Three Approaches to the
Presidency
Historical
 Institutional
 Character

1. Historical
Historical: Presidential Power
Historical: Eligibility

Who can be
president?
2. Institutional Approach
Basic Structure
US Constitution
Executive
Legislative
Judicial
Cabinet-Style Government
(standard organizational structure)
President
Secretary of…
Secretary of…
Secretary of…
Deputy Sec of…
Undersecretary of…
Undersecretary of…
Assistant Secretary of…
Assistant Secretary of…
Assistant Secretary of…
Career vs. Appointee
Transition 2000-2001
Clinton
W
Career
Advisors to the President
3. Character
Character: The Good
Character: The Bad
Character: The Ridiculous
What decides the outcome of a President’s attempts
to pass legislation or to get his agenda implemented?
Persuasion-Bargaining Model
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The individual President
matters
Success or failure in the
presidency is idiosyncratic
What matters?
• The President’s character
• The President’s political skill
and strategy
• The President’s intelligence
• The President’s imagination
Institutional Model

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
The individual President does
not matter
Success of failure in the
presidency is based on
institutional and historical
forces
What matters?
• The political pressures on the
president
• The institutional relationships
of the US government
(Congress, Depts, lobby
groups)
• Party control of the executive
and legislative branches
• The historical context
Cycles of Political Time
3. Politics of
Disjunction
1. Politics of
Reconstruction
2. Politics of
Articulation
The New Deal Order
3. Carter
1977-81
1.FDR
1933-45
2. LBJ
1963-69
Key Issues
1.
2.
3.
Presidential Domination
Institutional Environment
Cycles of Presidential Power
1. Presidential Domination
Lincoln Memorial
Jefferson Memorial
Mt. Rushmore
FDR Memorial
Speaker of the House Monument?
2. Institutional Environment
People
Federal
Judiciary
State
Courts
Media
Congress
State
Governments
President
Time
Bureaucracy
3. Cycles of Presidential Power
LBJ/Nixon
Reagan
Carter/Ford
Bush 43
Bush 41/Clinton
Early Debates on the Executive
Hamilton
Presidential power
Madison
checks and
balances
Creating the Executive




Articles of Confederation
US Constitution
The Federalist Papers
Anti-Federalist Papers
Enough Intro…
Design of the US Government
Articles of Confederation
US Constitution
Executive
Legislative
Judicial
Institutional Powers
Article One:
Congressional Powers
 Declare War
 Raise and support
armed forces
 Regulate armed
forces
 Senate: approve
executive branch
officials
 Senate: advise and
consent on treaties
 Tax and Spend
money

Article Two:
Executive Powers
 Make treaties
 Appoint officials
and ambassadors
 Commander-in-chief
of armed forces
Supreme Court


Judicial Review
Marbury V. Madison 1803
John Marshall,
Chief Justice
1801-1835
Executive Orders
By President since FDR

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Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation
9/22/62
FDR’s Orders 1937
Carter creates FEMA 7/20/79
Bush creates HSC and OHS 10/8/01
Bush Military Order on Unlawful
Enemy Combatants 11/13/01
Obama Executive Order on
Immigration 11/20/14
Choosing a President




Electoral Votes
12th Amendment
Election Results
Electoral College Rules
Electoral College

Number of electoral votes: 538
• Number of House of Reps seats

Based on population
• Number of Senate seats




Two per State
State wide elections
Winner of state vote gets
electoral votes
Winner needs 270
Actually Electing the President
2012

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
November 6, 2012—Election Day: The voters in
each State chose electors to serve in the Electoral
College.
December 17, 2012—Meeting of Electors:
The electors in each State met to select the
President and Vice President of the United States.
December 26, 2012—Deadline for Receipt of
Electoral Votes: Federal and State officials had to
have the electoral votes in hand.
January 4, 2013—Electoral Votes Counted in
Congress.
Electoral Votes 2008
Electoral College 2016
Red States 2016 (180 EV)
Blue States 2016 (215 EV)
Swing States (143 EV)
2012 Results (332-206)
Obama Victory
Problems?
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1824
1876
1888
2000
US Election Atlas
Before the 12th Amendment