American Citizenship
Chapter 13
The Presidency
Section 1

The President’s Description
The President’s Roles
Chief of State

–
Ceremonial head of the government of the United
States
Chief Executive

–
Vested with “Executive Power,” given by the
constitution
Chief Administrator

–
Director of the Federal Government

Employs nearly 2.7 million civilians
Chief Diplomat

–
Main architect of American foreign policy and the
nation’s chief spokesperson to the rest of the world
Commander in Chief

–
Controls the nation’s 1.4 million men and women in
uniform
The President’s Roles
Chief legislator

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Main architect of its public policies
Helps to initiate, request, demand certain
actions by the Congress
Not Stated in the Constitution
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–
Chief of Party
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–
Chief Citizen

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acknowledged leader of the political party
Representative of all the people
“A place of moral leadership” FDR
President plays all these roles
simultaneously, and can not isolate
themselves to one role over another
Formal Qualifications
Constitution puts some requirements
into becoming a president

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Must be a “natural born citizen”
Be at least 35 years of age
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–
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youngest ever elected was JFK at the age of 43 and
Ronald Reagan elected at the age of 69
Must have lived in the United States for at
least 14 years
Nearly 100 million people in the United
States meet these requirements, thus
leading to informal qualifications
The President’s Term

Ultimately at the Constitutional
Convention, a term limit of 4-years
– Until the 1951 amendment, there was
no limit to the number of terms a
president could serve

Still fights today over the
legitimacy of the 2-term limit
– Lame-duck president, or safeguard
against “executive tyranny?”
– How about a single six-year term?
Pay and Benefits
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
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–
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Initially it was $25,000, however today it
is $400,000
Also provided a $50,000 expense
allowance
Other benefits
132-room mansion set on an 18.3 acre
estate in the heart of the nation’s capital
(White House)
Suite of offices and a large staff
Fleet of automobiles
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lavish Air Force One plane, including other planes
and helicopters
Camp David resort getaway in the Mountains
in Maryland
Finest Medical, Dental, and other health care
Generous travel and entertainment funds
Section 2

Presidential Succession and the Vice
Presidency
The Constitution Succession

Presidential Succession
– Scheme by which a presidential
vacancy is filled
– Originally not provided by the
Constitution

However signed into the Constitution with
the 15th amendment
– Presidential Succession Act of
1947

the order of succession following the Vice
President
Presidential Disability

Previously no provision for dealing
with a disabled President
– Check and Balance between Executive
and Legislative, in order to with a
disabled President
The Vice Presidency

Importance of the Office
– Given two duties:


Preside over the Senate
Help decide the question of Presidential
disability
– However, generally a job with little or
no major duties

“Heartbeat away from the Presidency”
– Blame for lack of duties is based on
how candidate is selected

Balance the Ticket
– chooses a running mate based on characteristics
that help the President win office
The Vice Presidency (con’t)

Vice Presidential Vacancy
– Vice Presidency has been vacated 18
times

The Vice President Today
– Vice President Dick Cheney is widely
regarded as the most influential Vice
Presidents ever

Interesting fact, no matter what the
circumstances, the President cannot fire
the Vice President
Section 3

Presidential Selection: The
Framers’ Plan
Original Provisions
During the Constitutional Convention,
struggle over whether to have president
selected by direct vote or Congress
Compromise became the selection of
Presidential Electors
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A person elected by the voters to represent
them in making a formal selection of the Vice
President and President
Each Elector would cast two electoral votes

Plurality would select President, and Vice President
the runner-up
The Rise of Parties
Electoral college
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The group of people (electors) chosen from
each State and the District of Columbia, to
formally select the President and Vice
President
The Election of 1800
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Electoral college tie, ultimately leading to
Congress selecting the President
Created new elements
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Party nominations for the Presidency and Vice
Presidency
Nomination of candidates for Presidential Electors
pledged to vote for their party’s Presidential ticket
Automatic casting of the electoral votes in line with
The Rise of Parties (Con’t)

12th Amendment
– Passed in 1804, it changed the
electoral college system, to where
different ballots would be cast for
President and Vice President
Section 4

Presidential Nominations
The Role of Conventions
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Used extensively since the 1832
election
Convention Arrangements
– Built almost entirely by the political
parties
– Generally the party-out-of-power has
their convention first and the party-inpower three weeks later
The Role of Conventions (Con’t)

Apportionment of Delegates
– The State party’s delegates is
generally based on the State’s
electoral votes


However, complex formulas eventually
decide the delegate count
Selection of Delegates
– Two campaigns… for nomination and
presidential candidate races
– Generally political parties allow state
parties to decide delegates
Presidential Primaries
Presidential Primary

–
An election in which a party’s voters choose
some or all of a state party organization’s
delegates to their party’s national convention
and/or express a preference among various
contenders for their party’s presidential
nomination

Democrats have Superdelegates, who are selected
based on power positions in the Democratic party
History of the Presidential Primary

–
Started in 1900’s, rose and fall in popularity,
and has risen again
Presidential Primaries (Con’t)
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Primaries Today
Since most states have the decision power,
the primaries are a patch work
Most states prefer to be toward the front of
the primary season
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Proportional representation
Winner-take-all
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Today we have “Super Tuesday”
candidate who wins plurality, wins all the available
delegates
–
Generally a Republican preference
Proportional Representation

Any candidate who wins at least 15 percent of the
votes cast in a primary gets the number of that
state’s delegates in their share
–
Generally a Democratic preference
Presidential Primaries (Con’t)

Evaluation of the Primary
– Though confusing, generally force
“knock-down, drag-out” fights for
party out of power

Due to there be no real party leader
– Not common for party in power, due to
influence of incumbent President
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Not true for George W. Bush
Reform Proposals
– Many suggestions for changes, but
very unlikely to take place
The Caucus-Convention Process

Iowa the most common state with
the Caucus
The National Convention
Meetings at which delegates vote to pick
their presidential and vice-presidential
candidates
Meets three different goals
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Name the party’s presidential and vicepresidential candidates
Bring the various factions and the leading
personalities in the party together in one
place
Adopt the party’s platform

formal statement of basic principles, stands on
major policy matters, and objectives for the
campaign and beyond
The National Convention (con’t)
The First Two Days
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Keynote address is given on first day
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delivered by one of the party’s most accomplished
orators
Second day the platform is adopted
The Last Two Days
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Third day is spent to nominating the
presidential candidate
Fourth day is devoted to nominating the
vice-presidential candidate

leading to the president candidates acceptance
speech
Who is Nominated
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Political Experience
– Generally the most electable candidate
is nominated

Other Characteristics
– Generally Protestants, from larger
states, pleasant and healthy
appearance, an attractive family, etc.
Section 5

The Election
The Electoral College Today

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People do not vote directly for a
Presidential candidate, they vote to
elect presidential electors
Choosing Electors
– Electors chose by popular vote in
every state
– Chosen on a winner-take-all manner

Some states have the names of the
electors on the ballot
The Electoral College Today
(con’t)
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Counting Electoral Votes
– Electors meet on the same day, in each
of their respective state capitals
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After the vote, it is signed and sealed, then
sent to the president of the Senate
Formal election takes place on January 6th
– However, most people know the next President by
the November election
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Must win at least 270 electoral votes
If there is a tie, the election is sent to the
House of Representatives
Flaws in the Electoral College

First Major Defect
– That the winner of the popular vote
will not win the presidency

2000 election of George W. Bush
– Bush lost the popular vote by 537,179 votes,
but won the electoral college with 271 electoral
votes
– Thus a distorted view of the popular
vote
Flaws in the Electoral College
(Con’t)

The Second Major Defect
– No requirement for electors to vote for
the candidate that carried their state


One elector from Washington, D.C., did
not vote in 2000 election… a vote for Gore
The Third Major Defect
– Presidential election being decided by
the House of Representatives, due to
the majority of electoral votes not
being met (270 votes)
Proposed Reforms

The District Plan
– The electors would be chosen in each
state in the same way as members of
Congress


Possibly take away the winner-take-all
problem
Still does not answer the inability of the
popular vote to decisively win the electoral
vote
Proposed Reforms (Con’t)
The Proportional Plan
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Win electors based on the percentage of
popular vote in each state the candidate wins
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Possibly destroy the two-party system
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cures winner-take-all
also increases the odds that the decision would be
made by the House of Representatives
Some argue, then the number of electors to
win should be lowered to plurality, rather
than majority
Proposed Reforms (Con’t)
Direct Popular Election
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Each vote would count equally in the national
result
However, multiple issues with the proposal
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Small states would lose their say
Possibly weaken the federal system of government
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States are no longer represented
Increase likelihood of voter fraud
Some parts of the electorate would lose
representation
Proposed Reforms (Con’t)
The National Bonus Plan
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Proposal for electing a President by which
the winner of the popular vote would receive
a bonus of 102 electoral votes in addition to
his or her state based Electoral College
votes. If no one received at least 321
electoral votes, a run-off election would be
held
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Not a likely plan
Electoral College Supporters
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Any of the proposed reforms could have
unintended consequences
Identifies the winner quickly