The President and the Executive Branch The President and Vice-President

Qualification for President: (1) Must be at least 35 years of age (2) Must be a natural-born citizen (3) Must live in the United States 14 years prior to running for President

Traditionally President have been WASP WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) In 1960, John F. Kennedy became the first, and so far only, Catholic President In 1984, Geraldine Ferraro became the first female vice-presidential candidate

In 1988, Jesse Jackson ran a close second in the Democratic party to become the first African American candidate for President In 2000, Joseph Lieberman became the first Jewish candidate for Vice-President

Barack Hussein Obama (D) 2008 – 1st African American ever elected President of the United States Electoral College Votes: Obama – 365 McCain – 173 Popular Votes: Obama – 69,456,897 McCain – 59, 934,814

Electing a President: Presidential elections take place every 4 years The president is elected through an indirect method known as the electoral college The Electoral votes for each state is the number of Senators and Representative they have in Congress (EX: Georgia has 2 Senators and 14 Representatives = 16 Electoral College Votes)

The Electoral College does not vote until December There are 538 Electoral College Votes (Where does this number come from?) It is a winner-take-all system with whomever receives 270 of the votes

Terms of Office: The 22nd Amendment (ratified in 1951) limits the President to two terms in office A term is four years long, with a maximum of 10 years as president In 1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to his 4th term in office before he died

Salary and Benefits: President receives $400,000 per a year plus money for expenses and traveling He lives in the White House

He has access to a mountain estate in Maryland called Camp David He has his own fleet of special cars, helicopters, and planes (Air Force One)

Vice-President: Has the same qualifications as the President (Why do you think?) His only job mentioned in Article I is to preside over the Senate and votes in case of a tie “I am Vice President, In this I am nothing, but I may become everything.” - John Adams-

Presidential Succession: Eight Presidents have died while in office Henry Harrison was the first in 1841 and his Vice-President (John Tyler) just assumed the position In 1947, Congress passed the Presidential Succession Act to indicate the line of succession after the vice-president

Presidential Succession: Vice-President Speaker of the House President Pro Tempero Secretary of State Secretary of Treasury ►The other 13 people in line come from the President’s Cabinet – See page 168 in text!

25th Amendment: If the President dies or leaves office, the vice-president becomes the new president and he/she will appoint a new vice-president with Congresses approval. The vice-president will also take over if the president is “unable to work”