Political Institutions
The Presidency
“We are in a
wilderness
without a
single footstep
to guide us.”
Who can
lead the
new United
States of
America?
"I walk on untrodden
ground. There is
scarcely any part of
my conduct which
may not hereafter be
drawn into
precedent."
Ex. Title and Term Limits
POTUS
• Qualifications
– 35 years old
– 14 year resident
– Natural-born US citizen
• Term
– Four years
– 2 term limit
• Precedent from Geo W.
• 22nd Amendment
"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."
Electoral College
• Almost all states use a winner-take-all
system
• If no candidate won a majority, the House
would decide the election
• The Electoral College ultimately worked
differently than expected, because the
Founders did not anticipate the role of
political parties
Map 12.1: Electoral Votes per State
Key Questions for Presidency
• How is a president different from a prime minister?
• How did the framers view executive power?
• What is the current state of executive power?
• How has the presidency changed since 1789?
• How is the Executive Branch organized?
• What formal and informal powers does the
president possess?
Presidential and Parliamentary Systems
• Presidents may be outsiders; prime ministers
are always insiders, chosen by the members of
the majority party in parliament
• Presidents have no guaranteed majority in the
legislature; prime ministers always have a
majority
• Divided government: one party controls the
White House and another controls one or both
houses of Congress
The First Presidents
• The office was legitimated by men active
in independence and Founding politics
• Minimal activism of early government
contributed to lessening the fear of the
presidency
• Relations with Congress were reserved:
few vetoes; no advice from Congress to
the president
Powers of the President
• Potential for power found in ambiguous
clauses of the Constitution—e.g., power as
commander in chief, duty to “take care that
laws be faithfully executed” (executive
power)
•
•
•
•
•
*consider
The Military Commisions Act of 2006
the
source!
Part 2
CNN view of Presidential Signing Statements
Fox News Point of View on Signing Statements
Bill O’Reilly responds!
• Greatest source of power lies in politics and
public opinion
Presidential Power
• Constitutional Powers
– Explicitly granted by the Constitution
• Delegated Powers
– Granted by Congress to help POTUS fulfill duties
• Inherent Powers
– innate as chief of the executive branch
• Emergency powers
• Executive orders
• Executive privilege
Expressed
powers
Express/Constitutional Powers
•
•
•
•
Appointment Power
Veto Power
Pardon Power
“Take Care Power”
– “shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully
executed”
• Inform/Convene Congress Power
Chief Executive
• Article. II.
• Section. 1.
• The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together
with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:
• Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and
Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under
the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
• The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State
with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and
transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the
Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest
Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have
such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if
no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the
Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; A quorum for this purpose shall consist of a Member or Members
from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person
having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate
shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President.
• The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout
the United States.
• No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of
President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a
Resident within the United States.
• In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the
Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the
President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or
a President shall be elected.
• The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for
which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
• Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--"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."
• Section. 2.
• The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual
Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject
relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except
in Cases of Impeachment.
• He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he
shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the
supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by
Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in
the Heads of Departments.
• The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at
the End of their next Session.
• Section. 3.
• He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall
judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between
them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other
public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
• Section. 4.
• The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason,
Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Commander in Chief
Chief Diplomat
Chief Legislator
Chief of State
Chief of Party
Chief Guardian of the Economy
The Power to Persuade
• Presidents try to transform popularity into
congressional support for their programs
• Presidential coattails have had a declining
effect for years
• Popularity is affected by factors beyond
anyone’s control – consider Bush’s
approval ratings following the September
11th attacks
Presidential Popularity
1.
2.
What happens to a president’s popularity over time? Why?
How might this trend affect a president’s power and strategy?
Thomas E.Cronin, The State of the Presidency (Boston: Little, Brown, 1975), 110-111. Copyright © 1975 by Little, Brown
and Company, Inc. Reprinted by permission. Updated with Gallup poll data, 1976-2004. Reprinted by permission of the
Gallup Poll News Service.
Presidential Popularity
Thomas E.Cronin, The State of the Presidency (Boston: Little, Brown, 1975), 110-111. Copyright © 1975 by Little, Brown
and Company, Inc. Reprinted by permission. Updated with Gallup poll data, 1976-2004. Reprinted by permission of the
Gallup Poll News Service.
POTUS Popularity Abroad:
Obama: http://www.pewglobal.org/question-search/?qid=724&cntIDs=&stdIDs=
Bush: http://www.pewglobal.org/question-search/?qid=710&cntIDs=&stdIDs=
Audio on character of
POTUS
http://www.npr.org/201
2/10/23/163487916/ch
arming-cold-doespresidentialpersonality-matter
Truman to Bush
http://www.gallup.com/poll/116677
/presidential-approval-ratingsgallup-historical-statisticstrends.aspx
Obama
http://www.gallup.com/poll/1164
79/barack-obama-presidentialjob-approval.aspx
http://www.pollingreport.com/
Rankings of Presidents
Chart on POTUS rankings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_o
f_Presidents_of_the_United_States
Presidential Victories on Votes in
Congress, 1953-2002
Questions to Consider
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Given the resources and constraints that confront presidents and prime ministers,
which office would you prefer to hold if you were allowed such a choice?
The text concludes that presidential authority began to increase as a result of national
crises. Why didn’t presidential power increase after the nation’s first three wars (War
of 1812, the Mexican American War, and the Spanish-American War)? Were the wars
different or the nation different?
If the expansion of presidential power occurred because of political events and has
been fostered by public opinion, under what circumstances might presidential power
begin to be limited? Will the historical in favor of expanding presidential power be
reversed?
How has President Bush expanded executive power? Is the new powers he claims
constitutional? Is it a good thing that President Bush has expanded the executive’s
power?
The text suggests that Congress generally hesitates to challenge a popular president.
Under what circumstances might this maxim not hold true? How can you explain the
Clinton impeachment, given the president’s successful re-election campaign and
strong approval ratings? How does that compare to the Democrats support of
President Bush’s decision to go to war with Iraq?
Cabinet
• Article Two of the U.S. Constitution:
– The President "...shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and
Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public
Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all
other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not
herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by
Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such
inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in
the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments."
• Article Two of the Constitution provides that the
President can:
– Require "the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of
the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the
Duties of their respective Offices."
The Cabinet
• Not explicitly mentioned in Constitution
• Presidential control over departments remains
uncertain
– secretaries become advocates for their departments
– Below top levels are staffed by permanent employees
“Seven nays and one
aye; the ayes have it.”
Cabinet
• 1789  Executive Branch = Pres + VP
• Congress created executive departments
–
–
–
–
Dept of State (Foreign Affairs)  foreign affairs
Dept of Treasury  finances
http://www.mountvernon.org/educatio
nal-resources/encyclopedia/cabinet
Dept of Defense (War)  military
Attorney General (DOJ came later)
The Cabinet
Departments
•
Line organizations – an
administrative unit that
is directly accountable
to the POTUS
•
Created by Congress
The Executive Office of the President
• Organization established by FDR to assist the
president in carrying out major duties by
coordinating the executive bureaucracy
– Examples:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
White House Office
Office of the VP
Council of Economic Advisors
Office of US Trade Representative
OMB
NSC
White House Military Office
The White House Office
• Key personal and political advisors to
POTUS
•
•
•
•
Legal counsel
Press secretary
Appointments secretary
Chief of Staff
– Permanent campaign
• Coordinated and planned strategy carried out by
the White House to maintain approval ratings and
support in Congress
OMB
• Origins to 1921
• Assists the POTUS in preparing the
annual budget
• Coordinates departmental agency budgets
• Supervises the administration of the
federal budget
NSC
•
•
•
•
•
Advises the POTUS on national security
POTUS
VP
Sec of State
Sec of Defense
Policy Czars
• Positions created to deal with one special
policy area
– Senior policy advisor: aka czar
– Coordinate all other agencies involved with
the topic
– Only last as long as the president
– Do not require Senate confirmation
Deputy Interior Secretary ("California Water Czar")
Director of National Drug Control Policy ("Drug Czar")
OMB Deputy Director ("Government Performance Czar")
Director of National Intelligence ("Intelligence Czar")
OMB Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs ("Regulatory Czar")
Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and OSTP Director ("Science Czar")
Treasury Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability ("TARP Czar")
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics ("Weapons Czar")
OSTP Associate Director ("Technology Czar")
White House Office
• Rule of propinquity: power is wielded by
people who are in the room when a
decision is made
• Pyramid structure: most assistants report
through hierarchy to chief of staff, who
then reports to president
– Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, Bush, Clinton
(late in his administration)
White House Office
• Circular structure: cabinet secretaries
and assistants report directly to the
president
– Carter (early in his administration)
• Ad hoc structure: task forces,
committees, and informal groups deal
directly with president
– Clinton (early in his administration)
Figure 14.1: Growth of the White
House Staff, 1945-2002
Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics, 2003-2004 (Washington,
D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2003), 254-255.
Figure 12.1: Growth of the White House
Office, 1935-1985
Presidential Character
• Kennedy: bold, articulate, amusing leader;
improviser who bypassed traditional lines
of authority
• Nixon: expertise in foreign policy; disliked
personal confrontation; tried to centralize
power in the White House
Presidential Character
• Reagan: set policy priorities and then gave staff
wide latitude; leader of public opinion
• Clinton: good communicator; pursued
liberal/centrist policies
• George W. Bush: tightly run White House;
agenda became dominated by foreign affairs
following the September 11th attacks