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Chapter 12 Notes: The Presidency – Government by the
People
The History of the Presidency
The Framers’ Views of the Presidency
The framers of the Constitution were wary of executive power because they saw is as the most
likely source of tyranny. As they wrote the Constitution, the framers decided not to provide
great detail about the president. Instead, the framers gave the office only a few specific
powers. They wanted a strong executive who could deal with emergencies, particularly those
involving other nations, but who would not dominate the U.S. government. The framers
expected that Congress would be the focal point of the national government. They made the
president powerful enough to check and balance Congress but not so powerful as to overrun
Congress.
King Caucus (1789-1830s)
For the first few decades of the republic, congressional delegations chose their party’s
presidential candidate in a caucus, a meeting of political leaders to select candidates or plot
strategy. As a result, the president was, to some extent, dependent on the representatives of
his party in Congress. Starting in the 1830s, however, parties began using conventions to
choose their presidential nominees. This change gave more power to party members outside
of Congress, opening up the nomination process to increased public participation, a trend that
has continued into the present day. The end of King Caucus gave more power to the president
because he was no longer beholden to his party’s members of Congress and could act more
independently.
Clerk in Chief
Even though the end of King Caucus opened up the possibility of greater presidential power,
presidents refrained from seizing that power because of long-standing attitudes toward to
presidency. For most of the nineteenth century, political leaders believed that political power
should be to execute decisions made by Congress. Some scholars have referred to the
presidency during this era as a “clerk in chief” because the president was not expected to
initiate or guide national policy. Many nineteenth-century presidents acted more like clerks in
chief, exercising little initiative or independent.
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The Rise of President-Centered-Government (1901-1950s)
At the start of the twentieth century, the president began to emerge as the key political actor in
the federal government. Both Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson believed in a strong
presidency, one in which the president would be assertive and initiate federal policy.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Roosevelt permanently changed the nature of the American presidency. Elected
during the Great Depression, Roosevelt expanded the size of and scope of the federal
government. As a result, the government became involved in many aspects of its citizens’ lives.
World War II furthered the scope of the president’s power as commander in chief: Many people
thought that because the president was the person best positioned to lead the war effort,
power should be concerned in the president’s hands.
The Imperial Presidency (1960s-Present)
Presidents have assumed extraordinary powers in the areas of foreign and domestic policy
since the 1930s. In the 1960s and 1970s, a number of people decried the “imperial
presidency,” which they felt threatened democracy by giving too much power to one person.
The imperial presidency may have peaked with Richard Nixon (president from 1969 to 1974). In
the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, Congress took a more assertive role in the
government, and the power of the president receded. In particular, Congress began an active
campaign of oversight, investigating the president’s actions and demanding more information
from the executive branch.
Since September 11th, the War of Terror has created new concerns about the power of the
presidency. Many people feel that President George W. Bush has taken too much power as
well. Others feel that Bush is doing what is necessary to win the War on Terror.
Becoming President
Eligibility
According to the Constitution anyone who wishes to become president must be:
 At least thirty-five years old
 A resident of the United States for at least fourteen years
 A natural-born citizen
Demographics of the Presidents
Technically, the Constitution allows women and members of any ethnic, racial, or religious
group to be president, but so far all of the presidents have been white men, and all but one
have been Protestant (John F. Kennedy was a Catholic).
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Campaigning
The major parties select their presidential nominee at their national conventions, held every
four years. At the conventions, delegates from each state vote and whichever candidate wins a
majority of the delegates becomes the party’s nominee. To win delegates, candidates compete
in primary elections, held in each state prior to the convention.
Because citizens get to vote in the primaries, they have a large role in the election. Before
acquiring the party nomination, a presidential candidate must prove that he or she can attract
voters by winning primaries.
The general election pits each party’s nominees against each other. Candidates can usually rely
on the support of voters from their own party, so the campaign is frequently a competition for
independent voters. The candidates travel to battleground states to hold rallies, aimed at both
turning out their own base and persuading undecided voters to support them. The candidates
usually debate each other on television. Following a blitz of last-minute campaigning, the
voters go to the polls on election day.
The Electoral College
The Constitution only states that the candidate who receives a majority of votes in the Electoral
College becomes president. It says nothing about the popular vote. The intent of the framers
was to filter public opinion through a body composed of wiser, more experienced people; the
framers did not want the president to be chosen directly by the people.
Each state gets a number of electors equal to its total number of members of Congress (all
states get at least three). State governments determine how electors are chosen. No federal
officeholders can serve as electors.
Voters think that when they cast their vote, they are voting for a presidential candidate. But in
all but two states (Nevada and Maine are exceptions), voters actually vote for electors, who
have pledged to vote for their party’s candidate during the Electoral College. Some states have
laws that require every elector to vote for the candidate who received the most popular votes
in the state, a winner-take-all system. Many of the states with a winner-take-all system have
laws to punish faithless electors, those who vote for someone other than the winner of the
state’s popular vote.
Sometimes a candidate loses the popular vote but still becomes the president. In fact, this has
happened four times in American history: John Quincy Adams in 1824, Rutherford B. Hayes in
1876, Benjamin Harrison in 1888, and George W. Bush in 2000. These men all became
president despite having lost the popular vote. In races with a significant third-party candidate,
the winner frequently gets less than 50% of the popular vote.
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Choosing the Vice President
Originally, the presidential a=candidate who received the second-greatest number of electoral
votes became the vice president, but this created problems between presidents and vice
presidents who were from different political parties. The Twelfth Amendment, ratified in 1804,
made it so that the Electoral College chooses the president and the vice president separately.
Presidential Term Limits
George Washington set a key precedent when he stepped down from office after serving only
two terms. For more than 100 years after Washington, presidents refused to run for office
more than twice, until Franklin Roosevelt was elected to four consecutive terms during the
Great Depression and World War II. The Twenty-second Amendment was ratified in 1951,
making it illegal for presidents to be elected more than twice.
Presidential Succession
According to the Constitution, the vice president’s main job is to assume the office of the
president if the president dies, leaves office, or can no longer perform presidential duties.
Congress has the power to determine succession if both the president and vice president die,
leave office, or cannot perform their jobs.
Vice Presidential Succession
Until the Twenty-fifth Amendment was ratified in 1967, there was no law about what to do
when the office of the vice president was vacant. When a vice president succeeded a president
who died, for example, he had no vice president. The Twenty-fifth Amendment specified that a
new vice president would be nominated by the president and approved by both houses of
Congress.
Chief of State
Every nation has a chief of state, a person who serves as the symbolic leader of the country and
represents the nation. The president both leads the government and acts as the chief of state.
As chief of state, the president presides over commemorations of war heroes, throws the first
pitch at baseball games, and attends funerals of world leaders, among other duties.
Chief Executive
The president is the head to the executive branch and is responsible for running the federal
bureaucracy and enforcing the laws passed by Congress. To do this, the president is allowed to
appoint people to key offices, a power called appointment power. The president nominates
members of the cabinet, which consists of appointees who are in charge of the major executive
departments and advise the president on policy matters. The president also chooses heads of
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agencies, federal judges, and about 2,000 lesser jobs. The Senate must approve these
nominations. The president also has the power to fire these officials.
The President’s Staff
To do the job effectively, the president sits atop a vast bureaucracy, including the White House
staff, the president’s closest advisers. Not surprisingly, as the president relies more heavily on
his staff, he often loses the ability to control it.
The president works with the White House staff every day. They help organize the president’s
schedule, set priorities, and work with Congress. The president frequently chooses close
friends and trusted advisers to the White House staff, and the staff plays a crucial role in
shaping the presidency. The head of the White House if the White House Chief of Staff.
Pardons and Reprieves
As part of the power to enforce the law, the Constitution grants the president the power to
pardon, or release from punishment, people convicted of crimes. In theory, this power allows
the president to prevent a miscarriage of justice. Presidential pardons are absolute, and they
cannot be overturned. The president can also grant reprieves, which are formal
postponements of the execution of a sentence.
Commander in Chief
The Constitution states that the president is commander in chief of the armed forces. This
means that the president-a civilian-controls the entire military. Civilian control of the military
has been a cornerstone of the United States since its founding.
As commander in chief, the president can send troops into battle without a formal declaration
of war from Congress and has final authority over military operations. During wartime, the
president’s powers expand dramatically: Most Americans willingly grant the president a great
deal of freedom in order to win the war.
Chief Diplomat
The president is the main face and voice of American foreign policy, negotiating treaties and
other sorts of agreements with foreign leaders (although the Senate must approve all treaties).
The president uses two key tools to conduct foreign policy:
1. Executive agreement: An agreement made with foreign leaders that does not require
Senate approval (although the Congress may refuse to fund the agreement); executive
agreements are not necessarily binding on future presidents
2. Diplomatic recognition: Formal acknowledgement of a government as legitimate; this
recognition allows the exchange of ambassadors
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Chief Legislator
The president does not have any formal legislative power but has acquired a great deal of
informal power as relations between the president and Congress have evolved. People expect
the president to have a legislative agenda, a series of laws he or she wishes to pass, which is
presented each year during the State of the Union address to Congress and the American
people. The president can also play a key role in getting legislation passed by persuading
members of Congress to vote for certain bills. The president’s popularity and the partisan
makeup of Congress influence how effective a president can be in getting legislation passed.
The Veto
The president’s most powerful tool in dealing with congress is the veto, through which the
presidents can reject a bill passed by Congress. Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds
vote in both houses, but overrides are extremely rare. The president attaches a veto message
to a bill that is sent back to Congress, explaining the reasoning for the veto.
The president can also make use of the pocket veto. If the president neither signs nor vetoes a
bill while Congress is not in session, the bill dies at the end of ten days. If Congress is in session
and the president does not sign the bill within ten days, then the bill becomes law anyway. The
president might make use of the pocket veto for political reasons: He or she may not want the
bill to become law but fears political damage if he or she actually vetoes it. The presidential
veto is all or nothing: The bill dies, or it does not.
The Budget
The major part of the president’s legislative agenda is the federal budget, which explains how
federal money will be spent during the next year. Every year, the president proposes a budget.
Congress can reject or approve the budget, but the president’s budget usually lays out the
contours of debate on fiscal matters.
Superpolitician
In addition to formal roles, the president also serves as the leader of his or her party. As the
most visible party member, the president can play a huge role in raising money and generating
support for candidates from this party, especially if the president is popular. Sometimes,
however, party members seek to distance themselves from and unpopular president.
Presidential Power
There are three categories of presidential power:
1. Constitutional powers: powers explicitly granted by the Constitution
2. Delegated powers: powers granted by Congress to help the president fulfill his duties
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3. Inherent powers: powers inherent in the president’s power as chief of the executive
branch
Constitutional and delegated powers make up the expressed powers because these powers are
clearly outlined in the Constitution. Presidents have interpreted inherent powers differently,
sometimes in ways that grant the president great power.
Emergency Powers
The most common inherent powers are emergency powers, exercised only in times of great
needs. Some emergency powers are limited in scope.
Executive Orders
Another type of inherent power is the executive order, which is a rule or regulation issued by
the president that has the force of law. The president can issue executive orders for three
reasons:
1. To enforce statutes
2. To enforce the Constitution or treaties
3. To establish or modify how executive agencies operate
Executive Privilege
Executive privilege is the right of official of the executive branch to refuse to disclose some
information to other branches of government or to the public. It includes refusing to appear
before congressional committees. Executive privilege is an inherent power that is not clearly
defined, and the courts have had to set limitations on the use of the privilege.
Abuse of Power and Impeachment
If the president abuses power, the House of Representatives can impeach him, or formally
charge him of committing crimes severe enough to call for removal from office. The Senate
then tries the impeached president to determine whether he is innocent or guilty of the
charges. If convicted, the president is removed from office. Two presidents have been
impeached – Andrew Johnson in 1867 and Bill Clinton in 1998 – but no president has been
convicted by the Senate and removed from office.
Presidential Leadership
To be successful, a president must be a strong leader, someone who successfully engages in
statecraft, the combination of power and wisdom in service of the public good. Statecraft
always includes two following traits:
 Political skill: the ability to persuade, cajole, or coerce people
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
Prudence: the ability to apply general principles to specific situations in a successful
manner

Opportunity: the ability to behave in decisive and meaningful ways
The President and the Public
Theodore Roosevelt changed the public’s perception of the presidency by asserting the
centrality of the office in American government. The president is chosen by the whole nation,
not just a district or state, and therefore the office of the president is the most important office
in the federal government. Roosevelt’s stewardship theory of the presidency claimed that the
president has the right to do whatever the nation needs, within the limits of the law.
The President’s Constituents
The president has a number of different constituencies. The most obvious constituency is the
citizens of the United States: He or she is the president of all people in the United States, not
just those who voted for him or her. But the president also has constituents in the political
party, members of the opposing party whose cooperation the president needs, as well as
interest groups. The Washington community – a term used to describe the government
officials, pundits, and columnists in Washington, D.C.-is an often unwanted constituency but
one that has influence because of its impact on public opinion.
Presidential Approval
A presidential approval poll measures the degree to which Americans approve of the
president’s job. The president’s popularity affects presidential power because a popular
president is much more likely to persuade reluctant members of Congress of the public than an
unpopular one.
When a president first takes office, he is often given what is called a honeymoon period: For a
few months, the public, the media, and members of Congress tend to give the president the
benefit of the doubt and treat him well. However, this honeymoon period is usually fairly short
and often gives way to opposition and hostility.
The President and the Media
Presidents often use the media to speak to the American people directly in order to generate
public support for their policies. Since World War II, presidents have increasingly used the
media to gain popularity and leverage in their relationship with Congress. This strategy has
been dubbed going public.
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Changes in Media Coverage
Reporters covering the president today are very different from their counterparts a few
decades ago. Journalists today are much more likely to report anything that the president
does, including things that could hurt the president’s image.
Understanding and Evaluating Presidents
Factors Contributing to Success and Failure

Strong leadership: The ability to rally people behind him

Congress: The ability to control and persuade members of Congress

Popularity: The ability to convince others to do as he wishes
Decision-Making Analysis
Decision-making analysis explores the methods and circumstances under which key decisions
are made. Graham T. Allison devised three models, all of which explain parts of the decisionmaking process:
 The rational actor model: Decision makers act in a rational manner: They gather all the
evidence, weigh their options, and make an informed choice.

The organizational process model: The structure of organizations shapes how decisions
are made.

The bureaucratic politics model: Leaders of different organizations are in competition
with one another, and that affects how decisions are made.
Another decision-making model – known as the groupthink approach – examines how group
dynamics can affect decision outcomes. According to this model, under some circumstances,
group members reinforce one another’s faulty reasoning, leading to disastrous decisions.