The President IV 10/3/2011
Clearly Communicated Learning Objectives in Written Form Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: – understand and interpret the United States Constitution and apply it to the present – assess the 2008 & 2012 Presidential Elections without resorting to partisan bickering. – identify and explain the role of formal (bureaucratic) institutions and their effect on policy. – students will have a better understanding of why our national government works and why the American system of government is unique.
Office Hours and Readings Readings- Chapter 9 on the President, pp Chapter 10 on the Bureaucracy Office Hours – Tomorrow 8-12 – Wednesday 8-10:30
Frontloading The Republicans wanted a longer season- it is not going to happen Florida is moving its primary to Jan 31 Iowa (Feb 6), NH, Nevada and SC are all going to move up before that
Why the move? Florida may lose ½ of its delegates? But..... It increases its importance in selecting the nominee
USING OTHER POWERS Presidential Success
The President Constitutional powers are – Vague – Limited The Demands of the Office are Great Presidents must then use all the tools at their disposal
The Vice President Picked for different purposes Limited Constitutional Power At the discretion of the President Can be a liability ure=related ure=related
Why did McCain Choose Palin? Get space between himself and Bush Get someone who was not an old man Get someone to appeal to the conservative base McCain loses no matter who he picks
Executive Stuff Executive Orders Carry the weight of law Must be on a single issue Cannot require new revenues Die when the president leaves Executive Agreements Bilateral agreements with other nations Carry the weight of a treaty Not that great of a power The Senate hates these
The Veto The “Smart Bomb” in the legislative process Most vetoes are sustained Can be overused Threats work better
INFORMAL POWERS Politics by other Means
The Power to Persuade Richard Neustadt Presidential Power is the Power To Persuade
Persuasion What is Persuasion You have to convince them by what ever means necessary Getting Decision makers to do what you want – The Johnson Treatment
Getting things Done: Trading Favors Prestige of the office Granting New Favors Calling in Past Favors
Getting Things Done: Reprisals Monetary Threats Campaign Threats Policy Threats
Why Persuasion Fails Threats are Not Credible Favors are not worth it Electoral Security and temporal forces
Why President Obama is Currently having difficulty persuading Republicans do not want to compromise Democrats are already on board The Election is getting close
Everything is inside
GOING PUBLIC Samuel Kernell
Going Public Using presidential popularity to by-pass Congress and take the message to the people. A Two Step Model
Requirements High reliance on the media Use the same tools as the campaign
Who is good at “Going Public” Political Outsiders Popular Presidents Presidents who are good communicators Presidents facing divided government
How it Can fail: No Coverage
How it Can Fail: Missteps
How it can Fail: Disinterest
How it Can Fail: Getting off Message
How it can fail: A guy throws a shoe at you
Going Public is Risky You must have public support on the issue You cannot do it too much Unpopular presidents will not be able to do it
WHY DOES EVERYONE HATE THE PRESIDENT?
The Media hate the President They punish failure They do not reward success Bad news is better for ratings
Congress hates the president Different Goals Different Time frames Divided Government
The People Turn on the President Term Limits We Grow tired of the president The realities of the office
IS THE PRESIDENT DOOMED TO FAIL? Keeping your head above water
Presidential Approval
The Key’s To Presidential Popularity Strong Economy Staying away from Scandal Rally around the Flag events
How to Lose it
President Obama: On the Ledge