The Presidency

Chapter 12

Presidents & Prime Ministers

• Parliaments– More common– PM chosen by legislature– Cabinet chosen from members of legislature– PM remains in power as long as his party does

Presidents & Prime Ministers

• Presidents– Outsiders because chosen by the people– Cabinet chosen from outside Congress– No guaranteed majority in Congress– Often works at cross-purposes against Congress

A Divided Government

• 15 of 22 presidential/Congressional elections since 1952 have provided divided governments

• Americans don’t like divided governments—leads to gridlock

Does Gridlock matter?

• Unified government is something of a myth

• Gridlock can be consequence of a representative democracy

Divided Government

Gridlock A good thing?

Enacts as many important laws as a unified government

Creates better balanced policies?

Natural part of checks & balances

Presidential Qualifications

• Three formal qualifications– 35 years old– Natural born citizen– Resident of the U.S. for at least

14 years• Informal

– Government experience– Well-educated– Communication skills– “Presidential look”

• Oval Office

Benefits

$400K salaryExpense accountWhite HouseSuite of offices with large staffPensionCars, limos, helicopters & Air Force OneSecret Service protectionCamp David retreatFree health care

Electoral College

• Casts the official votes to elect the president & vice president

• Winner-takes-all effect

Electoral College

• # of senators + # of representatives = state’s electoral votes

Virginia: Senators + Reps = electoral votes

• Bigger states have more electoral votes– California Ohio– Texas Michigan– New York Georgia– Florida New Jersey– Illinois North Carolina– Pennsylvania

271 votes!

Electoral College

Electoral College

• Need a majority or 270 electoral votes to win the presidency

• If no candidate receives the magic number of electoral votes, the House decides.– Take top three candidates– Each state delegation casts

one vote

Evolution of the Presidency

Concerns of the Founders• Fear of anarchy & monarchy• Feared use of military power to

overpower the states• Feared corruption by Senate

because of shared powers• Feared use of bribery to ensure

reelection

Term of Office• Precedent set by George Washington• FDR – the exception• Twenty-second Amendment (1951)– Maximum of 2 terms or 10 years

• Establishing legitimacy & public acceptance• Creates the orderly transfer of power

Evolution…• The 1st presidents– Prominent men– Minimal activism– Appointed people of stature in community– Relations with Congress were reserved– Few vetoes– No advice

Evolution…

• The Jacksonians– Strong & independent presidency– Maximize powers– Many vetoes on policy grounds– Challenged Congress

• Reemergence of Congress– President considered a negative

force

**Dramatic shift in the power of the presidency over the past 70 years**

The Reemergence of Congress

With brief exceptions the next hundred years was a period of congressional ascendancy

Intensely divided public opinion

Only Lincoln expanded presidential power Asserted "implied powers" and power of

commander in chief Justified by emergency conditions

Power to the POTUS• President mostly a negative force to Congress until the

New Deal

• Since the 1930s power has been institutionalized in the presidency

• Popular conception of the president as the center of government contradicts reality; Congress often policy leader

The Presidents

Limitations on the presidentObjectives:• Describe the informal powers of the president• Understand the limits to the president’s power

Bell Ringer:The President and the Secretary of State negotiate an agreement with North Korea to end its designs on building a nuclear weapon. In exchange, the U.S. will commit $15 billion in humanitarian aid to the North Korean people who are suffering from mass starvation and forgive loans owed by the North Korean government to U.S. banks. The President consulted Congress but did not request a Treaty.

• Identify and explain the formal Constitutional powers in this scenario• What are the informal powers the President uses?• Are the President’s actions constitutional? Explain your answer

Agenda:Informal powersLimits on power

Homework:Imperial Presidency packetChapter 20 Overview due 03/01(A) and 03/02 (B)Unit 4 Test 03/07 (A) and 03/08 (B)

Powers of the President Formal powers of Article II

Proposes laws & programs to Congress Commander-in-chief Appoints Cabinet members, ambassadors & federal judges Prepares federal budget Receives foreign ambassadors Conducts foreign policy of U.S. Approves or vetoes all bills passed by Congress May call special sessions of Congress State of the Union Address May pardon people guilty of federal crimes

Greatest source of power Politics & public opinion

Informal Powers

Those powers not explicitly written in the Constitution

Similar to “necessary and proper” powers of Congress

In the modern era (since 1933), the President’s informal powers may be significantly more powerful than his formal powers

Executive Orders

Orders issued by the President that carry the force of law

Clinton’s “Don’t ask don’t tell” gays in the military policy

FDR’s internment of Japanese Americans

GWB trying suspected terrorists in military tribunals

Notice for Japanese “relocation,” 1942

Executive Agreements

• International agreements, usually related to trade, made by a president that has the force of a treaty; does NOT need Senate approval

• Jefferson’s purchase of Louisiana in 1803 • GWB announced cuts in

the nuclear arsenal, but not in a treaty; usually trade agreements between

US and other nations

Executive Privilege

Claim by a president that he has the right to decide that the national interest will be better served if certain information is withheld from the public, including the Courts and Congress

• United States v. Nixon (1973) – presidents do NOT have unqualified executive privilege (Nixon Watergate tapes)

Limitations on the president

Objectives:• Describe the power of the President and Congress concerning war• Understand the limits to the President’s power• Legislative and judicial checks on the President

Bell Ringer:What are at least three different factors that have contributed to the expansionof presidential power over time? In what ways have these factors enabled suchan expansion beyond the Founding Fathers’ intentions? Do you believe thesedevelopments are for the better or the worse, and why?

Agenda:War powersLimits on powerChecks and balances

Homework:Unit 4 Test 03/07 (A) and 03/08 (B)

Presidential Character

Every President brings a distinctive personality• Affects how the White House is organized & runs

• Public perception

Power to Persuade Three audiences

Other politicians & leaders in Washington Party activists & officials outside Washington The “public”

Fewer impromptu remarks & more prepared speeches

Transform popularity into influence Most popular after election

-- the “honeymoon”

Power to Say No

• Veto power– Returns bill to Congress with list

of reasons– Pocket veto– Overrides are rare – need 2/3

vote in both houses– Line item veto = unconstitutional

War & Peace - Whose Power Is It?

The War Powers Struggle Between the President and Congress

War Powers - PresidentCommander in Chief of the Army & NavyCommander in Chief of the state militias

(now the National Guard)Commission all

officersAppoint ambassadors,

ministers and consulsMake treaties subject

to senate confirmationReceive ambassadors

War Powers - Congress Declare war Raise & support army

& navy Ratify treaties (Senate) Advise & consent of

ambassadors (Senate) Make rules concerning

captures on land & water

Organize, arm, train & provide for the militia

Suppress insurrections & repel invasions

The War Powers Resolution

1. President must consult w/ Congress before introducing armed forces into hostilities

2. Consult with Congress regularly until troops removed

3. If war not declared, President must submit report to Congress within 48 hours of troop deployment

4. President must remove troops after 60 days (+30 days for withdrawal) if Congress has not declared war

War Powers: The Supreme Court Weighs In

• The Prize Cases (1862)

• Korematsu v. United States (1944)

• Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1951)

• Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2005)

The Prize Cases (1862)

Key Issue: Did President Lincoln act within his presidential powers when he blockaded southern ports without a declaration of war?

Court’s Decision: The President had the power to act because a state of war existed.

Discussion Question: Does this case expand or limit the war powers of the President and/or Congress?

Korematsu v. U.S. (1944)

• Key Issue: Did the Present, with the support of Congress, have the power to restrict the rights of Japanese Americans by relocating them to internment camps?

• Court’s Decision: The government’s limitation of rights was justified during a time of

“emergency and peril.”• Discussion Question: Does

this case expand or limit the

war powers of the President

and/or Congress?

Youngstown Sheet Co. v. Sawyer (1951)

• Key Issue: Did President Truman have the power to seize & operate steel mills to avert a strike during the Korean War?

• Court’s Decision: The President

did not have the authority to seize

private property without a

congressional statute.• Discussion Question: Does this

case expand or limit the war

powers of the President and/or

Congress?

Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2005)

• Key Issues: 1) Were the military commissions set up by the Bush administration to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay constitutional? 2) Can Congress pass legislation preventing the Supreme Court from hearing the case?

• Court’s Decision: Neither an act of Congress nor the inherent powers of the President authorize military commissions that do not comply with US and international laws.• Discussion Question: Does this case expand or limit the war powers of the President and/or Congress?

Formal Checks on Presidential Power

Congressional Checks on the President(Article I)

Make laws (ex: War Powers Resolution)

Override presidential vetoes

Power to declare war

Power of the purse (taxes and funding)

Regulation of the land and naval forces

Congressional Checks (cont.)

• Impeachment Power (House)

• Impeachment Trial (Senate)

President Clinton’s impeachment trial, January, 1999

Title: "Bill Clinton's

Christmas present from the

U.S. House."

Artist: John PritchettDate: unknownSource: http://www.pritchettcartoons.com/gift.htm

Limits on Presidential Power (Article II)

President elected indirectly by the people through the Electoral College

Selection of president (House) in case of no majority of electoral vote

President must deliver State of the Union address

Senate approves treaties and ambassadors

Limits on Presidential Power (Article II)

• Senate approves department appointments• “Advice and consent” of federal judge

appointments (Senate)

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testifies at her Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing, January, 2005.

Nominee for Chief Justice, John Roberts is sworn in at his Senate Judiciary committee confirmation hearing, September, 2005.

Judicial Checks on the President

Judicial review (Marbury v. Madison)

Chief Justice presides over presidential impeachment trial (Article I)

Constitutional Amendments

12th – Choosing president & vice- president on separate ballots

20th – Presidential succession

22nd – Presidential term limits (2 terms; 10 years total)

25th – Presidential disability and succession

Limits on Presidential Power: Informal Checks

Public Opinion

In a televised address in March, 1968, President Johnson announced he would not seek the Democratic nomination for president due to sagging public support for his administration and the war in Vietnam.

Though he enjoyed record public support during the Persian Gulf War, President George H. W. Bush saw his numbers dip dramatically in the polls and he lost his re-election bid to democrat Bill Clinton in 1992.

Public Opinion

Jimmy Carter lost the 1980 election in part due to his failure to secure

the release of American hostages in Iran

George H.W. Bush loses re-election in 1992 due in part to low public opinion

of his handling of the economy

George W. Bush’s first nominee to replace SC justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Harriet Meyers, withdrew her name

from consideration due to negative public opinion against her nomination

The ultimate check of public opinion is at the ballot box. Informally, White House staffs and independent news agencies poll Americans regarding the POTUS’ job performance, stand on issues, etc. which often forces presidents to change course in policy.

Partisan Politics

Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee and vigorous critic of the Bush administration, May, 2005

Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R) battles President Bill Clinton (D) over the nationalbudget resulting in the shutdown of the federal government in 1995

Congressional Investigations

Oliver North testifies before Congress at the Iran-Contra hearings during the Reagan administration (1987)

Senate Banking Committee begins itsinvestigative hearings on the Whitewater scandal during the Clinton administration(1994)

Former FEMA director Michael Brown testifies before the House Select Committee on Hurricane Katrina, Sept., 2002

Interest Groups & NGO’s

The National Organization of Women, Cindy Sheehan, and others protest the war in Iraq, April, 2006

The National Right to Life Committee and other pro-life interest groups spoke out against President Clinton’s veto of the ban on partial birth abortion, 1996

The Media

The MediaWoodward and Bernstein exposethe Watergate cover up which ultimately led to Nixon’s resignation

The media reported Ford’s gaffs(ski accidents, falling down steps ofAir Force I) which contributed to hisImage as clumsy and ill-equipped

The press widely reported Clinton’s“indiscretions” with Monica LewinskyAnd attempt to “spin” the scandalWithout admitting responsibility.

Article I, Section 7: “Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States: If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated. . . . .If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law.”

Line-item Veto•The power of an executive to nullify or "cancel" specific provisions of a bill without vetoing the entire legislative package•The line-item veto is usually applied to budget appropriations•The line-item veto is subject to the possibility of legislative override•43 governors currently have the line-item veto power

Line Item Veto Act of 1996

Passed by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton•Afforded the President with a line-item veto•Intended to control pork barrel spending that favors a particular region rather than the nation as a whole

Clinton v. New York City (1998)•U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the line-item veto as granted in the Line Item Veto Act of 1966 violated the “Presentment Clause” of the United States Constitution.•“The Presentment” in Article I, Section 7 outlines how a bill may become law.

Power to Say No

• Executive privilege– Confidential communications

between president & advisers– Justified by separation of

powers & need for candid advice

– U.S. v. Nixon• Not absolute!!• Military & diplomatic

Power to Say No

• Impoundment of funds– Presidential refusal to spend

funds appropriated by Congress

– Budget Reform Act of 1974

Power from the People:The Public Presidency

• Presidential Approval– Receives much effort by the White House– Product of many factors: predispositions, “honeymoon,” rally events– Changes can highlight good or bad decisions

Power from the People: The Public Presidency

The Executive Branch

The Executive Office of the President Organization of agencies staffed

by the president’s closest advisors

White House Office “Nerve Center” The West Wing

The Cabinet Informal advisory group 15 executive departments

Independent agencies, boards & commissions

Who gets appointed

The President’s Programs

• Putting it together• Reorganizing the executive

branch

How Powerful is the President?

• Constraints• Only real measure is what he/she

accomplishes

The Vice President• Selected by the presidential nominee– “Balancing the ticket”

• Two constitutional duties– Presiding over the Senate & voting in case of a

tie– Presidential succession

• Today given more duties

Presidential Transition

Causes of succession Death (natural or assassination) Resignation Disability

VP becomes acting president once Congress is notified Impeachment

House impeaches by majority vote; Senate tries & may convict with 2/3 vote For treason, bribery or other high crimes &

misdemeanors

Presidential Transition

Succession is… Order of succession

Vice President Speaker of the House President Pro Tempore Secretary of State Then…