Unit 5, Ch.6.1: The President

Roles of the President: Some of the powers of the president are stated in the Constitution, some developed over time. Official Roles: Article II of the Constitution outlines the executive branch, and assigns the president the following duties: Chief executive, chief administrator, commander in chief, foreign policy leader, chief agenda setter.

Chief Executive: This is the power to execute, or carry out, the nation’s laws. It’s his responsibility to see that gov. programs are carried out. The president is given permission by Congress to have a cabinet of people to manage each department in the executive branch. Commander in Chief: The president has the authority to order troops into action or bring them home. While Congress can declare war. But more often than not, U.S. forces go into action because the president sent them and not because Congress declared war.

Foreign Policy Leader: The president can negotiate treaties and receive foreign ambassadors. He also directs the activities of the ambassadors and its diplomatic efforts. The Constitution specifies that the president will set the government’s agenda during an annual State of the Union address. This usually includes a number of specific programs for Congress to consider.

Unofficial Roles: Chief of state Party leader Chief citizen

Chief of State: As head of state, the president takes on the role of symbolic figurehead of the United States. He will represent the country at international events. He is also recognized as the official party leader for his political party, and will help shape policy and promote the party platform, raise money, etc. The president and vice president are said to be chief citizens, models of good citizenship and are often held to a high standard of personal behavior by the American public.

Formal Characteristics of the Presidency: Qualifications: Be at least 35 yrs. old Have lived in the country for 14 yrs. Be a natural born U.S. citizen. The founders made it this way because they feared a rich European aristocrat would come to the U.S. and become president to overthrow representative democracy.

Term of Office: Presidents can serve two 4 year terms, they originally considered on 6 or 7 year term, but compromised on 4 years. This would allow him to govern effectively without giving them too much power. George Washington set the precedent by serving two terms and then stepping down. FDR, during WWII, broke this tradition and was elected to 4 terms. Congress passed an amendment to limit presidents to 2.

Election to Office: Voters do not directly elect the president and VP. They actually are choosing electors that are pledged to support their chosen candidate, they are known as the electoral college. This idea came out of a compromise from the founders. Some wanted the people to choose, while others thought people couldn’t make that choice so they decided on this system. 48 states do a winner takes all approach and if a candidate wins the pop. vote for their state they take all the electoral votes. The other states have electors divided by district.

Succession: This is the line of people who would become president if he were to die or have to resign. Salary and benefits: The president makes about $400,000 a year, and this salary cannot be altered during his time in office. This keeps Congress from threatening to cut his salary as a bargaining tool. He also gets other perks, a large staff that are on call, living in the White House, and health and retirement benefits.

Unwritten Qualifications: Most people expect a president to be educated, to have a religious background, and it’s always a plus to have a military background. It’s also common for them to have been governors or have a political background. To gain votes, they must have appealing personal qualities. Likeability is important, as well as leadership qualities. They should also be persuasive and have a dignified appearance.