1. Chapter 8: The Presidency
Section 1: President and Vice President
Section 2: Electing the President
Section 3: The Cabinet
Section 4: The Executive Office

2. Section 1: President and Vice President
I: Duties of the President
A. How do we know what the president’s job description is?
B. Major duties of the president according to the Constitution include
Executing the laws
Commander in chief
Appoint top officials, judges (federal) and ambassadors
Meet with heads of foreign governments (chief diplomat)

3. II: President’s Term and Salary
A. The president is limited to two terms by the 22nd Amendment.
This precedent was set by George Washington, but FDR broke with this tradition by running for a 3rd and 4th term
Technically, a president could serve for as long as 10 years. How is this possible?
B. Congress sets the president’s salary, which has been $400,000 since 2001.

4. II: continued Additional compensation and benefits include. . .
$100,000 a year travel allowance (tax free)
$50,00 expense account (tax free)
Special jet for air travel
Free health and dental insurance
132 room mansion with a movie theater, bowling alley, pool, tennis courts, and a staff of 400 to take care of it.
Lifetime pension (currently $148,000/year)
Allowance to pay for office staff
Personal security force even after leaving office
A vacation house (Camp David)

5. III: Presidential Qualifications
A. The requirements for president are set by the Constitution:
1. Must be a natural-born citizen (some people want to change that)
2. At least 35 years old
3. Resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years

6. Presidential Qualifications continued
Although not specified by the Constitution, it’s helpful to. . .
1. Have prior experience in government
Many presidents and candidates have been state governors, or members of Congress
2. Be able to raise large amounts of money
Candidates may spend up to $33.78 million dollars in the primaries and $67.56 million in the general election.
3. Hold moderate political beliefs
4. So far, presidents have shared similar ethnic, economic, racial and gender characteristics.

7. IV: Presidential Succession
Spelled out by the 25th Amendment
Vice president
Speaker of the House
President pro tempore of the Senate
Secretary of State
Other cabinet members
Also says what happens if the position of vice president becomes vacant. Has this happened in U.S. history?
Sets out rules for determining if the president cannot carry out his duties

8. V: The Vice President’s Role
The Constitution gives the VP two roles:
1. President of the Senate and votes in case of a tie.
2. Help decide whether the president is incapable of his duties and take over if needed (25th Amendment)

9. Modern Responsibilities of the VP
“The only authority he (the VP) has is what the President gives him. He who giveth can taketh away.” Hubert Humphrey, VP to LBJ
[the vice presidency is] “the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived”--John Adams
“I do not choose to buried until I am really dead.” Daniel Webster, on declining a vice-presidential nomination.
[the vice president’s job is ] “not worth a pitcher of warm spit.” John Nance Gardner, FDR’s VP

10. VP’s role continued
A. The job of VP depends on what jobs, if any, the president assigns.
Earlier presidents basically ignored their VPs, but since Eisenhower, presidents have come to rely more on VPs, especially for fundraising and defending presidential policies.
Dick Cheney is arguably the most powerful VP in history. . .
“When you’re talking to Dick Cheney,you’re talking to me. When Dick Cheney’s talking, it’s me talking.” (p.219)

11. Section 1 Discussion questions:
1. Compare the president’s duties in foreign policy with his duties in domestic policy.
2. Why are so many benefits available to presidents while they are in office?
What do you think is the most important qualification for the office of president?
Why have recent presidents given their VPs more responsibility?

12. Section 2: Electing the President
I. The Original System
Is outlined in Article II, section 1, which states that the candidate receiving the majority of the electoral votes becomes president.
The candidate with the second highest number becomes vice president
Why is this a terrible idea?

13. How Does the Electoral College Work?
Each state sets up its own system for choosing its electors.
Each state gets the same number of electors as it has members of Congress
How many electoral votes does Alabama get?
The earliest presidents were elected by the Electoral College only. There was no popular election.
See the links below for a good overview.
By far the most popular method of choosing electors after winner-takes-all is selection by the state legislature. It was used by more than half of the states in 1792 and 1800 and exactly half of the states in One of the reasons that most United States history textbooks don't start reporting the popular vote until the election of 1824 is because more than a quarter of all the states used legislative choice in previous elections, so there was no popular vote in those states.

14. II: Impact of Political Parties
Early on, political parties (or “factions” were viewed negatively as divisive
The party system as we think of it today first had an impact on presidential elections in the election of 1800.
How did the president get chosen by the House of Representatives in 1800? See p. 221.
This event led to ratification of the 12th amendment in 1804.
Other controversial elections have been in
1876 (Tilden v. Hayes “Compromise of 1877”)
1888 (Garfield v. Harrison)
2000 (Bush v. Gore)

15. III: The Electoral College System Today
We still use the Electoral College to elect the President and Vice President
The EC today uses a “winner-take-all” system for all but the electors from Maine and Nebraska. So, in 48 states, the electoral votes go to the candidate who won the popular vote.
The Electoral College vote is cast in December

16. IV: Electoral College Issues
Critics say. . . (also see p. 227)
The winner-take-all system is unfair
The EC system makes it possible for the candidate who “won” the election by popular vote to lose the actual election.
(Remember, this has happened 4 times)
Third-party candidates could get enough EC votes to throw an election
The EC system makes it possible for the House of Representatives or the Supreme Court to end up deciding an election, not the people.

17. Ideas for Reform
There have been several proposals for changing the Electoral College system.
See p
Which of these methods seems the most “fair” to you?
Why do we have the electoral college anyway?

18. V: the Inauguration Is when the new president gets sworn in.
Leading officials from the various branches attend the ceremony.
The new president takes office at noon on January 20th.
Presidents have used inaugural addresses to make some of their most famous speeches, such as JFK’s “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

19. Section III: The Cabinet
I: The Selection of the Cabinet
What factors must the president consider?
Candidates’ backgrounds
“balancing” the cabinet geographically
Special interest groups
Ethnic, racial and gender consideration
(always think ahead to the next election)
5. Leaders in their fields

20. Nominations and Confirmations
The president will draw up a list of candidates for positions in consultation with advisers and political leaders (senatorial courtesy--especially with regard to Supreme Court nominations)
The president will often “leak” names to the press to get reaction
The Senate must approve presidential appointments, so it holds confirmation hearings.

21. II: The Role of the Cabinet
A. Cabinet members are heads of the executive departments.
George Washington set the precedent of having a cabinet; it is not set forth by the Constitution.
The original cabinet positions were Secretary of War, Secretary of the Treasury, and the Attorney General.

22. Today, there are 15 cabinet level positions. . .
Dept. of Housing & Urban Development (142)
Dept. of Transportation (248)
Dept. of Energy (441)
Dept. of Education (205)
Dept. of Veterans’ Affairs (319)
Dept. of Homeland Security
Dept. of State (453)
Dept. of Defense (601)
Dept. of Treasury (204)
Dept. of Justice (459)
Dept. of the Interior (228)
Dept. of Agriculture (412)
Dept. of Commerce (221)
Dept. of Labor
Dept. of Health and Human Services (333)

23. Role of the Cabinet continued
Each president decides how much responsibility to give the cabinet
Modern presidents generally look more to White House staff and close friends as their advisors.
The “inner cabinet” is made up of the secretaries of state, defense and the treasury plus the attorney general. Their opinions usually carry more weight and they have more direct contact with the President.

24. What limits the role of the cabinet?
Loyalty--they may be more loyal to the agency or their constituency than to the president.
Cabinet members face pressures from interest groups and the bureaucracy that the president doesn’t have.
It’s hard to maintain secrecy among such a large group (15), so the president may be hesitant.
The president may not know the secretaries well even though s/he appointed them because of all the factors that go into making appointments.

25. Section 4: The Executive Office
A. The EOP was created by Congress in 1939.
B. The EOP has grown because
Presidents add new agencies as problems arise
Presidents rely on experts to advise them
Congress may create programs that require agencies to administer them
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest part of the EOP. The OMB writes the budget proposal that the President gives to Congress every year.

26. Executive Office Agencies continued
The National Security Council is part of the EOP. It focuses on military and foreign policy issues.
The Council of Economic Advisors helps the president develop monetary policy and make economic decisions.
The president can add or eliminate agencies to the EOP.

27. The White House Office
The president’s appointments to the White House Office do not have to be approved by the Senate.
The White House Office has become the most important part of the EOP.
The duties of the White House Office staff include:
Gathering information and providing advice on key issues
Ensuring that executive departments and agencies carry out key directives from the president.
Presenting the president’s views to the public
Deciding who and what information gets through to the president.