The Job, Succession, & the
Vice President

CONSTITUTIONAL Roles
› Chief of State
 Reigns & Rules
 Symbol of American People
› Chief Executive
 Power over domestic & foreign branch
 System of Checks & Balance
› Chief Administration
 Head of Executive branch
› Chief Diplomat
 Architect of foreign policy
 Watched internationally
› Commander in Chief
 Dominant in military field
 Armed forces and arsenal at his disposal
› Chief Legislator
 Initiates legislative actions
 Public policy maker
 Works/clashes with Congress

OTHER Roles
› Chief of Party
 Leader of political
party in executive
branch
› Chief Citizen
 Representation of all
the people
 Works for public’s
interest
“Natural born
citizen…of the
United States”
 35 years of age

› Youngest- T.
Roosevelt (42)
› Youngest ElectedKennedy (43)
› Oldest- Reagan (69)

14 years a resident
4 year term
 Washington set 2 term precedent
 FDR- Won 4 terms, Served 3 full
 Until 1951no limit on number of terms

› 22nd Amendment
› Called undemocratic

No more than 10 years served
Congress determines
 400,000 annual
pay/50,000 in expenses
 White House residence
 Staff & transportation
 Camp David access
 Health care, travel, &
entertainment benefits

Presidential Succession
 Presidential Succession Act of 1947

› Est. line
› VP, Speaker, Pro Tem, then heads of 14
Executive Dept.
25th Amendment outlines line of succession
 Disability

› Pres. informs Congress in writing
› VP & Majority of Cabinet agree
› Pres. may resume power

“I am Vice President. In this I am nothing, but I
may be everything.”
› John Adams

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
Presides over Senate
Help decide on Presidential disability
“a heartbeat away”
8 presidents have died in office
Vacancy
› Empty 18 times
› 9 succession to president, 2 resignations, & 7 died

Low status played on party politics
› VP often picked to “balance the ticket”

Cheney see as
the reinventor of
the office
› Highly influential

VP not subject to
presidential firing
Presidential Selection &
Nominations
Early favoritism of Congressional choice
 Popular vote very unpopular
 Final Choice

› Presidential Electors, Electoral College
 Cast electoral votes
 2 votes, 2 different candidates
 Most votes wins president, 2nd VP
 Elector of the enlightened and educated
Framer’s election college worked until
Washington did not run for a 3rd term
 1796 election showed problems

› President Adams (Federalist)
› VP Jefferson (Dem.-Rep.)

Election of 1800
› Electors promised to vote accordingly
› Presidential tie
› Jefferson popular favorite
› 36 House votes to pick Jefferson
› 12th Amendment
 1804
 Separate vote President & VP Election
Choose some/all State’s party
delegation
 Express preference of various candidates
 New Hampshire; leads the Nation
 Many held in early Feb.
 Used to build candidate popularity
 Democrats ever changing primary
requirements

Delegates pick President of VP
candidate
 Goals

› Name candidate
› Bringing together party factions
› Adopting party platform

Keynote address, speeches, celebrity
appearance, & balloons
If president runs for second term the pick is
easy
 Things that are taken into account

›
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Public office record
Past controversies
Election history (Governor, Senator)
Religion (Protestant)
State size
Appearance & Family life
Speaking/Tech. ability
Gender, Race/Ethnicity
The Election

Voters don’t directly vote for the
President
› Vote for electors
Once meant to make own decision
 Now they are just “rubber stamps”

› Vote for party’s candidates

Electors picked “at-large”
› Winner-take-all
› Electors’ names rarely appear on the ballots

Electors meet in their State’s capital
› Hold voting in December
› Vote for the President and Vice President
separate
› Ballots sent to Washington
Winner of election known in November
January 6, President of the Senate counts
votes before a joint Congress
 Candidate must receive 270 of 538 votes


› Ties sent to the House
› Occurred in 1800 and 1824

First Flaw
› Popular vote winner may not win the
Presidency
› Winner-take-all electoral voting
› Misrepresentation of voters

Second Flaw
› No law requiring electors to vote with
popular majority
› “Broken pledge”

District Plan
› Similar to Congressional members

Proportionate plan
› Electoral vote based off population
percentages

Direct Popular Vote
›
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Support in 2006, Direct Popular Vote Plan
Constitution would remain intact
Changes would be made at the State level
Electorate, those eligible to vote, would have
more control

Works Well
› Few issues in the history of the EC
Popular winner usually wins EC votes
 Known process

› Reform ideas unknown and untested

Presidential winner usually known quickly

Article II- Executive Article
› Command armed forces, make treaties,
veto powers, etc.
› Loosely worded Article
› Definition & question of “executive power”
› Growth of power due to the use of mass
media
 Radio, television, internet

Outlined in the “Oath of Office”
“I do solemnly swear 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”

Executive Order
› Directive, rule, or regulation that is in effect
law
Presidential appointments must meet
Senate approval
 Appointees

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
Ambassadors and Diplomats
Cabinet members & top aides
Heads of certain agencies
Federal judges, marshals, and attorneys
Officers of the armed forces
Power to remove appointments
› Has been previously challenged in the Courts

Makes treaties with foreign countries
› Treaty: formal agreement between two or
more nations
› Treaties must be approved by the Senate

Executive Agreement
› Pact between the Heads of State of 2
countries
› No Senate approval required

Recognition of foreign countries or
leaders

Commander in Chief
› Making undeclared war
 Barbary pirate conflicts
 Korean & Vietnam wars
› Congressional Resolution
 Congress allows forces to be used in certain
crisis
› War Powers Resolution
 Within 48 hours of forces commitment the Pres.
must appear before Congress
 Commitment of forces lasts for 60 days unless
extended
 Congress may end military commitment
› Other Commander Examples
 Overthrowing dictators
 Ending military coups
 Prevent mass killings/genocide

Recommending Legislation
› Spreads from platform
› Ripples from State of the Union Address

Bill Powers
› Sign the Bill
› Veto the Bill
› No action for 10 days allows the bill to
become law
› Pocket veto

Line-Item Veto
› Target wasted spending in a bill
› Keeps the President involved in monetary
aspects while keeping the bill’s idea

Call Special Sessions of Congress
Below examples may be used except in
cases of impeachment
 Reprieve

› Postponement of the execution of a sentence
› Must be accepted

Pardon
› Legal forgiveness of a crime

Other Examples
› Commutation
 Reduction of the length of a sentence or a fine
› Amnesty
 Blanket pardon of a large group

The Supreme Court is the only court
created by the Constitution
› Article III, Section I
Court of last resort on questions of federal
law
 The Justices *

› 9 Supreme Court Justices
› 1 Chief Justice, 8 Associate Justices
› Appointed for life
 Resignation, retirement, death, or impeachment
› No true formal qualifications
Federal & State courts may exercise this
right
 Decide constitutionality of a government
action
 Ultimate power lies with the SC

› Final authority

Judicial Review not outlined in the
Constitution
› Intentional concept

Exclusive Jurisdiction
› Power of the federal courts alone to hear
certain cases

Concurrent Jurisdiction
› Power shared by federal and State courts to
hear certain cases

Original Jurisdiction
› The power of a court to hear a case first, before
any other court

Appellate Jurisdiction
› The authority of a court to review decisions of
inferior courts

Operations
› Oral Arguments
 Select times and dates for presentations
 Lawyers make oral arguments before the
justices
 30 minute limits
› Briefs
 Written documentation
 Support a single side of an oral argument
 Relevant facts
 Cite previous cases
› Briefs Continued
 Brief of Support may appear from groups with
an interest in a case
 Court grants permission
 “Lobbying”
 Most court cases are controversial
› Solicitor General
 Chief lawyer of the United States
 Represents the U.S. in court cases
 Asks the SC for a position of the U.S.
government

Conference
› Closed meetings for discussion
› Chief Justice presides
 Speaks first and states his opinion
› Debate and final vote on the case
 1/3 of decisions are unanimous
 Most are divided decisions

Opinions
› Majority Opinion
 Announces court’s decision
 Used in future court cases as precedent
 Concurring opinion follows/attached
› Dissenting Opinion
 Written by justice who does not agree with the decision

Docket
› A court’s list of cases to be heard

Appeal
› apply to a higher court for a reversal of the decision
of a lower court

Writ of Certiorari
› An order by a higher court direction a lower court to
send up the record in a given case for review
› Latin for, “to be more certain”

Precedents
› Court decision that stands as an example to be
followed in future, similar cases