Ch. 13 - The Presidency

The Executive Branch The White House

The Many Roles of the President 1. Chief of State Ceremonial head of the country Acts as the “face of the U.S.” Welcomes foreign dignitaries For example…

The Many Roles of the President 2. Chief Executive Ensures that the nation’s laws are enforced and carried out Head of the executive branch

The Many Roles of the President 3. Chief Administrator Head of the entire bureaucracy – people to implement policies Appoints top levels of the bureaucracy, with approval of a majority of the Senate May fire any appointed person

The Many Roles of the President 4. Chief Diplomat Develops the nation’s foreign policy stances Meets and befriends leaders of foreign countries

BFF! I ♥ USA!

The Many Roles of the President 5. Commander-in-Chief Top commander of all branches of the armed forces All are subject to his immediate control

The Many Roles of the President 6. Chief Legislator Proposes Laws to Congress Chooses whether to sign bills into law or veto them For example…

The Many Roles of the President 7. Chief of Party Undisputed leader and face of the party that helped elect him Plans future strategy and direction of the party

The Many Roles of the President 8. Chief Citizen Work to help the public as a whole, rather than private interests Represent what all American people should be (in terms of character)

Best Form?

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE THE MOST POWERFUL MAN/WOMAN IN THE WORLD?!?! Qualifications WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE THE MOST POWERFUL MAN/WOMAN IN THE WORLD?!?!

Qualifications 35 years old Natural Born U.S. Citizen Resident of the U.S. for 14 years

Terms Pres. serves a 4 year term Limited to 2 terms by the 22nd Amendment Thus, most possible years = 10

$ Perks $ $400,000 plus…pension ($203,700) $50,000 in expenses Free medical care for life Live in the White House Air Force One, Marine One, other transportation

Is the official residence of the President and family. The White House Is the official residence of the President and family.

Presidential Succession What happens if the President dies or cannot serve as President? The ______-____________ of the U.S steps in to take over power. According to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 The order is: 1. __________________ 2. __________________ 3. __________________ 4. __________________ Vice President Vice-President Speaker of the House President Pro-Tempore Secretary of State

The Vice President The Vice-President serves if the President is unable. Until 1967 when a V. P. took over as President, there was no new person to fill in as the V.P. The Vice Presidency has been vacant __ times 18

The 25th Amendment in Action The ____ th Amendment, passed in 1967 changed this. When a vacancy occurs, the President will nominate someone who will take the office upon a majority confirmation vote of both houses of Congress. In 1973, Richard Nixon was President 1973: _______________resigned the V.P. ______________became the new V.P. 1974: ________________ resigned as President 1974: _________________ becomes the new V.P. Spiro Agnew Gerald Ford Agnew Richard Nixon Nelson Rockefeller Rockefeller

Became the first President to take office who Gerald R. Ford Became the first President to take office who was never elected as either Pres. or V.P.

Disability Congress Cabinet The 25th Amendment meets this problem The Vice President will become acting President: 1. If the President informs __________________ in writing that he cannot discharge the powers 2. The Vice President and a majority of the ____________ inform Congress that the President is incapacitated (unable to serve) Congress Cabinet

So What do They Really Do? Reagan didn’t let me do anything. They do whatever the president lets them do

How to Pick a V.P. Balance the Ticket – pick a guy with qualities that will draw voters you wouldn’t

Example of Balancing the Ticket President Reagan West Coast Conservative Idea man Vice-President Bush East Coast Moderate conservative Technocrat

Presidential Selection Constitution says – “president shall be chosen by a number of electors” These electors are the electoral college

Because you’re an idiot. Why not by average citizens like me?

Each elector gets 2 votes 1st Place becomes president Original Plan Old Plan The Election of 1800 Each elector gets 2 votes 1st Place becomes president 2nd Place becomes vice-president Then, a crisis occurs…

The Election of 1800 read only Political Parties had just appeared Jefferson & Burr – Democratic Republicans Adams & Pinckney – Federalists Each elector casts his 2 ballots for his party’s 2 candidates

The Election of 1800 read only Final Result: Thomas Jefferson - 73 Aaron Burr - 73 John Adams - 65 Charles Pinckney - 64 John Jay - 1

The Election of 1800 background only Burr had run intending to become Jefferson’s Vice, then realized he had a legitimate claim to win! Took 36 votes in the House of Reps. to settle the dispute and pick Jefferson

Requires presidential and V.P. elections to be separate The 12th Amendment Darn straight, they did. Requires presidential and V.P. elections to be separate

Electing The President Step 1: The __________ ___________:/Caucus Candidates attempt to win the party’s nomination to the big general election in November by winning delegates in each of the 50 states. Republicans vs. Republicans Democrats vs. Democrats Primary Election

The Nominating Process Candidates must win a majority of delegates Each state gets delegates based on the number of electoral college votes

State’s Options – How to Vote Primary Election – election among the public to choose a nominee Open Primary – all eligible voters Closed Primary – only party members

State’s Options – How to Vote Caucus – meeting of party members to debate and vote

State’s Options – How to Award Delegates Winner-Take All Proportional Representation

The Convention read only Delegates “vote” – everyone knows who will win President officially nominates his running mate

The Convention Democrats 2016 In Philadelphia Republicans in 2016 in Cleveland

Electing the President Step 2: The __________ ____________: Occurs on the first ________ after the first ____________ in _____________. Why?-- The parties candidates run against each other for the office of President. _______ party candidates run as well-they rarely win in a major election but they can have an impact on the election. (i.e. Independents, Green Party, Libertarians, Socialists, etc.) General Election Tuesday Monday November Third

The General Election In the General Election, the people of the United States do not vote ________ for the President. A group of people called the _________ _________ actually votes for the President. The people vote for the electors and then the electors vote for the President. Our founding fathers didn’t trust the _______ people to such an important task as electing a President. That is why the E.C. exists. directly Electoral College The People The Electoral College The President common

2008 Ballot

There are a total of _____ electoral votes 538 (the District of Columbia is not a state but is given ____ electoral votes) 3

A state’s number of electors is the total number of _________ and ______________ Senators Representatives Arizona 2 senators + 9 representatives Total =11 electors

The 538 Electoral Votes by State

A candidate must receive a majority of electoral votes to become President or ___ electoral votes 270

Example: Arizona (11 electoral votes) Candidates Electors Popular Electoral Winner? (R) 11 names (D) 3rd party (I) popular Whoever wins the ___________ vote in the state wins _________ of the states electoral votes. ALL

If no one wins a majority of electoral votes then the: HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES chooses the President

The Electoral College Cons Pros Undemocratic – Outdated – we have technology for voters to have full control Voters in swing states matter more Pros Preserves 2 party system No mass confusion over recounts Pushes candidates to campaign in smaller states

Proposed Reforms to the Electoral College District Plan Electoral College Votes based on who wins each congressional district Example: California has 53 districts McCain wins 20, gets 20 electoral votes Obama wins 33, gets 33 electoral votes Obama wins popular vote in CA, gets 2 bonus votes

Proposed Reforms to the Electoral College Proportional Plan Electoral College votes awarded based on % of popular vote Example: State has 20 electoral votes Obama gets 60%, McCain gets 40% Obama gets 12 electoral votes, McCain gets 8

Proposed Reforms to the Electoral College Direct Popular Election Most votes nationwide becomes the president

Proposed Reforms to the Electoral College FYI National Bonus Plan Electoral College system still in place Whoever wins the popular vote nationwide gets a bonus of 102 electoral college votes 102 is the number which makes it mathematically impossible to win popular vote and lose the election