balance one another in our system. The president can deploy troops, but Congress must fund the mission. The president can negotiate treaties, but Congress must ratify them. The president can nominate judges and other executive appointees, such as agency heads, but Congress must confirm these appointments. In parliamentary systems, the executive and legislative branches do not check and balance one another. The chief executive, called the prime minister, is an elected member of the legislature. He or she is the head of the party with the most seats in parliament. What sort of a difference do you think this makes in passing legislation?
- One of the first decisions that the framers made about the executive branch was that it would be led by an individual rather than an executive council. They considered this to be a calculated risk. The framers considered a variety of methods for selecting or electing the president. He could have been chosen from among the members of Congress, as in parliamentary systems, but this would have violated their concepts of separation of powers and checks and balances. Eventually they settled upon the Electoral College as the selection method. Each state would select a slate of electors, who would cast ballots for the president. The president’s four-year term is right in between representatives’ two-year terms and senators’ six-year terms. The Twenty-Second Amendment, ratified in 1951, limits presidents to two terms. The vice president is there in case the president cannot serve out this entire term. The vice president’s only other official duty is to break tie votes in the Senate. Recent presidents have begun to give their vice presidents policy advisory and advocacy roles. The Constitution lists three requirements to run for president. A candidate must have attained the age of 35, be a natural-born citizen, and have resided in the U.S. for the previous 14 years. In the first few presidential elections, the candidate who received the second highest number of Electoral College votes became vice president. But owing to the development of parties, this situation became impractical and the Twelfth Amendment provided for separate ballots to be cast for each office. Soon the practice developed for presidential and vice presidential candidates to run together.
- Article II of the Constitution begins: “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” Presidents often use this so-called vesting clause to argue that they control everything that happens in the executive branch after a bill becomes a law, but the Supreme Court has established some limits on the president’s power over legislation and Congress’s ability to delegate legislative powers to the president. As the first president, George Washington established a number of precedents for the office, including serving only two terms. After Franklin Roosevelt was elected to four, the Twenty-Second Amendment legally limited presidents to two terms. Under his power as commander in chief of the armed forces, the president can deploy troops into armed conflict abroad, even though Congress retains the power to officially declare war. Congress must also appropriate funds for military actions, which theoretically provides some constraint on the president’s ability to wage undeclared wars.
- As we see in this photo, President Obama is using his role as commander in chief to thank soldiers for their service on the day the United States formally ended the war in Iraq. Such contact is also a morale builder.
- In addition to serving as commander in chief, the president is the diplomat in chief. The framers gave the president the power to negotiate treaties with foreign governments, but Congress must ratify those treaties. To get around this requirement, presidents can instead make executive agreements, which do not require Senate approval. Congressional-executive agreements are a variation on this theme; they require the approval of both houses of Congress, not just the Senate. As administrator in chief, the president is in charge of seeing that the heads of all federal agencies are carrying out their duties to implement legislation according to the president’s priorities and ideology.
- The president is also empowered by the Constitution to appoint federal judges, ambassadors, and other executive branch officials, subject to confirmation by the Senate. To get around Senate inaction on nominees, or Senate refusal to confirm them, presidents have resorted to making recess appointments—appointments made when Congress is not in session to vote on the nominee. The constitutionality of recess appointments is controversial but it is easy to see why presidents use them. The president can veto legislation passed by Congress, but Congress can override his veto by two-thirds vote in both houses. Often the mere threat of a veto is enough to get Congress to revise a bill before it crosses the president’s desk. If a president neither signs nor vetoes a bill in ten days, it becomes law. A pocket veto occurs when a president does not sign a bill for ten days but Congress adjourns during that time. Presidents have the power to pardon individuals accused or convicted of federal crimes. President Ford angered many Americans when he pardoned Nixon after his resignation. The Constitution requires that presidents “shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” It is from this so-called take care clause that presidents claim their inherent powers, which, broadly speaking, are any powers they think are necessary to protect the nation. If extraordinary circumstances warrant it, the president has the power to convene either or both houses of Congress. His power to inform them about the state of the nation can also be interpreted as an obligation to do so. The president’s annual State of the Union Address formally answers this requirement. Presidents lack a line-item veto, that is, the power to strike individual elements from a piece of legislation rather than signing or vetoing it as a whole. In lieu of this power, they have taken to issuing signing statements which register their objections to parts of legislation that they have signed, and declare their intentions not to implement it.
- If a president commits treason or other “high crimes and misdemeanors,” Congress can remove him from office by impeachment. Impeachment charges are brought in the House and a trial is conducted in the Senate, which must vote to convict by a two-thirds majority. Two presidents have been impeached so far, Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998; neither impeachment was successful. The Twenty-Fifth Amendment allows the vice president to take over as acting president if the president is temporarily incapacitated, such as while undergoing a medical procedure. It also allows the president to appoint a new vice president if a vacancy arises in the office.
- Lyndon Johnson hastily took the oath of office following the assassination of President Kennedy. The Twenty-Fifth Amendment, providing for presidential succession, was ratified shortly thereafter.
- Let’s see what you have learned about presidential powers.
- The power to declare war is reserved for Congress, although there are circumstances when the president can deploy troops without a declaration of war. Congress also has the power to appropriate funding for a war.
- The Constitution is not always clear on which branch has what powers, which creates controversies over the president’s war power and authority to assert executive privilege, issue executive orders, and control the budget and spending process. In this section, we will look at how presidential power has been interpreted over the years.
- As noted when we discussed the president’s powers as commander in chief, he is authorized to deploy troops and wage war, but only Congress can formally declare war. Because presidents have deployed troops without obtaining a formal declaration of war from Congress, war powers seem to have shifted to the executive. But after the Vietnam War, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution, over Nixon’s veto. This law requires the president to seek Congressional approval before deploying troops, except in an emergency, in which case the president must report on his action to Congress within 48 hours, and in all cases to end engagement within 60 days unless Congress formally declares war. Presidents generally ignore this law and consider it unconstitutional but none has yet dared to test it in court.
- Executive privilege is the right of presidents to keep certain information secret, ostensibly in the national interest. During the Watergate scandal, President Nixon attempted to invoke executive privilege to keep incriminating evidence from coming to light. The Supreme Court ruled that there are limits on this doctrine and that hiding personal wrongdoing was a far cry from issues of national security.
- The Bush administration refused to release information on the techniques that it used to interrogate prisoners at Guantanamo. Obama released this information when he took office.
- Presidents have the power to sidestep Congress and make laws by issuing executive orders. These rules and regulations do have limitations because they cannot conflict with federal law and they can be overturned by subsequent presidents. They can clarify or implement legislation passed by Congress but they can also sometimes make new policy. President Truman desegregated the military by executive order and President Johnson instituted affirmative action in the same way. Executive memoranda are less formal than executive orders. Based on the Take Care Clause, they direct specific actions by government as a whole or individual departments and agencies. They can also be overturned by future presidents.
- As this graph shows, the average number of executive orders issued has declined over the past six decades. Why do think this is? What other tools might presidents now be using to influence policies and government?
- The Budgeting and Accounting Act of 1921 requires the president to submit an annual budget to Congress. Because this budget frames the budgetary debate for the year, it concedes substantial control of the budget to the executive. The president is required to see that the laws are faithfully executed but if he does not agree with some of those laws, he can refuse to use some of the funds that Congress has appropriated for their implementation, a measure known as impoundment. Congress has taken steps to prevent the president from doing this. For one, he must submit formal requests for any proposed rescission to the CBO. A line item veto would have given the president authority to strike individual provisions from bills he signed but the Supreme Court declared this power unconstitutional.
- As the needs of the nation have changed, presidential power has grown far beyond what the framers could have envisioned. Yet the Constitution that they designed still stands as the basis of the extraordinary presidential power wielded today. It was both specific in some places and vague in others to allow for changing interpretations over time as the need for more presidential power arose. The presidencies of Lincoln and FDR represent two points in our nation’s history when presidential power expanded the most.
- Lincoln’s actions were the result of wartime. FDR used his office to put millions to work in the Great Depression with public works projects such as those depicted in this mural.
- Please answer this question on the president’s war powers before we move on to the next section.
- Congress attempted to reclaim its war powers but presidents have ignored this resolution.
- In this section, we will see how presidents manage the executive branch with the assistance of: an intensely loyal White House staff a much larger Executive Office of the President (EOP) that is anchored by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a Cabinet of department secretaries that oversees the federal government’s employees and the vice president. The vice president’s authority varies from president to president.
- The president’s closest and most loyal advisers occupy the West Wing of the White House, near the Oval Office. How much access and influence they have varies by administration. Some presidents, such as Lyndon Johnson, used a competitive approach, forcing aides to fight for access and seeing which performed best on the same assignment. Other presidents, such as Kennedy and Clinton, encouraged their staff to work together, using a collegial approach. A drawback to this approach can be the stifling of dissent in the quest for consensus. To counteract this problem, some presidents, such as Obama, appoint policy czars, or experts, to guide them in key policy areas. A hierarchical approach has been used by presidents such as Eisenhower and Bush, in which a president keeps tight control over who is making which decisions. Presidents rely on their chief of staff as a gatekeeper to control who gains access to the president and what information he gets. Some White House staff offices are concerned with giving the president policy advice concerning his legislative agenda and others are focused on giving him political advice to help with his reelection, shaping his image, and leading his party.
- We mentioned that the size of the federal bureaucracy greatly expanded under the New Deal programs created by FDR. In 1939, he established the EOP to provide him with staff to help oversee these new programs. The units of the EOP change depending upon the president’s needs. They have grown to include the NSC, which advises the president on matters of national security, the CEA, which performs the same role on matters of economic policy, and the powerful OMB, which prepares the president’s annual budget and advises on the budgetary implications of policy. Let’s look at these units on the next slide.
- As you can see, there are many separate offices under the president’s direct command. What do the kinds of offices President Obama includes in his Executive Office indicate about his policy priorities?
- The president is not required by the Constitution to have a cabinet, but all presidents since Washington have chosen a select group of advisers in major policy areas. The modern cabinet consists of the heads of federal agencies and major executive departments, such as Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, and Education. Not all department heads are cabinet level; it is up to the president to grant them that status if he deems their constituency important enough. Modern presidents are no longer likely to convene full cabinet meetings, as this is impractical now that the cabinet is so large and specialized. Instead, they meet individually with their cabinet officials as needed.
- Vice presidents are often chosen to balance the presidential ticket in some way. A Northern or Eastern presidential candidate might choose a Southern or Western vice presidential candidate for example. Balance might also be sought on ideological, racial, ethnic, religious, or gender lines. Vice presidents have performed mainly ceremonial duties until modern times, when presidents have begun to give them policy advisory and advocacy roles. Bush’s vice president, Dick Cheney, was considered to have considerable influence over the president’s foreign policy especially. President Obama has also given Joseph Biden an advisory role, considering his long experience as a senator a valuable resource.
- We’ve examined the important units that are part of the EOP. Can you name the function of the Council of Economic Advisors?
- As its name implies, this council advises the president on economic policy.
- We expect a great deal from our presidents. As we will discuss in this section, we want them to be crisis managers, morale builders, and agenda setters, but we also want them to be able to connect with average citizens. Presidents must also act as persuaders, using their staff, technology, and public opinion research to accomplish their agendas.
- Does presidential influence vary by issue? Americans seem to think so. This table represents views on how influential the president is in several policy areas. In which area do Americans think the president is most influential? Least? What do you think accounts for these differences?
- As chief of state, the president must project a sense of national unity and authority as the country’s ceremonial leader. The framers of the Constitution only partially understood the symbolic and morale-building functions a president must perform. But over time, presidents have become national celebrities and command media attention merely by jogging, fishing, golfing, or going to church. By their actions, presidents can arouse a sense of hope or despair, honor or dishonor, for the American people, and they are judged by how well they perform this function as much as by the success of their policy initiatives. FDR harnessed this symbolic power during the Great Depression with his fireside radio chats, which assured Americans that the Depression would end.
- In this photo, Barack Obama addresses his supporters at a 2012 election night rally in Chicago. Obama became the 14th president to be reelected to a second term in U.S. history.
- Modern presidents are expected to set foreign policy priorities and the domestic legislative agenda. Since the New Deal, presidents are expected to solve economic problems, keep the economy growing, keep unemployment and inflation and taxes all down, and essentially ensure prosperity. They, and their party, will suffer at the ballot box in a weak economy, although their control over all of these factors is much more limited than the public believes. Presidents are also expected to initiate social policy, implementing their party’s platform in that policy area, and responding to public demands, such as the civil rights movement and prescription drug coverage. The president takes the lead in national security policy in part because the country needs to present a unified image abroad. It would be impractical for all 535 members of Congress to conduct foreign policy.
- Political scientist Richard Neustadt has argued that the president’s real power lies not in his Constitutional mandates but in his power to persuade. When presidents want to persuade members of Congress to vote for their policies, they can bypass them and speak directly to their constituents, a tactic known as going public. Beginning with FDR’s fireside chats on the radio, presidents have utilized the media and new technology to get their messages directly to the people. Instead of holding traditional press conferences, presidents can appear on television talk shows and address the voters in prime time. By skillfully using media, presidents can raise public support for their policies and ensure votes at election time.
- As Americans have looked to the federal government to solve more problems, we have also become more dissatisfied with the government’s actions. We expect government to intervene in virtually every area of economy and society, yet we criticize big government and bemoan the taxes required to pay for it. Partisan conflict has also continued to intensify, and public trust in government continues to wane. In poll after poll, Americans confirm a belief that elected officials do not have the nation’s best interests at heart and that they cannot do anything right. Do these beliefs and expectations make the president’s job impossible? Activity: Ask students to consider the paradox of the general desire of the American population for a strong leader combined with the anti-government sentiment and the desire for a smaller government expressed by many in the United States. How can we reconcile these competing demands? Do such demands set presidents up for failure? Why or why not? An interesting example to consider might be President Barack Obama’s health care reform initiative.
- This question addresses a key concept in this section. Can you answer it?
- Presidents must exercise their powers of persuasion to get Congress to support their vision and policies, as well as to garner public support.
- The president and Congress often have a tense relationship because of different constitutional expectations and party divisions. Presidents have a variety of tools for influencing Congress, however, and use their political and personal resources to gain support for their policy proposals. As you will discover in this section, presidents have several powerful tools for influencing Congress. They can create mandates by helping members of Congress win elections, use their public approval to lobby Congress for action, and rely on the reputation of the presidency as a source of prestige.
- The framers built conflict into the relationship between the president and Congress. They wanted “ambition to counter ambition” to avoid tyranny, and to avoid the majority oppressing minorities. But did they succeed too well? Because members of Congress have no term limits, and representatives run for reelection every two years, they tend to think about elections all the time. The president serves a national constituency, and is the only official to do so. In contrast, members of Congress are concerned only with the voters in their own district or state. Presidents are eager to pass legislation quickly, since they can only serve two terms and their best opportunity to enact policy comes in the first hundred days. But members of Congress have different priorities and do not share the president’s sense of urgency. Local party politics are more relevant to an election campaign of a member of Congress than the national party, and a president of his own party may or may not be useful to him. This limits the president’s leverage with members of Congress.
- President Jimmy Carter addresses the U.S. public in his first televised address to talk about energy policy. He made a deliberate choice to give the address sitting down near the fireplace dressed in a cardigan sweater as a way to calm the public’s concern about increasing gasoline prices.
- We noted earlier that a president’s power is the power to persuade. Specifically, how successful is he in persuading Congress to support his legislative proposals? This can be measured through the presidential support score, calculated by counting the times the president wins key votes in Congress. A president with a higher success rate may achieve it by limiting his position to a few winnable votes, so this number is not a flawless indicator of leadership skills. When presidents win office by a relatively wide margin and have high public approval ratings, they often consider that they have a mandate to implement their policy agenda; however, it is easy for a president to overestimate their mandate so care must be taken not to overreach. Presidential approval ratings tend to fall over the course of their terms, which is why presidents have the most political capital to spend at the start of their term, when approval ratings are highest. Rally points are brief spikes in public approval following a significant national event, such as the 9/11 terrorist attack. Presidents have a steep learning curve on the job so it is somewhat ironic that their public approval ratings decline as their skill at being president improves. Part of this is not personal; the reputation of presidents has declined due to political scandals, and especially since the Vietnam War and Watergate.
- As just mentioned, approval ratings rise and fall. What do all presidential approval ratings have in common? Which president took office with the highest approval ratings, and which left with the lowest? What might explain the declines?
- We talked about the tug of war between the president and Congress. Now put your knowledge to the test and answer this question.
- When the public supports a president’s policy, members of Congress are more likely to vote in favor if it. Otherwise, they will have to defend their vote when they campaign for reelection.
- History tends to look kindly on presidents who weathered major wars and domestic crises successfully, such as Lincoln and the Civil War, Wilson and World War I, and FDR and both the Great Depression and World War II. Scandals will tarnish a president’s ranking, and positive achievements can be offset by negative ones, such as for President Johnson and his civil rights successes and Vietnam War failures. The judgment of history is often different than public opinion in the immediate aftermath of a president’s term. Activity: Have students search the Web for public opinion on the presidency—both the office and current incumbent. They should discuss why Americans are dissatisfied with the office of the presidency and the incumbent. What proposals have been made to reform the presidency? Do they adequately reflect the problems and conflicts of the office? Can we “fix” the presidency so that the majority of Americans are satisfied? Discuss.
- Now that we have discussed how historians judge presidents, let’s see if you can answer this question.
- Circumstances are not always in their control, but presidents are nonetheless judged by how they respond.