Political Institutions

The Presidency

“We are in a wilderness without a

single footstep to guide us.”

Who can lead the new United States of America?

"I walk on untrodden ground. There is

scarcely any part of my conduct which

may not hereafter be drawn into precedent."

Ex. Title and Term Limits

POTUS

• Qualifications– 35 years old– 14 year resident – Natural-born US citizen

• Term– Four years– 2 term limit

• Precedent from Geo W.• 22nd Amendment

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Electoral College

• Almost all states use a winner-take-all system

• If no candidate won a majority, the House would decide the election

• The Electoral College ultimately worked differently than expected, because the Founders did not anticipate the role of political parties

Map 12.1: Electoral Votes per State

Key Questions for Presidency

• How is a president different from a prime minister?

• How did the framers view executive power?

• What is the current state of executive power?

• How has the presidency changed since 1789?

• How is the Executive Branch organized?

• What formal and informal powers does the president possess?

Presidential and Parliamentary Systems

• Presidents may be outsiders; prime ministers are always insiders, chosen by the members of the majority party in parliament

• Presidents have no guaranteed majority in the legislature; prime ministers always have a majority

• Divided government: one party controls the White House and another controls one or both houses of Congress

The First Presidents

• The office was legitimated by men active in independence and Founding politics

• Minimal activism of early government contributed to lessening the fear of the presidency

• Relations with Congress were reserved: few vetoes; no advice from Congress to the president

Powers of the President• Potential for power found in ambiguous

clauses of the Constitution—e.g., power as commander in chief, duty to “take care that laws be faithfully executed” (executive power)

• The Military Commisions Act of 2006• Part 2• CNN view of Presidential Signing Statements• Fox News Point of View on Signing Statements• Bill O’Reilly responds!

• Greatest source of power lies in politics and public opinion

*consider the source!

Presidential Power• Constitutional Powers

– Explicitly granted by the Constitution

• Delegated Powers– Granted by Congress to help POTUS fulfill duties

• Inherent Powers– innate as chief of the executive branch

• Emergency powers• Executive orders• Executive privilege

Expressed powers

Express/Constitutional Powers

• Appointment Power

• Veto Power

• Pardon Power

• “Take Care Power”– “shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully

executed”

• Inform/Convene Congress Power

Chief Executive

• Article. II.• Section. 1.• The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together

with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:• Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and

Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

• The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing 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. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.

• The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

• No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

• 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, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

• The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.

• Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

• Section. 2.• 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; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

• He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

• The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

• Section. 3.• He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall

judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

• Section. 4.• The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason,

Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Commander in Chief

Chief Diplomat

Chief Legislator

Chief of State

Chief of Party

Chief Guardian of the Economy

The Power to Persuade

• Presidents try to transform popularity into congressional support for their programs

• Presidential coattails have had a declining effect for years

• Popularity is affected by factors beyond anyone’s control – consider Bush’s approval ratings following the September 11th attacks

Presidential Popularity

Thomas E.Cronin, The State of the Presidency (Boston: Little, Brown, 1975), 110-111. Copyright © 1975 by Little, Brown and Company, Inc. Reprinted by permission. Updated with Gallup poll data, 1976-2004. Reprinted by permission of the

Gallup Poll News Service.

1. What happens to a president’s popularity over time? Why?

2. How might this trend affect a president’s power and strategy?

Presidential Popularity

Thomas E.Cronin, The State of the Presidency (Boston: Little, Brown, 1975), 110-111. Copyright © 1975 by Little, Brown and Company, Inc. Reprinted by permission. Updated with Gallup poll data, 1976-2004. Reprinted by permission of the

Gallup Poll News Service.

POTUS Popularity Abroad:

Obama: http://www.pewglobal.org/question-search/?qid=724&cntIDs=&stdIDs=

Bush: http://www.pewglobal.org/question-search/?qid=710&cntIDs=&stdIDs=

http://www.pollingreport.com/

Truman to Bush http://www.gallup.com/poll/116677/presidential-approval-ratings-gallup-historical-statistics-trends.aspx

Obama http://www.gallup.com/poll/116479/barack-obama-presidential-job-approval.aspx

Audio on character of POTUS

http://www.npr.org/2012/10/23/163487916/charming-cold-does-presidential-personality-matter

Rankings of Presidents

Chart on POTUS rankings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States

Presidential Victories on Votes in Congress, 1953-2002

Questions to Consider1. Given the resources and constraints that confront

presidents and prime ministers, which office would you prefer to hold if you were allowed such a choice?

2. The text concludes that presidential authority began to increase as a result of national crises. Why didn’t presidential power increase after the nation’s first three wars (War of 1812, the Mexican American War, and the Spanish-American War)? Were the wars different or the nation different?

3. If the expansion of presidential power occurred because of political events and has been fostered by public opinion, under what circumstances might presidential power begin to be limited? Will the historical in favor of expanding presidential power be reversed?

4. How has President Bush expanded executive power? Is the new powers he claims constitutional? Is it a good thing that President Bush has expanded the executive’s power?

5. The text suggests that Congress generally hesitates to challenge a popular president. Under what circumstances might this maxim not hold true? How can you explain the Clinton impeachment, given the president’s successful re-election campaign and strong approval ratings? How does that compare to the Democrats support of President Bush’s decision to go to war with Iraq?

Cabinet• Article Two of the U.S. Constitution:

– The President "...shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments."

• Article Two of the Constitution provides that the President can:– Require "the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of

the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices."

The Cabinet

• Not explicitly mentioned in Constitution

• Presidential control over departments remains uncertain– secretaries become advocates for their departments– Below top levels are staffed by permanent employees

“Seven nays and one aye; the ayes have it.”

Cabinet• 1789 Executive Branch = Pres + VP• Congress created executive departments

– Dept of State (Foreign Affairs) foreign affairs– Dept of Treasury finances – Dept of Defense (War) military– Attorney General (DOJ came later)

http://www.mountvernon.org/educational-resources/encyclopedia/cabinet

The Cabinet Departments

• Line organizations – an administrative unit that is directly accountable to the POTUS

• Created by Congress

The Executive Office of the President• Organization established by FDR to assist the

president in carrying out major duties by coordinating the executive bureaucracy– Examples:

• White House Office• Office of the VP• Council of Economic Advisors• Office of US Trade Representative• OMB• NSC• White House Military Office

The White House Office

• Key personal and political advisors to POTUS

• Legal counsel• Press secretary• Appointments secretary• Chief of Staff

– Permanent campaign • Coordinated and planned strategy carried out by

the White House to maintain approval ratings and support in Congress

OMB

• Origins to 1921

• Assists the POTUS in preparing the annual budget

• Coordinates departmental agency budgets

• Supervises the administration of the federal budget

NSC

• Advises the POTUS on national security

• POTUS

• VP

• Sec of State

• Sec of Defense

Policy Czars• Positions created to deal with one special

policy area– Senior policy advisor: aka czar– Coordinate all other agencies involved with

the topic– Only last as long as the president– Do not require Senate confirmation

Deputy Interior Secretary ("California Water Czar")Director of National Drug Control Policy ("Drug Czar")OMB Deputy Director ("Government Performance Czar")Director of National Intelligence ("Intelligence Czar")OMB Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs ("Regulatory Czar")Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and OSTP Director ("Science Czar")Treasury Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability ("TARP Czar")Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics ("Weapons Czar")OSTP Associate Director ("Technology Czar")

White House Office

• Rule of propinquity: power is wielded by people who are in the room when a decision is made

• Pyramid structure: most assistants report through hierarchy to chief of staff, who then reports to president– Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, Bush, Clinton

(late in his administration)

White House Office

• Circular structure: cabinet secretaries and assistants report directly to the president– Carter (early in his administration)

• Ad hoc structure: task forces, committees, and informal groups deal directly with president– Clinton (early in his administration)

Figure 14.1: Growth of the White House Staff, 1945-2002

Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics, 2003-2004 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2003), 254-255.

Figure 12.1: Growth of the White House Office, 1935-1985

Presidential Character

• Kennedy: bold, articulate, amusing leader; improviser who bypassed traditional lines of authority

• Nixon: expertise in foreign policy; disliked personal confrontation; tried to centralize power in the White House

Presidential Character

• Reagan: set policy priorities and then gave staff wide latitude; leader of public opinion

• Clinton: good communicator; pursued liberal/centrist policies

• George W. Bush: tightly run White House; agenda became dominated by foreign affairs following the September 11th attacks