Duties of the President  Commander in Chief  Appoints (with consent of the Senate)  Executive departments, federal court judges, top officials  Ensures the law is executed properly  Can lower a criminal sentence or pardon  Lawmaking power  State of the Union address each year

Term  4 year terms  Originally the Constitution did not specify the how many terms could be served  What amendment and what president??  Two 4 year terms  If a vice president takes over as president no more than 2 years they can serve 2 more terms (total 10 years)

Salary  Between $200,000 per year  Congress raised the salary to $400,000 per year starting in 2001  Travel expense is $100,000 per year  Congress cannot increase or decrease the salary during a president’s term

Retirement  After retirement presidents receive a lifetime pension of $148,400 per year  Free office space and free mailing services  $96,000 per year for office help  When a president dies the widow can receive $20,000 per year

Benefits  Protected transportation  Free medical, dental and health care  132-room mansion  Swimming pool, blowing alley, private movie theater, tennis courts, basketball court  Cooking, shopping, and cleaning  10 year of secret service protection after retirement

Qualifications  Minimum of 35 years of age  Natural-born citizen of the U.S.  Resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years before taking office  Same qualifications for vice president

Price of Campaigning  In 2008 candidate endorsements  $269,985,803 for the top 4 Republican  $588,443,633 for the top 4 Democrat  Mitt Romney spent approximately $44 million of his own money in 2008

Limitations on Money for Campaign  Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) 2002  Presidential candidates that accept public financing agree to limit their spending  #37.3 million for the primaries  $74.6 million for the general election  McCain accepted public funding  Obama did private financing

Presidential Succession Assignment  Succession act of 1947:  25 th Amendment:  Presidential succession (18)

Vice President  Two main roles of the president  Presides over the Senate  Votes in the Senate if there is a tie  Presidents may assign duties and responsibilities to the vice president  How many vice presidents have become presidents??