The Presidential Character: Predicting Performance in the White House. James David Barber's The Presidential Character: Predicting Performance in the White House.    Positive Negative         Active         ADAPTIVE: self-confident; flexible; creates opportunities for action; enjoys the exercise of power, does not take himself too seriously; optimistic; emphasizes the "rational mastery" of his environment; power used as a means to achieve beneficial results. F. D. Roosevelt,  H. Truman,  J. F. Kennedy, G. Ford,  COMPULSIVE: power as a means to self-realization; expends great energy on tasks but derives little joy; preoccupied with whether he is failing or succeeding; low self-esteem; inclined to rigidity and pessimism; highly driven; problem managing aggression.   W. Wilson, H. Hoover,  A. Lincoln, L. B. Johnson, R. Nixon,     Passive COMPLIANT: seek to be loved; easily manipulated; low self-esteem is overcome by ingratiating personality; reacts rather than initiates; superficially optimistic. W. H. Taft,  W. Harding,  R. Reagan. WITHDRAWN: responds to a sense of duty; avoid power; low self-esteem compensated by service to others; responds rather than initiates; avoids conflict and uncertainty. emphasizes principles and procedures and an aversion to politicking. C. Coolidge,  D. Eisenhower,  G. Washington

  Presidential Disability If the President is disabled, the Vice President may temporarily assume the duties of the office. The Vice President and a majority of the members of the cabinet must inform Congress, in writing, that the President is incapacitated. The President may resume his duties by informing the Congress that any previous incapacitation due to disability no inability exists. The cabinet and the Vice President may challenge the President's resumption of power. If there is a challenge, Congress has 21 days in which to decide the matter.

The Vice Presidency The constitutional duties of the Vice President are twofold:   a. to preside over the Senate, and b. help decide the question of presidential disability.   The office of Vice President is often treated as an unimportant one. The Vice President must be ready to assume the presidency at a moment's notice.

If the office of Vice President is vacated, the President must nominate a new Vice President. The nomination must be confirmed by a majority vote of both houses of Congress. Vice President Gerald Ford was nominated by President Nixon upon the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew. The two major political parties try to choose vice-presidential candidates who will help "balance the ticket." Regardless of the circumstances, the Vice President cannot be removed from office by the President.

.     Presidential Selection: The Framer's Plan Original Constitutional Provisions The Framers created the electoral college as an alternative to either popular election or congressional election of the President. The electoral vote was State by State, with each elector casting votes for two candidates.

Originally, the candidate with the most votes became President; the runner-up became Vice President. In case of a tie, the House of Representatives was charged with electing a President.

The Impact of the Rise of Parties The Election of 1800 Parties arose during the administrations of Washington and Adams, and each put up its own candidates and electors in the election of 1800. This development led to a tie between Jefferson and Burr in the election of 1800, and the House finally chose Jefferson.

The 12th Amendment   The rise of a system in which electors were pledged to vote for their party's candidates necessitated a change in the rules of voting. The 12th Amendment required electors to specify which person they wanted for President and which for Vice President, so that the tie of 1800 would never be repeated.

The Presidential Election The Electoral College Electors are chosen by popular vote and make up the electoral college. Electoral college is comprised of groups of persons (presidential electors) chosen in each State and the District of Columbia every four years who make a formal selection of the President and Vice President.Presidential electors are those persons comprising the electoral college and which elected by the voters to represent them in making a formal selection of the President and Vice President.

The number of votes that a state has in the electoral college is equal to its number of members in BOTH houses of Congress, i.e., number of congressmen, PLUS, the two senators.  It tends to favor small states, since the small states are guaranteed at least 3 electoral votes (one house member and two senators) regardless of the state's population.

The party that wins the majority of the popular vote in each State gets all of that State's electoral votes. A political concept known as "winner take all." Electors meet at a time set by law to elect the President, and their votes are sent by registered mail to Washington, D.C., where they are counted on January 6th.

In case of a tie for either President or Vice President, the decision is made by Congress. Contrary to popular belief, when citizens vote for President and Vice President of the United States, they are actually choosing electors pledged to candidate's political party.

Flaws in the Electoral College The First Major Defect — Because electoral votes are not distributed in exact proportion to the population, the winner of the popular vote may not win the electoral vote. The Second Major Defect — Electors are not bound by the Constitution or by any federal law to vote for the candidate favored by the people of their State.

The Third Major Defect  — Elections may be thrown into the House of Representatives, where voting is State by State.

Proposed Reforms The District Plan — The district plan would allow electors to be elected in each congressional district, rather than the current winner-take-all plan. The Proportional Plan — The proportional plan would give each candidate the share of the electoral vote that he or she earned in the popular vote. Direct Popular Election — Under this system, the electoral college would be abolished, and each citizen's vote would count equally toward the presidential election.

The National Bonus Plan — Under this complex plan the winner-take-all feature of the electoral college would be kept but weighted in favor of the winner of the popular vote, and the electoral college would be abolished. A Final Word — Defenders of the current electoral college system emphasize that it is a known process, that it identifies the winner quickly and certainly, and that critics exaggerate the danger of an undemocratic outcome.

Discussion Questions What is the Vice presidents Job? Explain the electoral process for electing the president of the United States. What type of selection process would you feel is best for electing the president?