CHAPTER 12: THE PRESIDENCY I. Constitutional Basis of Presidential Power A. Delegates to constitutional convention were wary of unchecked power B. The Articles failed because of the lack of a strong national executive C. Presidential Power Expressed in the Constitution (Article II) 1. Administrative head of a nation 2. Commander in chief 3. Convenes Congress and gives the State of the Union Address 4. Veto laws- Congress must override by a 2/3 vote 5. Appoint top officials with consent of Senate Supreme Court Justices, Federal Judges, Cabinet Secretaries, Ambassadors 6. Make Treaties subject to Senate approval with approval of a 2/3 vote in the Senate 7. Grants pardons II. Expansion of Presidential Power A. Modern Presidency 1. uses explicit power "delegated" 2. Inherent Powers a. ex. President Lincoln and his increasing the military clearly usurped Congress's constituional powers however, congress and the Supreme Court ok'd this B. Congress delegated considerable power to the Executive Branch during the Great Depression & the NEW DEAL "Do what is necessary to solve the nation's problems"
C. Presidential Power is determined by the Political Skills of the individual president 1. Richard Neustadt's words "Presidential power is the Power to Persuade!" 2. Presidents must choose their issues carefully they must calculate when they need to intervene play their cards right and hold back when they need to Poker Player D. Presidents are in a better position to bargain when their public popularity is high. Honeymoon Phase the president is usually given a 1 year grace period before his popularity ratings begin to drop. 1. Overtime, presidential popularity usually declines 2. Presidential popularity can be strongly affected by *economic conditions *unanticipated events/crisis *American involvement in war III. The Electoral Connection A. To win an election you need 270 EC Votes out of 538 1. a presidential candidate fashions his appeal to different groups of voters across the US 2. Being Vague often does not drive away voters B. Candidates who win the office usually claim they have been given A mandate by the voters, usually these are more rhetoric than reality. C. A candidates job is complicated when he is elected by less than a majority, such as Bill Clinton 1996 and George W. Bush 2000 D. Even a landslide poll does not guarantee consistent public support during his term. WHY??? Because the President is independent of the elections of Congress. This often leads to DIVIDED Government.
1. Divided Government is when one party controls the Presidency and another controls the Congress 2. Polls show the public finds divided government desirable IV. The Executive Branch Establishment A. WHITE HOUSE STAFF 1. key aides, including Chief of Staff and National Security Advisor 2. Extended White House Staff Executive Office of the President- EOP Includes: OMB, Council of Economic advisors & other specialized staff 3. There is no "Right Way" to organize a staff. Each President Creates a structure that he thinks will work best for him. B. Vice Presidents= "standby equipment" Usually not used in a major advisory capacity Exception to the Rule- Al Gore, Dick Cheney C. The Cabinet (15 Departments) Each leader is called a Secretary, except for the Attorney General 1. not used as a collective decision making body 2. some Presidents don't even see them as particularly important 3. Although, they may value each cabinet secretaries advice 4. Often times a president doesn't even know the secretaries well 5. Secretaries may be too concerned with the wishes of their clientele groups 6. Due to the growth of the EOP and White House staff, there is less Need to rely on the cabinet as an advisory board Chart Presidential Cabinet V. The President as a National Leader A. Presidents carry into office a Broad Political Vision that reflects their ideology and priorities
1. LBJ- saw government as a positive force for promoting Justice and Equality= Great Society 2. Ronald Reagan-saw government as part of the problem rather than the solution. He tried to promote freedom by pursuing policies that would reduce the role of the government in American Life B. The president's central role in our political system guarantees that he can always command attention for his agenda. Nothing guarantees that he will be successful in getting that agenda through Congress. C. Thus, a president must be a lobbyist as well as an agenda setter. Presidents spend lots of time doing this so they can get legislation passed the way they want. 1. The president has a legislative liaison staff to help him 2. The White House will also work directly with interest groups to get their lobbyists to lobby congress directly D. Part of the president's job is to lead his party- no prescribed tasks are associated with this duty VI. The President as a World Leader A. For 40 years, the president's priority as world leader was to Contain Communism B. Today, there is more emphasis on managing economic relations with the rest of the world. C. Periodically, the president faces a grave situation in which conflict is imminent or a small conflict threatens to explode into a larger war. 1. How a president handles a crisis can be critical to his success a. must exercise good judgment 2. It is difficult to go beyond rather general advice in trying to design an ideal procedure for handling crises. Each crisis is a unique event.
VII. Presidential Character 1. Much of an adult's character is formed in childhood 2. Personality Characteristics clearly have an important effect on president's success or failure in office. However, character is only one, of a number of factors that goes into making a successful president Recent Laws Then & Now