Presidential Roles THERE ARE FIVE PEOPLE INTERESTED IN BEING PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND IT IS YOUR JOB TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THEY MEET THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS: 1.SEVENTY-SIX YEAR OLD FORMER HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MEMBER. 2. THIRTY-SEVEN YEAR OLD GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA WHO WAS A FAMOUS ACTOR AFTER MOVING FROM HIS BIRTH COUNTRY OF AUSTRIA. 3. THIRTY-FIVE YEAR OLD BUSINESS WOMAN FROM NORTH CAROLINA. 4.FORTY-NINE YEAR OLD MILITARY GENERAL STATIONED IN IRAQ FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS AND WHO WAS BORN ON U.S. MILITARY BASE IN GERMANY AFTER WWII. 5. THIRTY-YEAR OLD FROM NEW JERSEY WHO HAS BEEN A SENATOR FOR FOUR-YEARS ALREADY

Presidential Roles 1.Why do you think the Founding Fathers set forth these basic requirements? 2.What is your opinion of these requirements? Do you agree that the age and citizenship stipulations are good ones? Why or why not? 3.What other requirements do you think a President should meet?

Truth and Lies We will be playing “Two Truths and a Lie.” I will tell you three statements at a time regarding the roles and powers of the President. Two of the statements are true, and one is a lie. A.  1.The President gets paid to throw large parties. 2.The President can declare war if America's national security is threatened. 3.The President has the power to appoint ambassadors

Truth and Lies We will be playing “Two Truths and a Lie.” I will tell you three statements at a time regarding the roles and powers of the President. Two of the statements are true, and one is a lie. A.  1.The power of the vice-presidency has been increasing since the early 1990s 2.The president is one of the highest paid members of American society. 3.No president has ever been elected to more than two terms.

Truth and Lies We will be playing “Two Truths and a Lie.” I will tell you three statements at a time regarding the roles and powers of the President. Two of the statements are true, and one is a lie. A.  1.The President has the right to withhold certain information from Congress if he thinks it would endanger America. 2.No president has ever made it to the highest office without being elected to either the Presidency or the vice- presidency 3.The President is allowed to campaign for other candidates of his same party running for office.

Demographic Characteristics of U.S. Presidents 100% male 90% Caucasian 97% Protestant 82% of British ancestry 77% college educated 69% politicians 62% lawyers >50% from the top 3% wealth and social class 0.5% born into poverty 69% elected from large states

Presidential Benefits $400,000 tax-free salary $50,000/year expense account $100,000/year travel expenses The White House Secret Service protection Camp David country estate Air Force One personal airplane Staff of Christmas at the White House, 2004

Presidential Roles

Chief Executive President Bush holds cabinet meeting in October, 2005 President Clinton with Janet Reno, the first female Attorney General, February, 1993 The Constitution vests the President with the executive power of the United States, making him or her the nation’s chief executive.

Chief Diplomat President Lincoln during the Civil War, 1862 President Roosevelt and the “Bully Pulpit,” 1910 As the nation’s chief diplomat, the President is the main architect of American foreign policy and chief spokesperson to the rest of the world.

Commander-in-Chief President Bush aboard U.S.S. Lincoln, May, 2003 President Johnson decorates a soldier in Vietnam, October, 1966 The Constitution makes the President the commander in chief, giving him or her complete control of the nation’s armed forces.

Chief Legislator President Clinton delivers the State of the Union Address, 1997 President Roosevelt signs into law the Social Security Act, 1935 The President is the chief legislator, the main architect of the nation’s public policies.

Head of State Queen Elizabeth and President Reagan, 1983 President Kennedy speaks at Berlin Wall, 1963 The President is chief of state. This means he is the ceremonial head of the government of the United States, the symbol of all the people of the nation.

Economic Leader President deals with economic problems (Unemployment, high taxes, rising prices) Plans the federal budget Congress must approve During the first hundred days in office FDR pushed for legislation that would solve the economic crisis, 1932

Political Party Leader President Reagan & Vice-President Bush accepting their party’s nomination in 1980 The President acts as the chief of party, the acknowledged leader of the political party that controls the executive branch.

Presidential Succession Presidential succession is the plan by which a presidential vacancy is filled. 1) Vice President 2) Speaker of the House 3) President Pro Tempore

Executive Orders Orders issued by the President that carry the force of law Clinton’s “Don’t ask don’t tell” gays in the military policy FDR’s internment of Japanese Americans GWB trying suspected terrorists in military tribunals Notice for Japanese “relocation,” 1942

Executive Agreements International agreements, usually related to trade, made by a president that has the force of a treaty; does NOT need Senate approval Jefferson’s purchase of Louisiana in 1803 GWB announced cuts in the nuclear arsenal, but not in a treaty; usually trade agreements between US and other nations

Executive Privilege Claim by a president that he has the right to decide that the national interest will be better served if certain information is withheld from the public, including the Courts and Congress United States v. Nixon (1973) – presidents do NOT have unqualified executive privilege (Nixon Watergate tapes)

Electing a President Step 1: Primaries and Caucuses – determine who the Presidential candidates will be for each political party Caucuses -

Electing a President Step 2: Convention – political parties formally nominate candidates - Party platform is established – basic principles and beliefs of the party

Step 3: Electoral College – group of people from each state chosen to formally select the president and vice president Electing a President

Alternatives to Electoral College District Plan – each Congressional receives 1 electoral vote Proportional Plan – candidates receive electoral votes in proportion to the percentage of popular vote received Direct Popular Election – based strictly on popular vote (would require a Constitutional Amendment) National Popular Vote – states agree to give all electoral votes to popular winner