Chapter Six The Presidency Mr. Ognibene AP Government OR

Key Questions for Presidency Chapter How did the framers view executive power? What is the current state of executive power? How has the presidency changed since 1789? How is the Executive Branch organized? How is the character of the President related to the accomplishments of various presidents? What FORMAL and INFORMAL powers does the president possess?

Electoral College Almost all states use a winner-take-all system (Nebraska 5 and Maine 4 can split their votes) If no candidate won a majority, the House would decide the election The Electoral College ultimately worked differently than expected, because the Founders did not anticipate the role of political parties

Map 12.1: Electoral Votes per State

As of 10/25/12 Obama 294 Romney 244

The First Presidents The office was legitimated by men active in independence and Founding politics Minimal activism of early government contributed to lessening the fear of the presidency Relations with Congress were reserved: few vetoes; no advice from Congress to the president

Powers of the President Potential for power found in ambiguous clauses of the Constitution—e.g., power as commander in chief, duty to “take care that laws be faithfully executed” (executive power) The Military Commisions Act of 2006 Part 2 CNN’s view of Presidential Signing Statements Fox News Point of View on Signing Statements Bill O’Reilly responds! Greatest source of power lies in politics and public opinion

The Power to Persuade Presidents try to transform popularity into congressional support for their programs Presidential coattails have had a declining effect for years Popularity is affected by factors beyond anyone’s control – consider Bush’s approval ratings following the September 11 th attacks

Figure 14.2: Presidential Popularity Thomas E.Cronin, The State of the Presidency (Boston: Little, Brown, 1975), Copyright © 1975 by Little, Brown and Company, Inc. Reprinted by permission. Updated with Gallup poll data, Reprinted by permission of the Gallup Poll News Service. 1.What happens to a president’s popularity over time? Why? 2.How might this trend affect a president’s power and strategy?

Figure 14.2: Presidential Popularity Thomas E.Cronin, The State of the Presidency (Boston: Little, Brown, 1975), Copyright © 1975 by Little, Brown and Company, Inc. Reprinted by permission. Updated with Gallup poll data, Reprinted by permission of the Gallup Poll News Service.

Figure 14.3: Presidential Victories on Votes in Congress,

Discussion Questions for Theme A 1.The text concludes that presidential authority began to increase as a result of national crises. Why didn’t presidential power increase after the nation’s first three wars (War of 1812, the Mexican American War, and the Spanish-American War)? Were the wars different or the nation different? 2.If the expansion of presidential power occurred because of political events and has been fostered by public opinion, under what circumstances might presidential power begin to be limited? Will the historical in favor of expanding presidential power be reveresed? 3.How did George W. Bush expand executive power? Is the new powers he claims constitutional? Is it a good thing that President Bush has expanded the executive’s power? 4.The text suggests that Congress generally hesitates to challenge a popular president. Under what circumstances might this not hold true? How can you explain the Clinton impeachment, given the president’s successful re-election campaign and strong approval ratings? How does that compare to the Democrats support of President Bush’s decision to go to war with Iraq?

White House Office Rule of propinquity: power is wielded by people who are in the room when a decision is made Pyramid structure: most assistants report through hierarchy to chief of staff, who then reports to president –Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, Bush, Clinton (late in his administration) THEME B: THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF THE PRESIDENCY

White House Office Circular structure: cabinet secretaries and assistants report directly to the president –Carter (early in his administration) Ad hoc structure: task forces, committees, and informal groups deal directly with president –Clinton (early in his administration)

Figure 14.1: Growth of the White House Staff, Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics, (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2003),

Figure 12.1: Growth of the White House Office,

The Importance and Power of White House Staff: A Case Study Karl Rove

The Cabinet Not explicitly mentioned in Constitution Presidents have many more appointments to make than do prime ministers, due to competition created by the separation of power Presidential control over departments remains uncertain—secretaries become advocates for their departments

Table 14.1: The Cabinet Departments 1.What are the responsibilities of each cabinet department? 2.Which departments are most important? Why?

Presidential Character Kennedy: bold, articulate, amusing leader; improviser who bypassed traditional lines of authority Nixon: expertise in foreign policy; disliked personal confrontation; tried to centralize power in the White House

Presidential Character Reagan: set policy priorities and then gave staff wide latitude; leader of public opinion Clinton: good communicator; pursued liberal/centrist policies George W. Bush: tightly run White House; agenda became dominated by foreign affairs following the September 11th attacks

The Veto Power Veto message sent within ten days of the bill’s passage Pocket veto (only before Congress adjourns at the end of its second session) Congress rarely overrides vetoes Commentary on Bush’s first veto and Congress’s failure to overide.Commentary on Bush’s first veto and Congress’s failure to overide. President does not hold line-item veto power

Table 12.5: Presidential Vetoes,

The President’s Program Resources in developing a program include interest groups, aides and campaign advisers, federal departments and agencies, and various specialists Constraints include public and congressional reactions, limited time and attention, and unexpected crises

Discussion Questions for Theme B 1.Why has the president’s staff grown? Many presidents enter office with a commitment to cutting the size of their staff. Why isn’t this goal achieved? Why do presidents rely more on the White House staff than on the various other offices in the Executive Office of the President? Why don’t presidents rely on their cabinets? 2.The text describes the connections between president’s character and their staffing arrangements. But why would a president’s personality have much to do with the staffing method (circular, pyramidal or ad hoc)? Why must the president rely on staff to devise policy when the executive branch bureaucracy already exists for this purpose? 3.Presidents frequently sign legislation with which they disagree. Why doesn’t the president simply veto such laws, since Congress seldom manages to override a veto? What kinds of veto strategies would you recommend to a president whose party controlled Congress? Or whose party was in the minority in Congress? 4.Should the president be grated absolute executive privilege? Have the courts placed too many constraints on the White House staff, in denying them confidentiality in so many of their communications?

Presidential Transition Only fifteen of forty-four presidents have served two full terms (Barak Obama will be the 16 th if he finishes his full 2 nd term) Eight vice presidents have taken office upon the president’s death THEME C: PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION

The Vice President Prior to 2000, only five vice presidents won the presidency in an election without having first entered the office as a result of their president’s death The vice president presides over Senate and votes in case of tie

The 25th Amendment (1967) Allows vice president to serve as acting president if president is disabled Illness is decided by president, by vice president and cabinet, or by two-thirds vote of Congress The new vice president must be confirmed by a majority vote of both houses

This is a list of the current presidential line of succession, as specified by the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 (3 U.S.C. § 19). #OfficeOfficer 1Vice President and President of the SenateDick Cheney 2Speaker of the House of RepresentativesNancy Pelosi 3President pro tempore of the SenateRobert C. Byrd 4Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice 5Secretary of the TreasuryHenry M. Paulson, Jr. 6Secretary of DefenseRobert Gates 7Attorney GeneralAlberto Gonzales 8Secretary of the InteriorDirk Kempthorne 9Secretary of AgricultureMike Johanns --Secretary of CommerceCarlos Gutierrez (ineligible; not a natural-born citizen)† --Secretary of LaborElaine Chao (ineligible; not a natural-born citizen)† 10Secretary of Health and Human ServicesMichael Leavitt 11Secretary of Housing and Urban Dev. Alphonso Jackson 12Secretary of TransportationMary Peters 13Secretary of EnergySamuel W. Bodman 14Secretary of EducationMargaret Spellings 15Secretary of Veterans AffairsJim Nicholson 16Secretary of Homeland SecurityMichael Chertoff ††h

Impeachment Indictment by the House, conviction by the Senate Presidential examples: Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon (pre-empted by resignation), Bill Clinton VIDEO: Summary of Clinton Impeachment Neither Johnson nor Clinton was convicted by the Senate

Constraints on the President Both the president and the Congress are more constrained today due to: –Complexity of issues –Scrutiny of the media –Greater number and power of interest groups

Questions 1.What does the peaceful and orderly transfer of power from one president to the next have to do with presidential legitimacy? 2.What factors have precluded vice presidents from succeeding “their” presidents in office? Recent vice presidents who have failed in this effort include Nixon 1960, Humphrey 1968, Ford 1976, Gore The two who have recently succeeded are LBJ 1964 and Bush Sr Unless a president resigns, the chief executive can be politically removed only through impeachment proceedings. These proceedings are extremely involved and are undertaken only in extraordinary circumstances. Is it a strength or a weakness of the presidential system that its chief executive is so difficult to remove? Does this provide the system with greater stability or does it increase the likelihood of corruption in the executive branch? Answer your question in light of the Clinton impeachment proceedings and President Bush’s conduct of the Iraq War.

Wrap Up for the Presidency What are the three most important lessons you learned in this chapter? Which is the most important? Why? Who will win the presidency in 12 days? Vocab Time