The Many Roles of the President
 Chief
of State
Ceremonial head of the
country
Acts as the “face of the U.S.”
Welcomes foreign dignitaries
For example…
The Many Roles of the President
 Chief
Executive
Ensures that the nation’s
laws are enforced and
carried out
Head of the executive branch
The Many Roles of the President

Chief Administrator
 Head of the entire bureaucracy – people
who work for the government to
implement policies
 Appoints everyone in the top levels of
the bureaucracy, with approval of a
majority of the Senate
 May also fire any appointed person
 does
not need Senate approval for firing
The Many Roles of the President

Chief Diplomat
 Develops the nation’s foreign policy
stances
 Top
advisor on foreign policy is the
Secretary of State
 Spokesperson
to the rest of the
world
 Meets and befriends leaders of
foreign countries
The Many Roles of the President
 Commander-in-Chief
Top
commander of all
branches of the armed forces
All are subject to his
immediate control
Can wage undeclared wars
The Many Roles of the President
 Chief
Legislator
 Proposes Laws to Congress
 Chooses whether to sign bills
into law or veto them
 Can also issue executive orders
– changes in executive branch
policy that have the effect of law
The Many Roles of the President

Chief of Party
 He is the undisputed leader and face of
the party that helped elect him
 Helps raise money and campaign for
other party members
 The “coattail effect” – Congressional
candidates from the party “ride his
coattails” into victory
The Many Roles of the President
 Chief
Citizen
Work to help the public as a
whole, rather than private
interests
Represent what all American
people should be (in terms of
character)
Qualifications
WHAT DOES IT
TAKE TO BE THE
MOST POWERFUL
MAN IN THE
WORLD?!?!
Qualifications
 35
years old
 Natural Born U.S. Citizen
 Could
be born in another country to
an American parent (jus sanguinis)
 Or born on U.S. soil (jus solis)
 Resident
of the U.S. for 14 years
Terms
 Pres.
serves a 4 year term
 Limited to 2 terms by the 22nd
Amendment
 If V.P. takes over less than half of
President’s term, it doesn’t count
against him
 Thus, most possible years = 10
$ Perks $
 Salary of $400,000 per year
for life
 $50,000 in expenses
 Free medical care for life
 Live in the White House
 Use of Air Force One, Marine
One, other transportation
Presidential Succession

Constitution originally only provided that
when Pres. becomes incapable, V.P.
would become “acting president”

Didn’t address:
Is V.P. now president forever?
 Does “acting president” have the same power as
president?
 What if the V.P. leaves office?
 Who decides if the president is “unable”
 How is it determined when the president is “able”
again?


All of this was fixed by the 25th Amendment
(1967)
Presidential Succession
 If
president dies, resigns, is
impeached, or is temporarily
incapable, succession occurs
 Pres.
can be declared temporarily
incapable by himself, or V.P. with a
majority of the Cabinet (25th
Amendment)
Presidential Succession
What if more than just the president
dies, or is removed from office?
 Order of Succession – set by
Presidential Succession Act of 1947

 Vice
President
 Speaker of the House
 President Pro-Tempore
 Secretary of State
 Each Cabinet Dept. Secretary in the
order they were created
Presidential Succession

Impeachment – Explained in pieces of Articles I and
II, on grounds of “treason, bribery, or other high
crimes and misdemeanors”

House – “sole power of impeachment”, brings charges
with a majority vote


Senate – “sole power to try all impeachments”, convicts
and removes with a 2/3 vote


Brought against 2 presidents – Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton
Never successfully removed a president
Chief Justice – presides over trial of the president
The floor of the Senate during Clinton’s Impeachment Trial
But what if I
die?!?!
Vice-Presidential Succession
 If
V.P. dies or resigns,
president picks a new one
 Majority of both houses of
Congress must approve
What Does the Veep Do?
2
Important Jobs (sarcasm)
Take over if the Pres. dies
Preside over the Senate
These 2 jobs take no time,
and allowed Dick Cheney to
spend time shooting old men
in the face
So What do They Really Do?
Reagan didn’t let
 They do
me do anything.
whatever the
president lets
them do
How to Pick a V.P.
 Balance the Ticket – pick a
guy with qualities that will draw
voters you wouldn’t
Example of Balancing the Ticket

President Reagan
 From California
(West Coast)
 Very conservative
 Idea man – not
concerned with
details

Vice-President Bush
 From Connecticut
(East Coast)
 Moderate conservative
 Technocrat – obsessed
with nuance/details
As Joe Biden introduces himself at a
campaign event in central Missouri, he
takes a moment to recognize the
achievements of a dedicated public
servant who happens to be paraplegic
and wheelchair-bound.
Presidential Powers

Article II offers a vague definition of the
president’s power
Section 3 - “Take care that the laws be
faithfully executed,” for example
 Has allowed substantial growth in presidential
power

Presidential Powers

National Security Powers
Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces
(expressed in Article II)
 Power to wage undeclared wars (implied from
Commander-in-Chief power)
 Power to negotiate treaties
 Power to make executive agreements

Presidential Powers

Legislative Powers of the President

Power to sign or veto bills
Signing statements – written explanation of how
the president intends to implement a law he signs
 Veto can be overridden by a 2/3 vote in both
houses of Congress

Power to propose laws to Congress
 Power to issue executive orders – directives
with the effect of law
 Power to call special sessions of Congress

Presidential Powers

Judicial Powers of the President

Clemency powers (apply only in federal crimes)

Pardon – complete forgiveness of an individual’s crime


Amnesty – complete forgiveness to all who violated a law


Jimmy Carter to draft dodgers, Reagan to illegal immigrants
Commutation – reducing a criminal sentence


Ford’s pardon of Nixon after Watergate
George W. Bush reduced Scooter Libby’s sentence to 1 day
after the “Plamegate” scandal
Reprieve – delay the execution of a sentence

2 married Enron execs with children, mother was reprieved for
10 years so she could raise the kids while father was in prison
Presidential Powers

Judicial Powers of the President

Power to appoint judges and justices

must have “advice and consent” from Senate
(majority vote)
What Determines Whether a
President is Effective or Not?
 Richard
Neustadt’s Theory of
Presidential Power:
 The power of the presidency the
power to persuade.
Neustadt’s 5 Constituencies

Effective Presidents successfully persuade
the following 5 groups to back their
agenda:
The Public
 His Party
 The Bureaucracy
 Congress
 Foreign Nations


Neustadt rates presidents based on how
they do with each of these groups
Running the Government:
The Executive Branch

The Cabinet
Presidential advisors, not in Constitution
 Top executives of the 15 Federal
Departments, confirmed by the Senate
 Generally political appointments, not
necessarily personally loyal to the president

Running the Government:
The Executive Branch

The Executive Office of the President (EOP)


Made up of several policymaking and advisory bodies
Three principle groups: NSC, CEA, OMB
Figure 13.1
Running the Government:
The Executive Branch

The White House Staff
Chief aides and staff for the president - some
are more for the White House than the
president
 Presidents rely on their information and effort
 Most likely to be personally loyal to the
president, and don’t require Senate
confirmation

Presidential Selection
says – “president
shall be chosen by a number of
electors”
 These electors are the Electoral
College
 Constitution
Original Plan
 Each
elector gets 2 votes
 1st Place becomes president
 2nd Place becomes vicepresident
 Crisis in Election of 1800
The Election of 1800
 Political Parties had just
appeared
and Burr –
Democratic Republicans
 Adams and Pinckney –
Federalists
 Jefferson
 Each
elector casts his 2 ballots
for his party’s 2 candidates
The Election of 1800
 Final
Result:
 Thomas
Jefferson - 73
 Aaron Burr - 73
 John Adams - 65
 Charles Pinckney - 64
 John Jay - 1
The Election of 1800
 Burr
had run intending to
become Jefferson’s Vice, then
realized he had a legitimate
claim to win!
 Took 36 votes in the House of
Reps. to settle the dispute and
pick Jefferson
The 12th Amendment
Darn straight,
they did.
 Requires
Electoral College
to case separate
ballots for
president and
vice-president