Bell ringer
 Would you want to be President of the United
States? Why or why not? Think about all the pros
and cons of being the President. What aspects of
the job appeal to you and do not appeal to you?
1
President 1
Today we will …
Objectives
agenda
 Identify formal qualifications
 Article – ‘The Loneliest Job”
of the President.
 Slide/notes
 Explore the job of the
president, including informal
roles.
 Identify pay and benefits of
being president.
 Guided Reading – Section
13.4
 Exit Ticket
3
Before & After: Presidential Aging
4
Interesting facts on our 44th
President – Barack Obama
 Born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4th, 1961
 “Barack” means “one who is blessed” in Swahili.
 On his high school basketball team, he earned the nickname the
“O’bomber”.
 He’s 51 years old.
 Graduated from Colombia University & Harvard Law School
 Worked in Chicago as a community organizer before he finished Law
School.
 Worked as a civil rights lawyer in Chicago as well.
 Taught a “Constitutional Law” class at the University of Chicago from
1992-2004.
5
More interesting facts…
 Served 3 terms in the Illinois Senate.
 Favorite music: Bob Dylan & Miles Davis
 Favorite food that he cooks: Chili
 Doesn’t drink coffee, rarely drinks alcohol.
 Bad Habit: Constantly checking his BlackBerry.
 He has read all 7 Harry Potter books.
 When he lived in Indonesia, he had a pet ape named Tata.
6
Magazine Article
Obama After One Year: The Loneliest Job
Read & Answer the following questions in the blanks provided
1.) According to the article, what do you think is difficult about being
President?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________.
2.) It’s been about 7 years since President Obama has been in office. How
do you think he has done? Has your opinion changed of him?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________.
7
Formal Qualifications
 According to the Constitution:
 Natural born citizen in the U.S.
 Be at least 35 years old
 Have been a resident within the United
States for 14 years.
8
Presidential
Terms
 A Presidential Term lasts 4 years – and each President may
serve for 2 terms.
 Typically the longest a President can serve is 8 years.
 However…if a VP must step in & become President mid-term
(for 2 years), he may still run for the additional terms
remaining. This means we could have a President potentially
serve for 10 years.
9
Franklin D. Roosevelt
 Up until 1951, the Constitution placed no limit on the
number of terms a President may serve.
 FDR served as President from 1933-1945.
 In 1951, the Constitution was amended for the 22nd
Amendment limiting Presidential terms.
10
Why?
Some argue we should abolish
term limits. Why? Why not?
11
Job Description
 The President of the United States is known as the “Leader of the Free World”.
 The President simultaneously fills 8 different roles:
 Chief of State
 Chief Executive
 Chief Administrator
 Chief Diplomat
 Commander in Chief
 Chief Legislator
 Chief of Party 
 Chief Citizen
12
Reading – 13.4
 Read 13.4 the modern president’s job.
 Take notes on the organizer.
13
Chief
of
State
 This means the President is the ceremonial head of the
government of the United States, the symbol of all people
of the nation.
14
Chief
Executive
 This means the President is vested by the Constitution with “the
executive power” of the U.S.
 “The most powerful office in the world”.
15
Chief Administrator
 This means the President is the director of the entire
executive branch of the Federal Government.
 Under President Obama, there has been an increase in federal
employees (Dept. of Homeland Security/Dept. of Justice/etc.)
16
Chief Diplomat
 This means the President is the main architect of U.S. foreign
policy & the nation’s chief spokesperson to the rest of the world.
 Ex: Taking trips around the world and meeting fellow
presidents or prime ministers, making speeches abroad.
17

Commander
in
Chief
This means the President is control of the nation’s military.
 According to President Bush’s book, aspect of the job was his favorite.
 The President in charge of the Army, Navy, Air Force, etc.
 Makes the ultimate decision on going to war, with Congress having to pass an
official declaration.
18
Chief Legislator
 This means the President is the main architect of its public policies.
 The President sets the Congressional agenda.
 Ex: Healthcare Reform
19
Chief of the Party
 This means the President is the acknowledged leader of his
political party.
 Ex: President Obama and the Democrats
20
Chief Citizen
 This means the President is expected to be the “the representative
of all the people”.
 He’s expected to work for and represent the public interest.
21
So what’s important about this?
 They’re all connected.
 The decisions the President makes as one role affects all
the other roles.
 For example, the decisions President Obama has made as
the Chief Legislator has affected his role as the Chief of
the Party.
22
 History Channel – Inside the White House
 Nat Geo – Air Force 1
23
Closure – exit ticket
 Unwritten Qualifications #88
24