Chapters 8 & 9 The Presidency

8-1 President and Vice-President

Qualifications for President Formal: Natural born citizen of U.S. 35 years old resident of US for 14 years before taking office

Qualifications for President Informal: Government experience Money – ability to raise Political beliefs – moderate Personal characteristics – generally male married WASPs Qualifications for President Informal: Government experience – most have been senators or governors Money – ability to raise – campaigns are extremely expensive Political beliefs – moderate – extremists don’t cut it Personal characteristics – generally male WASPS – white anglo-saxon protestants

Succession Vice-President Speaker President Pro-Tempore Secretary of State Cabinet secretaries, in order that department were first created See chart on p. 217

Vice President’s Role According to Constitution: Preside over Senate and vote in case of a tie Helps decide if the president is disabled and acts as president should that happen Actual: Whatever the president assigns Prior to Eisenhower, presidents ignored their vice-presidents. Since then, presidents have tried to give their VP’s more responsibility Dick Cheney has a particularly large amount of responsibility

8-2 Electing the President

Electoral College Originally: Electors voted for two candidates of their party. Candidate with highest vote was president; the other was vice president 1804 – 12th Amendment President and VP voted for separately 1820’s States began putting presidential candidates on ballot; electors chosen by popular vote Electoral College Originally: Electors voted for two candidates of their party. Candidate with highest vote was president; the other was vice president This led to situation where Jefferson & Aaron Burr got equal votes, so it went to the House, where Federalists were in the majority. It took 36 ballots for Jefferson to win by one vote. Aaron Burr was such a sleaze bag that Alexander Hamilton, who was in the opposite political party from Jefferson, mounted a frenzied one-man campaign to get Jefferson elected! 1804 – 12th Amendment President and VP voted for separately 1820’s States began putting presidential candidates on ballot; electors chosen by popular vote

Electoral College Why? It was a compromise between those who wanted the legislature to choose the president, and those who wanted popular vote. Read first section on p. 220, the intro before “the original system.”

Electoral College How does it work? When you vote for a presidential candidate on the ballot, you are actually voting for electors. The electors’ names may or may not be on the ballot. The electors meet in December in the state capital to officially cast their votes. Look at graphic organizer on p. 222.

Electoral College In case of a tie: Election goes to House of Representatives. Each state gets one vote (no matter what their population). If the representatives are unable to agree on a candidate, they lose their vote.

Electoral College Issues: “Winner takes all” system. Margin of victory does not matter. Winner of popular vote may not win electoral vote. This has happened four times. Happens when the loser has a larger margin of victory in the states he wins, thus gaining popular votes, but does not win in enough states to have sufficient electoral votes. Study Wikipedia – US Electoral College. Look at map of how many electoral votes each state has. Look at graphic of how a candidate can win the popular vote but lose the electoral vote. Study maps on p. 223. Which states went republican in 2004? How could Gore have won? Which states would have had to go democratic?

2004 Elections Map

2004 Elections Cartogram

Electoral College Issues: “Faithless electors” An elector is not legally obliged to vote for his party. Occasionally an elector defects.

Electoral College Arguments against: Candidate can win the popular vote but lose the election. If there is a tie, the election is decided unfairly, because populous states have the same vote as small states. It favors republicans, who predominate in less populous states.

Electoral College Arguments for: With popular elections, candidates would focus on areas with high concentrations of population. With the electoral college, a candidate must win a large number of states to win. Popular elections would erode federalism; they would take away states’ rights.

Quotes from Famous Inaugural Speeches “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt, during Great Depression “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” - John F. Kennedy

8-3 The Cabinet Look at www.whitehouse.gov – at Bush’s cabinet. Whom do they recognize? Who is in the news a lot?

Advise the President Administer large bureaucracies Two Main Jobs Advise the President Administer large bureaucracies Advise the President Administer large bureaucracies – thousands of employees – research this more

Selection Nominees often selected before president-elect takes office. Nominees must be approved by the Senate. Generally they are approved. Nominees names are often deliberately “leaked” to the press to gauge Congress’ and the public’s response. Nominees often selected before president-elect takes office. This is one of the first things a president must do, and helps him get a running start. Nominees must be approved by the Senate. Generally they are approved. The last exception was Zoe Baird, a nominee of Bill Clinton. She had hired illegal aliens as household help. Nominees names are often deliberately “leaked” to the press to gauge Congress’ and the public’s response.

Selection Considerations Background in field of the department Satisfy interest groups High level administrative skills and experience Geographic balance in cabinet Race and gender balance in cabinet They need to be willing to take the job Background in field of the department Satisfy interest groups High level administrative skills and experience Geographic balance in cabinet Race and gender balance in cabinet They need to be willing to take the job – move, less pay, interruption of their career

Role of Cabinet Usually meet with the president once per week or less. “Inner cabinet” – Secretaries of state, defense, treasury and attorney general. They may compete with or not agree with each other on policy. They may have conflicting loyalties – president, department, interest groups. Usually meet with the president once per week or less. Under Nixon, some did not meet with him for months on end. So if the president is not relying on the cabinet for advice, who is he getting daily advice from?? “Inner cabinet” – Secretaries of state, defense, treasury and attorney general. Those concerned with national or international issue as opposed to narrower or more regional interests. They may compete with or not agree with each other on policy. Bush and Rumsfeld, Cheney … research more. They may have conflicting loyalties – president, department, interest groups.

Names Secretary of War Secretary of Defense Secretary of State Secretary of Foreign Affairs?? Usually meet with the president once per week or less. Under Nixon, some did not meet with him for months on end. So if the president is not relying on the cabinet for advice, who is he getting daily advice from?? “Inner cabinet” – Secretaries of state, defense, treasury and attorney general. Those concerned with national or international issue as opposed to narrower or more regional interests. They may compete with or not agree with each other on policy. Bush and Rumsfeld, Cheney … research more. They may have conflicting loyalties – president, department, interest groups.

8-4 Executive Office

Selection Usually longtime supporters of president Do not require senate confirmation Celebrities: George Stephanapoulis, Jody Powell

Reputation Secretaries and top advisors may be: Highly respected Henry Kissinger won Nobel Prize Loved or hated Donald Rumsfeld left office Celebrities or unknowns Celebrities: George Stephanapoulis, Jody Powell

Chapter 9 Presidential Leadership

9-1 Presidential Powers

Presidential Powers in Constitution Commander-in-Chief Appoints executive department heads Conducts foreign policy Appoints federal judges May pardon people convicted of federal crimes or reduce prison sentences or fines Makes sure Congress’ laws are “faithfully executed” Delivers annual State of the Union address May call Congress into special session A lot of this is working with congress

Limits on Presidential Powers Congress – overrides of vetoes Courts – judicial review Bureaucracy – may be unintentional Public Opinion – may prevent reelection A lot of this is working with congress

9-2 Roles of the President