The Presidency Chapter 13

THE PRESIDENT’S JOB DESCRIPTION SECTION ONE

How stressful is the presidency? President Clinton 1992 President Clinton 2000

How stressful is the presidency? President George W. Bush 2000 2008

How stressful is the presidency? President Barack Obama 2008 2016

Article II of the U.S. Constitution Section 1, Clause 1: The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term

The Constitution grants the President six of his eight roles: Chief of State: The President acts as the ceremonial head of the government. As such, he stands as the representative of all the people of the nation. Chief Executive: The President is also head of the executive branch. Chief Administrator: The President manages the Federal Government. Chief Diplomat: the President sets the nation's foreign policy. Commander-in-Chief: The President directly controls all U.S. military forces Chief Legislator: The President helps determine Congress's agenda

Two presidential roles are not defined by the Constitution: Chief of Party: The President is the unofficial head of his political party. Chief Citizen : The President is expected to work for and to represent the public interest.

To become President, a person must be a natural born citizen, be at least 35 years old, and have lived in the United States for at least the last 14 years. In 1951, the 22nd Amendment limited the presidency to two terms of four years each.

The President receives a salary and benefits. The President of the United States earns $400,000 a year. The vice president's annual salary is $ 230,700. The President’s Cabinet receive a salary of $199,700 a year.

Presidential Raises Salary Purchasing Power (2015)  1789 $25,000  1873 $50,000  1909 $75,000  1949 $100,000 $995,869  1969 $200,000 $1,291,645  2001 $400,000 $535, 329

Presidential Succession and the Vice Presidency Section Two

What former vice presidents have said about the job: The vice presidency is “the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.” –John Adams (V.P. to George Washington)

“The vice presidency isn’t worth a warm pitcher of spit “The vice presidency isn’t worth a warm pitcher of spit.” –John Nance Garner (V.P. to Franklin Roosevelt)

Presidential succession is the process used to fill a vacancy in the office of President. Originally, the Constitution only stated that the Vice President would take over the duties of president if there was a vacancy. In 1967, the 25th Amendment was ratified. It states that the Vice President will actually become president if the presidency becomes vacant for any reason. It also outlines what happens if the President becomes temporarily unable to fulfill his duties.

The Vice President becomes Acting President if the President tells Congress he cannot do his job or if the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet tell Congress that the President is disabled. The President may return to his duties when he thinks he is ready. If the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet disagree, Congress must decide if the disability still exists. The 25th Amendment also states that if the office of Vice President becomes vacant, the President chooses a replacement who must then be confirmed by a majority vote in both houses.

If the both the President and the Vice President are unable to serve, the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 says the Speaker of the House and the Senate's president pro tempore are the next officers in line. The Constitution assigns the Vice President two roles: presiding over the Senate and helping to decide about presidential disability. Political parties usually pick a candidate for Vice President who will balance the ticket, or help the presidential candidate appeal to a broader range of voters.

PRESIDENTIAL SELECTION: THE FRAMER’S PLAN SECTION THREE

The Framers debated at length about the way the President would be chosen. Most Framers opposed electing a President by Congress or by a direct vote of the people. The Framers decided that a body of presidential electors, known as the electoral college, should choose the President and Vice President. Each of these electors cast two electoral votes, each one for a different candidate. The candidate with the most votes became President, and the runner-up became Vice President.

Problems with this system soon arose, partly due to the growth of political parties. In 1796 John Adams, a Federalist, was elected President. Thomas Jefferson, of the opposing Democratic-Republican party, came in second and so became Vice President. In the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams ran against each other. However, Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr, tied for electoral votes. The House of Representatives had to choose one for President, but could not come to an agreement. They finally selected Jefferson after 35 votes.

To avoid such problems, the 12th Amendment was passed in 1804 To avoid such problems, the 12th Amendment was passed in 1804. It stated that electors would cast separate votes for President and Vice President. Today, the President and Vice President are still formally elected by the electoral college.

Presidential Nominations Section Four

Who decides who runs for president? To nominate candidates for President and Vice President, each political party holds a national convention—a meeting at which party delegates vote. Many States use presidential primaries to help decide which delegates will go to the national conventions. A presidential primary is an election in which only members from one party appear on a ballot. Each voter must choose which party’s primary in which they want to vote. The rules about presidential primaries vary by State law.

While most states hold presidential primaries to nominate a candidate, some states choose their candidates in local caucuses and State conventions. Some presidential primaries are winner-take-all contests. That means that the winner of the primary gains the votes of all State delegates at the convention. If a candidate wins by a small percentage they still get all the delegates from that state. Some states use a system of proportional representation. In this type of primary, each candidate wins a share of delegate votes.

At the national conventions, each party adopts a platform At the national conventions, each party adopts a platform. The party’s platform is the official position the party takes on important issues like taxes or education. The two parties each hold their convention a few months before the election. The candidate chosen by each party will officially accept their party’s nomination for president on the final night of the convention.

The Election Section Five

The presidential campaign ends on election day The presidential campaign ends on election day. Presidential elections are held every four years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Soon after, the electoral college formally elects the President. Members of the Electoral College are called presidential electors. Their votes are known as electoral votes. The citizens who cast their votes in an election are known as the electorate. The votes cast by the electorate are known as popular votes. When they cast their vote for President, they are really voting for presidential electors pledged to support a particular candidate.

In 48 States, the candidate with the most popular votes in that state wins all of its electoral votes. Maine and Nebraska use a district system to allot electoral votes. In every other state, if a candidate wins the popular vote by a small percentage, they still get all of that state’s electoral votes. A state’s electoral votes are equal to its number of representatives plus senators. There are a total of 538 electoral votes cast in every presidential election. In order to win the election, a candidate must collect at least 270 electoral votes.

2016 Electoral College Results

Congress counts the electoral votes and declares a winner Congress counts the electoral votes and declares a winner. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, the House of Representatives elects the President. There have been three major criticisms of the Electoral College system. First, it is possible for the winner of the nationwide popular vote not to become President. This can happen because electoral votes are not evenly distributed among each individual state. A candidate who wins a state by a small margin still collects all of its electoral votes. Likewise, a candidate who wins a state by a very large margin is limited to the number of electoral votes from that state. The winner of the popular vote has lost the presidential election five times in U.S. history, most recently in 2016.

2012 Election results: Romney vs Obama Obama: 2,697,260 popular votes Romney: 2,593,779 popular votes Total Votes: 5,291,039 Difference: 103,481 (1.9%) Obama: 18 electoral Votes Romney: 0 Electoral Votes

2012 Election results: Romney vs Obama Obama: 4,235,270 Romney: 4,162,081 Difference: 73, 189 Obama: 29 Electoral votes Romney: 0 Electoral Votes

Second, the Constitution does not require a State's electors to vote for the candidate who wins the State's popular vote. However, many states have laws that bind its electors to the winning candidate. An elector who votes against the results of his or her state is known as a faithless elector. Third, a strong third-party candidate could win enough votes to prevent any candidate from winning a majority, thus putting the election into the House.

Reformers have suggested four methods of changing the electoral system: The District Plan: Electors would represent congressional districts and support the popular vote winner in their district. The Proportional Plan: Each candidate would receive the same share of the State’s electoral vote as he or she received of its popular vote. Direct Popular Election: The voters would directly elect the President, completely abolishing the Electoral College. The National Bonus Plan: Would add to the current system by giving “bonus” electoral votes to the popular vote winner.

There have been several arguments given in support of the Electoral College system as it is used today. First, it exemplifies the representative democracy that the Framers envisioned in the Constitution, and protects against regionalism. Secondly, it protects the principle of federalism enshrined in the Constitution. The Electoral College gives the states a voice in presidential elections. And third, the Electoral College prevents vast majorities in the country’s most populous cities from deciding the outcome of a presidential election.

Did the electoral college system fail in 2016? Electoral Vote Totals: Donald Trump: 304 Hillary Clinton: 227 **There were a total of 7 “faithless electors” 2 Republican electors voted against Trump, and 5 Democratic electors voted against Clinton. Popular Vote Totals: Hillary Clinton: 65,844,954 Donald Trump: 62,979,879 Difference: 2,865,075

Popular vote totals if you remove the three most populous cities in the U.S. (New york, Los Angeles, Chicago Donald Trump: 61,612,754 Hillary Clinton: 61, 035, 724 Difference: 577, 030