Chief Executives and Bureaucracies Unit 11 Essential Question: What qualities do modern presidents need to fulfill their many roles?
Chief executive Def. = top elected official in charge of carrying out (or executing) gov’t policy. Citymayor; stategovernor; nationpresident Formal qualifications for president… 35 yrs old Native-born citizen Lived in U.S. 14+ years Cannot serve over 2 terms* Informal qualifications? Age? Gender? Race? Experience? Military? Religion? Charm? Appearance? Etc.
Staying in office Term limits – varies by location (often 2 terms) Impeachment = process to remove an executive. 2 steps for pres.: House impeaches = this is an accusation only. Needs majority vote. Senate holds trial = if guilty of “high crimes and misdemeanors”, is kicked out. Needs 2/3 vote. Two presidents have been impeached… Andrew Johnson after Civil War (1860s) Bill Clinton after intern scandal (1990s). Impeached, yes. But, neither was removed by Senate. Recall = voters can vote to remove an executive. This is rare (only removed a governor twice). Arnold…I’ll be back.
The president’s many hats Chief of state – ceremonial head of U.S.A. Chief executive – holds all executive power Chief administrator – “C.E.O.” of 2.7 million people Chief diplomat – represents the U.S. to other nations Commander in chief – head of U.S. military Chief legislator – sets an agenda for the nation Chief of party – leads the political party Chief citizen – represents the American people
The cabinet and the bureaucracy To carry out all the jobs, the president needs help. The cabinet is the presidents advisors (there are 14). The bureaucracy is all the departments and agencies of the government.
Bureaucracy Good The bureaucracy does the work of the gov’t. Experts can be put to work in their areas. Bad It’s huge, maybe too huge, costly. They set up regulations…rules, rules, rules. Where’s my freedom?! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Man_of_the_Mountain