The American Presidency
Federalist Paper #70:
“THERE is an idea, which is not without its advocates,
that a vigorous Executive is inconsistent with the
genius of republican government. The enlightened
well-wishers to this species of government must at
least hope that the supposition is destitute of
foundation; since they can never admit its truth,
without at the same time admitting the
condemnation of their own principles. Energy in the
Executive is a leading character in the definition of
good government. It is essential to the protection of
the community against foreign attacks; it is not less
essential to the steady administration of the laws…”
US Presidency = republican executive….not monarchical!!!
Philosophy of the Founders
Executive Power is Undiluted
Article 1, Section 1: “All
legislative powers herein
granted shall be vested in a
Congress of the United
States.”
Article 2, Section 2: “The
executive Power shall be
vested in a President of the
United States of America.”
Constitution Encourages a debate between
Congressional & Presidential Supremacy
1790’s:
Madison v. Hamilton
(Helvidius)
1980’s:
Gingrich
(Pacificus)
v. Cheney
Notice: The entire top 5 served
during a time of Presidential
Supremacy, i.e. a crisis.
Presidential
Greatness
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Early versus Modern Presidency
Early Presidency
• Non-Partisan
• Rarely gave public speeches
• Did not actively campaign
for the office
• Secretary of State was the
stepping stone
•
Modern Presidency
• Governor of Large or
Southern State is the
stepping stone.
• Legislators tend not to make
it to the Presidency.
(McCain, Kerry, Dole, Webster,
Clay, Calhoun)
Who Can Become President?
• Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution sets forth
the qualifications to be president.
• Must be 35 and a natural-born citizen.
• The definition of “a natural-born citizen” was
discussed throughout the 2008 presidential
election. Republican candidate John McCain was
born in the Panama Canal Zone, though of two
U.S. citizens. Is this considered natural-born?
• Why Can’t he be President? 
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Electoral College
1. A candidate becomes president by
winning a majority (270) of the electoral
College votes (538).
2. Each state gets a vote that is equal to
its number of congressional districts
plus 2 senators.
3. Actual presidential election is January
6th, not the first Tuesday in November.
4. What happens if no presidential candidate gets 270 electoral votes?
If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives elects
the President from the 3 Presidential candidates who received the most electoral votes.
Each State delegation has one vote. The Senate would elect the Vice President from the 2
Vice Presidential candidates with the most electoral votes. Each Senator would cast one
vote for Vice President. If the House of Representatives fails to elect a President by
Inauguration Day, the Vice-President Elect serves as acting President until the deadlock
is resolved in the House. (1800 & 1824)
Pro’s & Cons of Electoral College
Advantages
Disadvantages
•
•
President could be elected by a minority of
voters. (1824/1876/2000)
•
Only swing states get attention from candidates.
•
Faithless Electors  1988: Elector mistakenly
voted for Benston instead of Dukakis. 2000:
DC didn’t cast votes for president in protest.
•
Who selects the Electors? The process for
selecting electors varies throughout the United
States. Generally, the political parties nominate
electors at their State party conventions or by a
vote of the party's central committee in each
State. Electors are often selected to recognize
their service and dedication to their political
party. They may be State elected officials, party
leaders, or persons who have a personal or
political affiliation with the Presidential
candidate.
•
•
•
Limits national fragmentation by
maintaining 2-party system.
Prevents racial, regional, and
economic parties from forming.
Small States get attention from
candidates.
Reinforces federalism
Who SHOULD elect the
President....from a 1787 point of view
1. The People?
Problem: Distance, demagoguery, and direct democracy were unacceptable
In 1787. (Yes, we now love democracy and live in the digital age)
2. The national legislature?
Problem: Madison wanted an independent executive so that checks and balances
would work. (Yes, we now have an
ultra-powerful presidency)
3. Electoral College!!!!!!!!!!
Solves the problem of distance, makes
the president independently elected,
resolves the disagreement between
large and small states, and ensures a
Line of succession by giving each
elector 2 votes.
The Power of The Swing State
1) Abolish The Electoral College
2) Maine/Nebraska Model
(1 congressional district =
Problem: The winner could be declared with just a small plurality of
votes instead of a strong majority. Also, a close election would
require a nation-wide recount rather than just recounting the states
in question, which would make the process in such a situation much
longer. Would small states and rural areas now be ignored?
1 electoral vote)
&
(Winning the most votes in the states = 2 electoral votes)
Problem: Does this raise the stakes of gerrymandering and create
even more tunnel-vision campaigning?
Reforming The Electoral
College
3. National Bonus Plan
4. Convert the popular vote into the electoral vote.
(Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. Plan)
(Colorado)
This idea, proposed by historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., retains the
current Electoral College system, but also awards extra electoral
votes as a bonus to the winner of the popular vote. The amount
suggested by Schlesinger in his National Bonus Plan is 102 extra
electoral votes (two for every state and two for Washington, DC).
Problem: How do we split votes evenly and what if only one
or a few states do this? Doesn’t it disproportionately
help/hurt one party?
Electoral College Video Clip
http://www.history.com/videos/the-electoral-college#the-electoral-college
Reforms to the Electoral College
12th Amendment
• The old system gave the electors two votes
(literally wrote two names on the ballot). The
top two vote-getters became president and
vice-president, respectively.
• 12th Amendment still gave electors two votes
but they voted for President and VicePresident separately.
2008 Results (Obama v. McCain)
2004 Results (Bush v. Kerry)
1984 Results (Reagan v. Mondale)
1992 Results (Clinton v. Bush)
Domestic Powers of the President
• Enforces laws, treatises, and
court decisions.
• To convene Congress into
special session.
To nominate heads of executive departments,
ambassadors, and federal court justices.
Domestic Powers Continued
•
Grant Reprieves and Pardons. A pardon absolves punishment of a crime and
restores a person’s full rights and privileges. A President can grant a pardon for
any federal offense, except in cases of impeachment.
• Veto Power
1) A veto prevents a congressional passed law from
going into effect.
2) A presidential veto can be overridden with a 2/3
vote in both chambers.
3) If the president refuses to sign the bill and Congress
adjourns within 10 working days of it being submitted
to the president then this is a pocket veto.
4) Line-item veto was briefly used.
Presidential Vetoes
Reg Pkt. Tot over % over
Franklin Roosevelt 372 263 635 9 1%
Harry Truman 180 70 250 12 5%
Dwight Eisenhower 73 108 181 2 1%
John Kennedy 12
Lyndon Johnson
0%
Richard Nixon 26
Gerald Ford 48
Jimmy Carter 13
Ronald Reagan
9 21 0 0% 0%
16 14 30 0 0%
17
18
18
39
Bill Clinton
36 1
George W.
11 1
Barack Obama 0 1
43
66
31
39
7
12
2
78
37 2
12 4
1 0
16%
18%
6%
9 12%
5% 6%
33%
0% 0%
Foreign Policy Powers
1) Commander–in-Chief
a) Congress DECLARES war and FUNDS the war, but the
President commands the forces.
b) Over 200 military actions have taken place but war
has only been declared 5 times.
c) Examples of presidents acting without congressional
approval:
i. Nixon & Cambodia 1970
ii. Reagan & Libya
Grenada, & Lebanon
iii. George H.W. &
Panama.
iv. Clinton & Haiti &
Bosnia
Foreign Policy Powers (continued)
• Declared Wars include 1812, SpanishAmerican, Mexican-American, WWI, & WWII.
• Resolutions include Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
(Vietnam), Iraq in1991, Afghanistan in 2001,
and Iraq in 2002.
• What is the difference
between a declaration and
a war resolution?
Foreign Policy Powers (continued)
• Executive Agreements: These are
pacts between the president and
other heads of state that DO NOT
have the have senate ratification but
have same legal status as treatises.
E.g., Lend-Lease. Congress limited
this power in 1972 and required the
president to inform Congress within
60 days of making any executive
agreement.
• Chief Diplomat: As chief diplomat,
the president directs the foreign
policy of the United States and is
our nation’s most important
representative.
The War of Terror
•
•
•
•
President George W. Bush created military
tribunals.
He held American citizens as “military
combatants.”
Time Magazine: December 3, 2001: “Since
Sept. 11, the Bush Administration has
detained more than 1,000 noncitizens, waged
a foreign war, helped Congress broaden
wiretap authority, endorsed military trials for
alien alleged terrorists and authorized
eavesdropping on certain conversations
between lawyers and clients.”
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2005) a five-justice
majority ruled that the commissions, which
were outlined by Bush in a military order on
Nov. 13, 2001, were neither authorized by
federal law nor required by military necessity,
and ran afoul of the Geneva Conventions.
Unofficial Powers
The Rise of the Rhetorical Presidency:
“The President is at liberty to be as big a man as he can. His
capacity will set the limit; and if Congress be overborne by
him, it will be no fault of the makers of the Constitution—it
will be from no lack of Constitutional powers on his part, but
only because the President has the nation behind him, and
Congress has not.”
--Woodrow Wilson
“The Bully Pulpit.”  TR
Legislative Powers: The Power to
Persuade
• The president must rely on the
cooperation of others if the
administration’s goals are to be
accomplished.
• The president may use a strategy
known as “going public” – using
press conferences, public
appearances, and televised events
to arouse public opinion in favor of
certain legislative programs.
• A president who has the support of
the public can wield significant
persuasive powers over Congress.
Unofficial
Presidential Power (cont.)
• Executive Privilege
– United States v. Nixon—limited executive privilege
– Clinton’s Attempted Use of Executive Privilege
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Presidential Popularity
Source: Gallup polls, reported in Public Opinion and updated at www.gallup.com. The question asked is, “Do you approve or disapprove of the way
[name of president] is handling his job as president?” The 2006 approval rating for G.W. Bush is from CBS News/New York Times poll data.
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The President’s
Cabinet
1. Created by Congress
2. Headed by a Secretary of Attorney
General.
3. Often has conflicted Loyalty
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The Vice President
• The Vice President’s Job
– Strengthening the Ticket
– Supporting the President
• Presidential Succession
• The Twenty-fifth
Amendment
• When the Vice Presidency
Becomes Vacant
(DoD photo by R. D. Ward)
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The Vice President
Called to Duty
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