The Presidency Chapter 13

Chief of State Rules and reigns Chief Executive The President’s Roles Chief of State Rules and reigns Chief Executive Vested with immensely broad powers in both domestic and foreign affairs

Chief Administrator Head of one of the largest government machines in the world Chief Diplomat Speaks for the nation around the world

Commander-in-Chief Head of the American military Chief Legislator Main architect of public policies Chief of Party Leader of his respective party

Chief Citizen Representative of the people Each role is played simultaneously and is inseparable from the others

Formal Qualifications The President must be: Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 35 years of age Has lived in the United States for at least 14 years Is a natural-born citizen, or a citizen at the time of the adoption of the US Constitution

The President’s Term of Office The President is elected for a four-year term Article II, Section 1, Clause 1 Originally could serve as long as the Electoral College would elect him Today, can only be elected to two full terms Twenty-Second Amendment

The pay of the President $400,000 per year Fixed by Congress Pay and Benefits The pay of the President $400,000 per year Fixed by Congress Washington paid $25,000 per year $50,000 taxable expense account Pension of $181,100 per year Many other perks.

Presidential Succession

The Constitution and Succession If the President dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the Vice President succeeds to the office

The Constitution and Succession The Constitution states: “In case of the removal of the president from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve upon the Vice President.” Article II, Section 1, Clause 6

Presidential Disability

The Constitution made no provision for the disability of the President Dwight David Eisenhower had three serious illnesses James Garfield Woodrow Wilson

25th Amendment meets this problem Disability 25th Amendment meets this problem Vice President will become acting President If the President informs Congress in writing that he cannot discharge the powers The Vice President and a majority of Cabinet inform Congress that the President is incapacitated

The Vice Presidency

The Importance of the Office The Constitution pays little attention to the office itself Vice President has only two formal duties Preside over the US Senate Article I, Section 3, Clause 4 Help decide presidential disability 25th Amendment, Section 3 & 4

The Importance of the Office The Vice President is only a heartbeat away from the Presidency Eight presidents have died in office One president resigned Vice Presidency has been vacant 18 times 9 times by succession to President 2 by resignation, 7 by death

The Importance of the Office 25th Amendment changes 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 1973 – Gerald Ford 1974 – Nelson Rockefeller

The Importance of the Office President has made the Vice President more important of late Sits in on Cabinet meetings Head of NASA National Security Council Special Ambassador of President Still not an assistant President

The Importance of the Office Basic bottom line is that the President of the United States cannot fire the Vice President

The Electoral College

Apportionment of Delegates The national committee issues a call for the convention Tells each state’s party organization how many delegates it is allowed to send. 1996 Republicans – 1,990 delegates Democrats – 4,320 delegates

The Electoral College Today One of the least understood parts of the American political process Constitution provides for the election of the President by the Electoral College Each State has the same number of electors that it has members of Congress Founders expected the electors would use their own judgment

The Electoral College Today Today, the electors are really just a rubber stamp of the popular vote. They are expected to vote for their party’s candidates. They go through the form It is a far cry from the original intent

The Electoral College Today Electors are chosen by popular vote in every State on the same day Electors are chosen at large except for Maine and Nebraska (district) Electors are chosen on a winner-take-all basis Names of the electors are found on less than one-fourth of the ballots in the US

The Electoral College Today The electors meet in their respective State capitals on the Monday following the second Wednesday in December They cast their ballots for President and Vice President The ballots are signed, sealed, and sent to the President of the Senate

The Electoral College Today Formal election of the President does not take place until January 6th Ballots are opened by the President of the Senate and counted before a joint session of Congress The candidate who receives a majority of Electoral College votes will be the President

The Electoral College Today The candidate who receives a majority of the Electoral College votes in the vice presidential race will be the vice president. If no one receives a majority of votes (270 out of 538), the election is thrown into the House of Representatives House chooses from the top three candidates

Flaws in the Electoral College

The winner of the popular vote does not become President The First Major Defect The winner of the popular vote does not become President Winner-take-all in the voting 1992 – Clinton won 50% of the vote in New York and all 33 electoral votes Bush won 2.2 million votes Perot won 1.1 million votes

Way that electoral votes are distributed The First Major Defect Way that electoral votes are distributed California – 55 electoral votes 1 for every 652,614.5 persons Alaska – 3 electoral votes 1 for every 218,478 persons

Popular vote winner has failed to win the presidency four times 1824 The First Major Defect Popular vote winner has failed to win the presidency four times 1824 1876 1888 2000

The Second Major Defect Nothing in any federal statute or the Constitution requires an elector to vote for the person who wins the state popular vote States can and do require this Not sure of the constitutionality of states laws Virginia and Tennessee do require this