1. The Job
Succession
Nominating
Electing
THE
PRESIDENCY

2.  Natural born citizen
 At least 35 years old
 JFK (youngest elected);
TR (youngest to serve);
Reagan (oldest elected)
 14 years a resident of US
Informal Qualifications
WHO CAN BE PRESIDENT?

3.  Four years, with an option for four more
 Not codified until 1951…Why? (22nd Amendment)
 George Washington’s precedent
 Should the 22nd Amendment be repealed?
 Would a single, 6 year term be better?
THE PRESIDENT’S TERM

4.  $400,000/year with $50,000 a year expense
 Perks:
HOW’S THE PAY?

5. WHAT DOES THE PRESIDENT DO?

6.  ―personal embodiment and representative of their dignity and
majesty‖ – W. H. Taft
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXuxCqPKflo
(Bush throws first pitch_
CHIEF OF STATE

7.  Leader of the executive branch
 What does this include?
 2.7 million employees
 $2.5 trillion budget
CHIEF EXECUTIVE/
CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR

9.  Architect of foreign policy
CHIEF DIPLOMAT

10.  Leads the armed forces
 Why has the president’s power in this realm grown?
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF

11.  Sets the public policy agenda
 CANNOT write laws
 Suggests, initiates, insists and demands from Congress
CHIEF LEGISLATOR

12. Chief of Party
Chief Citizen
 ―place of moral leadership‖ -- FDR
NON-CONSTITUTIONAL ROLES

13. THE BULLY PULPIT

14. What happens if the president dies?
 VP assumes the office
 Not a reality until John Tyler came to
power after the death of William Henry
Harrison
 Constitution: ―powers and
duties…devolve to the vice president.‖
 25th Amendment (1967) lays out the
process of presidential succession
 Presidential Succession Act of 1947:
Congress fixes the order of succession
PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION

15. THE CURIOUS CASE OF EDITH GALT

16. What happens if the president is disabled?
 Nothing, before the 25th Amendment
provided for this scenario
 Office goes to VP if:
 1. President informs Congress, in
writing, that he or she cannot discharge
the duties of the office
 2. VP and majority of the Cabinet informs
Congress, in writing, that the president
cannot fulfill the duties of the office
 1985: Reagan
 2002: George W. Bush
PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION

17.  What are the Constitutional duties of the VP?
 9 VPs have succeeded to the Presidency
The Modern Vice-Presidency
 Balancing the Ticket
 A Co-President?
THE VICE-PRESIDENT

18.  "I do not propose to be buried until I am dead." — Daniel
Webster, turning down the vice presidency in 1839.
 Being vice president is comparable to "a man in a cataleptic fit; he
cannot speak; he cannot move; he suffers no pain; he is perfectly
conscious of all that goes on, but has no part in it." — Thomas R.
Marshall, vice president under Woodrow Wilson.
 "I am vice president. In this I am nothing, but I may be everything." —
John Adams
 "The second office of this government is honorable and easy, the first is
but a splendid misery." — Thomas Jefferson
 "I would a great deal rather be anything, say professor of history, than
vice president." — Theodore Roosevelt
 "I go to funerals. I go to earthquakes." — Nelson Rockefeller
 "The vice president has two duties. One is to inquire daily as to the
health of the president, and the other is to attend the funerals of Third
World dictators. And neither of those do I find an enjoyable exercise."
Presidential candidate John McCain, in 2000

19. Original Plan
 Electors from each state cast two ballots, each for a different
candidate.
 Who were the electors?
 Most votes: President
 Second most votes: VP
CHOOSING THE PRESIDENT

20.  By election of 1796, parties take shape
 Adams wins; Jefferson his VP
Election of 1800
 Both political parties nominate Pres & VP candidates &
electors
 Jefferson & Burr tie; House elects Jefferson
12th Amendment
 Electors vote for a Pres & VP candidate
POLITICAL PARTIES:
A WRENCH IN THE WORKS

21. Party Conventions
 Both major parties using by 1832
 Creation of the political parties
 Each state given a number of delegates
 Who are these delegates & how are they chosen?
NOMINATING THE PRESIDENT

22.  Most delegates chosen through primaries
 Process varies from state to state
 Most states award delegates proportionally
Front-loading
 New Hampshire has, by state law, held first primary since 1940
 States continue to move primaries up on the calendar. Why?
 How does front-loading impact the process?
https:// www.you tu be.c o m/ wa tch? v =X 5OfR i oyK i w
(NH prima ry)
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES

28.  What’s good about New Hampshire being first?
 What’s bad about New Hampshire being first?
NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY

29. National Primary
 Pros
 Cons
Regional Primaries
 Pros
 Cons
REFORMING THE PRIMARIES

30.  States without a primary choose delegates via caucus
 Caucus-goers gather, debate, and select a candidate
 Iowa always the first caucus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RXie7FJqOA
(Iowa)
CAUCUSES

31.  Most decisions made before delegates show up
 President & VP candidates formally nominated
 Party platforms decided…candidates not beholden to them
 Why are conventions still important?
NATIONAL CONVENTION

32.  Be a governor of a large state
 Be a US Senator
 Be a WASP
 Be telegenic
HOW TO GET
NOMINATED FOR PRESIDENT

34. What happens if there’s a tie?
 Decided by the House
 Each state one vote
 1800 & 1824
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok_VQ8I7g6I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUS9mM8Xbbw
(Electoral College CGPGrey )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wC42HgLA4k
(flaws in EC)
Homework
THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE

35. THREE FLAWS IN THE SYSTEM

36.  Popular vote winner does not always win
 Electoral votes are winner-take-all
 Small states are over-represented (CA v.
WY)
 1824; 1876; 1888; 2000
 15 presidents have won without a
majority (11 plurality)
 Distorted reflection of popular vote…Is
this bad?
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEB9hWYMpA0
 (Election 2000)
THE AL GORE CONUNDRUM

37.  Electors not require to vote for the candidate favored by his or
her state
 Has happened, but has never impacted results of an election
 Faithless electors
THE ROGUE ELECTOR MALFUNCTION

38.  Third party candidates could prevent a candidate from getting
a majority
 Close in 1912, 1924, 1948, 1968
 Would throw election to House (Problems?)
1.
2.
3.
THE GEORGE WALLACE RECURRENCE

40. FOUR REFORM PROPOSALS

41.  Scrap the Electoral College all together
 Popular vote winner always wins
 All votes equal
Cons:
 Small states opposed
 Weaken federalism
 TV Campaign
DIRECT POPULAR ELECTION

42.  Electors chosen in the same way as member of Congress
 No more winner-take-all
 More accurate reflection of popular vote
Cons
 No guarantee popular vote winner wins
 Encourage gerrymandering
DISTRICT PLAN

44.  Candidates get electoral votes proportional to votes received
 Example: 40% of the vote in a 20 electoral vote state gets:
 Eliminates winner-take-all
Cons:
 Small states over-represented
 Loser of popular vote could still win election
 Increased clout of minor parties
PROPORTIONAL PLAN

45.  Keeps electoral college largely in tact
 Winner of popular vote also gets 102 electoral votes (321)
 If no majority, run-off election is held
 Electors themselves eliminated
Cons:
 Little support
 Difficult to understand
 Wacky
NATIONAL BONUS PLAN

46.  Known process
 Has worked well, with few exceptions
 Identifies winner quickly and certainly
 Provides winner a mandate
SUPPORTING THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE