By Loren Miller
THE PRESIDENCY
“No man will ever bring out of the
Presidency the reputation which
carries him into it. To myself,
personally, it brings nothing but
increasing drudgery and daily
loss of friends.”
Thomas Jefferson
THE PRESIDENCY
“As to the presidency, the two
happiest days of my life were
those of my entrance upon the
office and my surrender of it.”
Martin Van Buren
THE PRESIDENCY
“After the White House what is
there to do but drink!”
Franklin Pierce
THE PRESIDENCY
After Vice President Truman heard
about the death of Franklin D.
Roosevelt, he said to a small
collection of reporters:
“Boys, if you ever pray, pray for
me now.”
THE PRESIDENCY
“All the president is, is a glorified
public relations man who spends
his time flattering, kissing, and
kicking people to get them to do
what they are supposed to do
anyway.”
Harry Truman
EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY
Chief Clerk: 1789-1836
•
Presidents perform administrative duties
that Congress requests.
•
•
Government is best that governs the least.
Presidents focused their attention on foreign
affairs while Congress focused on domestic
matters.
•
Madison found himself unable to fund the War of
1812 and unable to raise an army.
• The Monroe Doctrine
• Congress forged key compromises on slavery and
paid of most of the national debt.
•
Andrew Jackson, an outsider, grabs the reins of
government and remakes the presidency.
•
Forced out Cabinet members who disagreed with
him.
• Introduced the spoils system.
EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY
Weakened Presidency: 1837-1900
•
Andrew Jackson’s popularity and energetic
personality raised the profile of the office.
However, those who followed Jackson (with
some exceptions) reverted back to “chief
clerk.” Exceptions include:
•
•
•
James Polk: westward expansion; used his
power as commander in chief to instigate war with
Mexico; acquired California, Arizona and Oregon
Territory.
Abraham Lincoln: blockaded southern ports;
suspended the writ of habeas corpus; spent
money without Congressional approval; raised an
army without Congressional approval.
Abraham Lincoln reinterpreted Article II into a
source of executive authority during emergencies.
EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY
The Modern Presidency: 1901-1945
•
As the United States industrialized and
became a significant player in an
interconnected world, the power of the
presidency grew accordingly.
•
Theodore Roosevelt used the office as a “bully
pulpit.” He wanted to be “the bride at every
wedding and the corpse at every funeral.”
•
Bold assertions of presidential power: The
Stewardship Theory
•
•
•
•
•
Breaks up corporate monopolies
Initiates a Panamanian revolution
Wins a Nobel Peace Prize (mediating Japan/Russia)
settlement
Sends fleet around the world
First president to travel to a foreign country
EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY
The Modern Presidency: 1901-1945
•
Woodrow Wilson achieved some significant
successes and suffered some great failures.
•
Achieved industrial reforms
• Led the United States into World War I
• Led efforts to create a League of Nations
•
Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal
•
•
•
•
•
•
Permanent bureaucracies
Social Security and unemployment insurance
Use of the media to communicate directly with the
public—fireside chats
Lend-Lease Program prior to U.S. involvement in WWII
(without consent of Congress)
Gave Britain 50 destroyers in exchange for rights to build
military based on British territory (without consent of
Congress)
The national government became the focus of power
EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY
Imperial Presidency Under Attack: 1945-1980
•
By the end of World War II, the presidency had
become a very powerful office and emphasis on the
“cold war” in the 1950s and 1960s added to the
president’s power.
•
•
•
The Truman Doctrine
Sending troops to Vietnam
Watergate, Richard Nixon’s resignation and Jimmy
Carter’s inability to resolve the Iranian hostage
situation frustrated the public and the presidency
came under increasing attacks from Congress.
EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY
The Contemporary Presidency: 1980-
•
Following the Vietnam War and Watergate, the
powers of the modern presidency has been
diminished as the resources for presidential power
fall short of the tasks he is expected to perform
- divided government became the norm
- a high national debt and budget deficits limited
the expansion of federal programs
•
What is required to succeed on the campaign trail is
different from what is needed to handle the global
demands of a modern president.
LEGAL REQUIREMENTS
FOR PRESIDENT
•
at least 35 years of age
•
have lived in the United States 14
years
•
be a natural born citizen of the
United States
PRESIDENTIAL TRIVIA
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Only divorced president: Reagan
Only bachelor president: Buchanan
Shortest Term: Harrison (1 month)
Largest President: Taft (350 pounds)
Smallest President: Madison (95
pounds)
Youngest President: Roosevelt (42)
Oldest President: Reagan (77)
INFORMAL CRITERIA
FOR PRESIDENT
•
Political Experience
•
1868-1956 gubernatorial experience
preferred
• 1960-1972 senatorial experience
preferred
• 1972 to the present
???????
•
Vice-president??
THE VICE PRESIDENCY
If Washington is called “Mr. President,” then
you need to call me “Your superfluous
excellency.”
John Adams, our first Vice President
“[The Vice Presidency] is the most
insignificant office that ever the invention of
man contrived or his imagination
conceived.”
John Adams
THE VICE PRESIDENCY
“The Vice Presidency isn’t worth a warm
bucket of piss.”
John Nance Garner, one of FDR’s Vice Presidents
“I do not propose to be buried until I am
really dead.”
Daniel Webster, on not accepting the Vice
Presidency
THE VICE PRESIDENCY
“A little over a week ago, I took a rather
unusual step for a vice president . . . I
said something.”
Spiro Agnew, Vice President under Richard Nixon
“Look at all the Vice Presidents in
history. Where are they? They were
about as useful as a cow’s fifth teat.”
Harry S Truman, one of FDR’s Vice Presidents
THE VICE PRESIDENCY
“Once the election is over, the Vice
President’s usefulness is over.
He’s like the second stage of a
rocket. He’s damn important going
into orbit, but he’s always thrown
off to burn up in the atmosphere.”
An aide to Vice President Hubert Humphrey
“The Job of the Vice President is to go
to weddings and funerals.”
Harry S Truman
THE VICE PRESIDENCY
“The person with the best job in the
country is the Vice President . . . .
All he has to do is get up in the
morning and say, “How’s the
President?’”
Will Rogers
THE VICE PRESIDENCY
Possibly our worst Vice President was Thomas Marshall
(Wilson’s VP)
“As vice president, I am responsible
for nothing and influential nowhere”
“My job is like a monkey cage– except
that visitors do not offer me peanuts”
In his inaugural address he promised to “acknowledge
the insignificant influence of the office”
He once told a bodyguard that “his job was pointless as
no one every shoots a Vice President”
INFORMAL CRITERIA
FOR PRESIDENT
•
•
Vice-president??
VPs who became President by election:
1800s – Adams, Jefferson, Van Buren
1900s – T. Roosevelt, Coolidge, Truman,
Nixon, Johnson, Bush
Military Hero??
INFORMAL CRITERIA
FOR PRESIDENT
•
Executive Ability
•
•
the ability to hire good people
Ideology
•
middle of the road
INFORMAL CRITERIA
FOR PRESIDENT
•
Physical Stamina
•
Mental Stability
•
Knowledge of the Issues
•
Nominated by one of the two
major parties
PRESIDENTIAL OATH
“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.”
-- Washington added “So help me God” and others
followed this tradition
-- Why do presidents have the choice of “swear or
affirm”
-- So Quakers could run for the office
-- Only Franklin Pierce (1853) “affirmed”
OATH OF OFFICE
Germany: “Promote the general welfare” and
“protect the people from harm.”
Philippines: “Do justice to every man.”
Taiwan: “Safeguard the security of the State,”
Ukraine: “Enhance the prestige of Ukraine in
the world.”
Iran: “Follow the example of the Prophet of
Islam.”
Mexico: “Look for the good and prosperity of
the union.”
THE JOB OF PRESIDENT
Act as Commander in Chief
Negotiate Treaties
Receive Foreign Ambassadors
Nominate Top Federal Officials
Veto Bills
Faithfully Administer Federal Laws
Pardon Persons for Federal Offenses
Address Congress and the Nation
WHAT WE LOOK FOR
1995
2005
Sound Judgment
76%
76%
High Ethical Standards
67%
67%
Compassion
64%
63%
Saying What One Believes
59%
56%
Consistent Positions
51%
52%
Forcefulness and Decisiveness
50%
49%
Willingness to Compromise
34%
38%
Experience in Public Office
30%
37%
Political Savvy
31%
36%
THE BEST & WORST
THE BEST
THE WORST
1. Abraham Lincoln
1. James Buchanan
2. Franklin D. Roosevelt
2. Franklin Pearce
3. George Washington
3. Warren Harding
4. Theodore Roosevelt
4. William Henry Harrison
5. Thomas Jefferson
5. Andrew Johnson
6. Harry Truman
6. George W. Bush
7. Woodrow Wilson
7. Millard Fillmore
8. Dwight D. Eisenhower
8. John Tyler
9. John F. Kennedy
9. Herbert Hoover
10. Ronald Reagan
10. Benjamin Harrison
2014
GREAT PRESIDENTS ARE:
•
Blessed with a great crisis
•
Resolve the crisis in an innovative
and creative way
•
Leave a legacy
CONCEPTS OF
PRESIDENTIAL POWER
•
Narrow (Whig Model)-- presidential power is
limited to the specific grants of power
enumerated in the Constitution
•
•
Pre-TR and Taft, Harding and Coolidge
Broad (Stewardship Model) -- presidential
power is greater than what is enumerated in
the Constitution
•
the role of precedent
PRESIDENTIAL CHARACTER
•
What should we look for in a
president?
•
•
James David Barber, Duke University
Presidential Character is the “way a
President orients himself toward life.”
•
Developed mainly during childhood
• Self-esteem underlies character.
•
The better people feel about themselves, the
more likely they will be able to accept criticism,
think rationally, and learn on the job.
PRESIDENTIAL CHARACTER
•
Based on two dimensions
•
1. The amount of energy a person
puts into being president
•
active or passive
•
Plays the roles of being president
aggressively
• Rarely plays the roles of being
president aggressively except during
crisis
•
2. How a person feels about being
president
•
positive or negative
•
Enjoys the job of being president;
flexible
• Unhappy in the job; anxious; a sense
of duty
PRESIDENTIAL CHARACTER
Positive
Active
Passive
Negative
ADAPTIVE: self-confident;
COMPULSIVE: power as a
flexible; creates opportunities means to self-realization;
for action; enjoys the exercise expends great energy on tasks
of power, does not take
but derives little joy;
himself too seriously;
preoccupied with whether he
optimistic; emphasizes the
is failing or succeeding; low
"rational mastery" of his
self-esteem; inclined to
environment; power used as rigidity and pessimism; highly
a means to achieve beneficial driven; problem managing
results.
aggression.
COMPLIANT: seek to be loved; WITHDRAWN: responds to a
easily manipulated; low self- sense of duty; avoid power;
esteem is overcome by
low self-esteem compensated
ingratiating personality;
by service to others; responds
reacts rather than initiates;
rather than initiates; avoids
superficially optimistic.
conflict and uncertainty.
emphasizes principles and
procedures and an aversion to
politicking.
PRESIDENTIAL CHARACTER
Active-Positive
Active-Negative
Thomas Jefferson
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Harry S Truman
John F. Kennedy
Bill Clinton
George W. Bush (?)
James K. Polk
Abraham Lincoln
Woodrow Wilson
Herbert Hoover
Lyndon B. Johnson
Jimmy Carter
Richard Nixon
Passive-Positive
Passive-Negative
William Howard Taft
Warren G. Harding
Ronald Reagan
George H.W. Bush
Calvin Coolidge
Dwight D. Eisenhower
PRESIDENTIAL STYLE
PRESIDENTIAL ROLES
LEGISLATIVE
LEADER
COMMANDER
IN CHIEF
PARTY
LEADER
CHIEF
DIPLOMAT
PUBLIC
LEADER
DOMESTIC
PROVISIONS
 Constitutional Powers
LEGISLATIVE LEADER
•
When does Congress follow the lead
of the president?
•
The Honeymoon Period
• International Crisis
NOTHING LIKE A GOOD CRISIS !
President
Truman
Eisenhower
Kennedy
Johnson
Nixon
Carter
Bush
Clinton
Bush
Event
Korea Invaded
Egypt Seizes Suez Canal
Cuban Missile Crisis
Bombing Halt of N. Vietnam
Vietnam Peace Agreement
Hostages Seized in Iran
Iraq Invasion of Kuwait
Invasion of Haiti
September 11th
Increase in
Approval
9
7
13
14
16
28
20
5
38
LEGISLATIVE LEADER
•
When does Congress follow the lead
of the president?
•
The Honeymoon Period
• International Crisis
• Luck
•
Commanding majority in Congress
LEGISLATIVE LEADER
•
When does Congress follow the
lead of the president?
• The Honeymoon Period
• International Crisis
• Luck
•
Commanding majority in Congress
• Skilled at manipulation (LBJ
Treatment)
Presidents Under Unified
Government
Kennedy,…
Johnson, 64-68
Carter, 77-78
Clinton, 93-94
Bush, 01-06
Obama, 09-10
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
Presidents Under Divided
Government
Ford, 74-76
Reagan, 81-8
Bush, 89-92
Clinton, 95-0
Bush, 07-8
Obama, 11-13
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
APPROVAL RATINGS
70
60
50
40
TRUMAN
30
20
10
0
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
APPROVAL RATINGS
72
70
68
66
64
62
60
58
56
54
1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961
EISENHOWER
APPROVAL RATINGS
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1961
JOHNSON
KENNEDY
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
APPROVAL RATINGS
90
80
70
60
50
NIXON
40
30
20
10
0
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
APPROVAL RATINGS
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1975
CARTER
FORD
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
90
APPROVAL RATINGS
80
70
60
50
REAGAN
40
30
20
10
0
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
90
APPROVAL RATINGS
80
70
60
50
CLINTON
40
BUSH
30
20
10
0
90
APPROVAL RATINGS
80
70
60
50
BUSH
40
30
20
10
0
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
70
APPROVAL RATINGS
60
50
40
30
OBAMA
20
10
0
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Approval Ratings
Truman
Eisenhower
Kennedy
Johnson
Nixon
Ford
Carter
Reagan
H.W. Bush
Clinton
G.W. Bush
Obama
Average
High
Low
45
65
70
55
49
47
45
53
61
55
49
49
87
79
83
79
67
71
75
68
89
73
90
69
23
48
56
35
24
37
28
35
29
27
25
38
2012
Why Approval Ratings
Go Down Over Time
•
•
•
•
Expectations rise in campaigns and
are dashed as time limits resources
Things get blamed, rightly or
wrongly, on the president
Major negative events influence how
people evaluate presidents
Press and media criticism accumulate
over time
The Buck Stops at the Top
PRESIDENTIAL AGENDA
20
New
Requests
to
Congress
15
10
5
0
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
VETO POWER
•
•
Threat of a Veto
Line Item Veto
•
Only on money bills
•
Supreme Court declared this
unconstitutional in 1997
Do Presidents Veto Many Bills?
PRESIDENTIAL VETOES
AND OVERRIDES
President Years in
Office
# of
Vetoes
# of
Overrides
Roosevelt
13
635
9
Truman
7
250
12
Eisenhower
8
181
2
Kennedy
3
21
0
Johnson
5
30
0
Nixon
6
43
7
PRESIDENTIAL VETOES
AND OVERRIDES
President Years in
Office
# of
Vetoes
# of
Overrides
Ford
3
66
12
Carter
4
31
2
Reagan
8
78
9
Bush
4
44
1
Clinton
8
37
2
PRESIDENTIAL VETOES
AND OVERRIDES
President Years in
Office
# of
Vetoes
# of
Overrides
Bush
8
12
1
Obama
6
2
0
Only one two term president did not veto a
single bill . . . . Who was he?
SIGNING STATEMENTS
AND EXECUTIVE ORDERS
•
Signing Statement (do not have the force of law)
•
When the president signs a bill into law, he may attach a
statement which indicates how the executive branch wants the
bureaucracy to interpret the law.
•
•
Most often rhetorical but sometimes contrary to congressional
intent
Executive Order (they have the force of law but can be
overturned by subsequent administrations
Proclamation – ceremonial
• National Security Directive and Presidential Decision Directive
– deal with national security and defense matters
•
•
•
Emancipation Proclamation
Integration of the Armed Forces
Signing Statements
President
Johnson
Nixon
Ford
Carter
Reagan
Bush
Clinton
Bush
Obama (2012)
Total
175
117
137
227
250
228
381
162
23
% with Constitutional Objections
2.9%
3.4%
3.6%
5.7%
34.4%
46.9%
18.4%
72.8%
47.8%
# of Executive Orders Per Year
OPEN & CLOSED POLITICS
Open
•
State of the Union
Message
• Special Message
• Veto Power
• Press Conferences
Closed
•
Personal Contact
•
Patronage
•
Pork Barrel
Presidential power is the power to persuade
State of the Union
“The president shall from time to time give to
the Congress information on the State of the
Union . . . .
Article II, Section 3, Clause 1
1790-1934: Known as the “Annual Message”
1st Radio Broadcast: Coolidge, 1923
1st Television Message: Truman, 1947
The Longest: Taft, 1910 (27,651 words)
The Shortest: Washington, 1790 (1,089 words)
PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHES
In Thousands
PRESS CONFERENCES
COMMANDER IN CHIEF
•
Lincolnian View -- an expansive view of
presidential authority
•
Wilsonian-FDR View -- an executivelegislative partnership in war
leadership; statutes passed giving
broad powers to the president
COMMANDER IN CHIEF
•
The president is the ultimate decision
maker in military matters
Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb
• Nixon’s invasion of Cambodia
• Reagan sent troops to Lebanon and to Grenada
• Clinton sent troops to Haiti and to Bosnia
• Obama sent special forces to Pakistan to
assassinate Osama bin Laden
•
PARTY LEADER
•
The President is deprived of the
advantage of a strong party organization
that other heads of government enjoy
•
•
Federalism has led to fragmentation where we
have 50 separate and autonomous state
organizations
Therefore, Presidents are heavily
dependent on their own personal skills
State Party
Committees
County Party
Committees
Municipal Party Committees
Precinct Party Committees
Private Clubs and Organizations
CHIEF DIPLOMAT
•
The Two Presidencies Thesis
•
Receive Ambassadors
•
Summit Conferences
CHIEF DIPLOMAT
•
Treaties and Executive Agreements
•
Emergency Powers to be used during time
of crisis (Inherent Powers)
•
Lincoln suspended civil liberties at the start of
the Civil War
• Lincoln called state militias into national service
• Truman seized the steel mills during the Korean
War to prevent a strike (overturned by the
Supreme Court)
DOMESTIC PROVISIONS
•
. . . he shall take care that the laws be faithfully
executed . . . . (Art. II, sec. 3)
•
Inherent Executive Powers
•
Presidents have assumed “inherent powers” (not
specifically mentioned in the Constitution).
Jefferson’s purchase of Louisiana
• Bush’s suspension of civil liberties of foreign nationals held in
military prison at Guantanamo Bay
•
DOMESTIC PROVISIONS
• . . . and he shall have power to grant reprieves and
pardons for offenses against the United States, except
in cases of impeachment. (Art. II, sec. 2)
-- amnesty (blanket pardon)
-- Andrew Johnson gave amnesty to all
former Confederate soldiers
-- Jimmy Carter gave amnesty to Vietnam
era draft resisters
PRESIDENTIAL PARDONS
• Can a pardon be rejected?
-- if you accept a pardon that is an admission of
guilt
When does a president give most of their pardons?
PRESIDENTIAL PARDONS
Per Year
PUBLIC LEADER
With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it
nothing can succeed.”
Abraham Lincoln
•
Presidents are news . . . Even when
they do nothing
•
Presidents keep their eyes on public
opinion polls
•
Trial Balloon
IS IT TOO MUCH
FOR ONE PERSON?
•
•
•
The responsibilities are awesome
There is no “vacation”
The remuneration is poor
IS IT TOO MUCH
FOR ONE PERSON?
•
The president fulfills two roles that,
in other nations, are performed by
two different people
•
Head of Government
• Chief of State
“The office of President is such a bastardized thing,
half royalty and half democracy, that nobody knows
whether to genuflect or spit.”
Jimmy Breslin