1. Chapter 13 The Presidency
U.S. Government
Chapter 13
The Presidency

2. Thursday, January 7
LT: I CAN identify the current structure of the Executive Branch.
TLIW: Complete guided Notes on Chapter 13..

3. Friday, January 8 LT: I CAN explain the steps to becoming president.
TLIW: Complete graphic organizer.

4. Tuesday, January 12 LT: I CAN explain the steps to becoming president.
TLIW:
Review Flow Chart.
Review Webquest
Review Notes

5. Argument Analysis Article, “Arguments Against the E.C.” TLIW:
Read your part…A-B-C
Identify (Golden Line)most persuasive argument.
Write a summery sentence for each paragraph in your section.

6. 2016 Presidential Race

7. Obama
Are individual personalities now more important than parties?

8. Clinton, Reagan, Nixon
Does a president have to be “moral” in order to be a good president?

9. Nixon
Do Americans need a President to have trustworthy character?

10. Eisenhower
Must the modern President always be involved in everything or have a solution for everything?

11. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
What role does confidence in the President have on American morale?

12. FDR Does a lot of action and policy creation make a President “great”?
Can a President be “great” if not much is changed during their Presidency?

13. Section 1
The President’s Description

14. The President’s Roles Chief of State Chief Executive
Ceremonial head of the government of the United States
Chief Executive
Vested with “Executive Power,” given by the constitution
Chief Administrator
Director of the Federal Government
Employs nearly 2.7 million civilians
Chief Diplomat
Main architect of American foreign policy and the nation’s chief spokesperson to the rest of the world
Commander in Chief
Controls the nation’s 1.4 million men and women in uniform

15. The President’s Roles Chief legislator Not Stated in the Constitution
Main architect of its public policies
Helps to initiate, request, demand certain actions by the Congress
Not Stated in the Constitution
Chief of Party
acknowledged leader of the political party
Chief Citizen
Representative of all the people
“A place of moral leadership” FDR
President plays all these roles simultaneously, and can not isolate themselves to one role over another

16. Formal Qualifications
Constitution puts some requirements into becoming a president
Must be a “natural born citizen”
Be at least 35 years of age
youngest ever elected was JFK at the age of 43 and Ronald Reagan elected at the age of 69
Must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years
Nearly 100 million people in the United States meet these requirements, thus leading to informal qualifications

17. The President’s Term 22nd Amendment--a term limit of two 4-year terms.
Until the 1951 amendment, there was no limit to the number of terms a president could serve
Still fights today over the legitimacy of the 2-term limit
Lame-duck president, or safeguard against “executive tyranny?”
How about a single six-year term?

18. Section 2
Presidential Succession and the Vice Presidency

19. The Constitution Succession
Presidential Succession Act of 1947
the order of succession following the Vice President
Presidential Disablity
25th Amendment: Established Line of Succession. (1967)
“Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.”
Another important clause establishes procedures to be used when a president becomes incapacitated and how such disabilities are to be lifted.

20. The Vice Presidency Importance of the Office Given two duties:
Preside over the Senate
Help decide the question of Presidential disability
However, generally a job with little or no major duties
“Heartbeat away from the Presidency”
Blame for lack of duties is based on how candidate is selected
Balance the Ticket
chooses a running mate based on characteristics that help the President win office

21. The Vice Presidency (con’t)
Vice Presidential Vacancy
Vice Presidency has been vacated 18 times
The Vice President Today
Vice President Dick Cheney is widely regarded as the most influential Vice Presidents ever
Interesting fact, no matter what the circumstances, the President cannot fire the Vice President

23. Section 3
Presidential Selection: The Framers’ Plan

24. Original Provisions
During the Constitutional Convention, struggle over whether to have president selected by direct vote or Congress
Compromise became the selection of Presidential Electors
A person elected by the voters to represent them in making a formal selection of the Vice President and President
Each Elector would cast two electoral votes
Plurality would select President, and Vice President the runner-up

25. The Rise of Parties Electoral college The Election of 1800
The group of people (electors) chosen from each State and the District of Columbia, to formally select the President and Vice President
The Election of 1800
Electoral college tie, ultimately leading to Congress selecting the President
Created new elements
Party nominations for the Presidency and Vice Presidency
Nomination of candidates for Presidential Electors pledged to vote for their party’s Presidential ticket
Automatic casting of the electoral votes in line with those pledges

26. The Rise of Parties (Con’t)
12th Amendment
Passed in 1804, it changed the electoral college system, to where different ballots would be cast for President and Vice President

27. Section 4
Presidential Nominations

28. The Role of Conventions
Used extensively since the 1832 election
Convention Arrangements
Built almost entirely by the political parties
Generally the party-out-of-power has their convention first and the party-in-power three weeks later

29. The Role of Conventions (Con’t)
Apportionment of Delegates
The State party’s delegates is generally based on the State’s electoral votes
However, complex formulas eventually decide the delegate count
Selection of Delegates
Two campaigns… for nomination and presidential candidate races
Generally political parties allow state parties to decide delegates

30. Presidential Primaries
Presidential Primary
An election in which a party’s voters choose some or all of a state party organization’s delegates to their party’s national convention and/or express a preference among various contenders for their party’s presidential nomination
Democrats have Superdelegates, who are selected based on power positions in the Democratic party
History of the Presidential Primary
Started in 1900’s, rose and fall in popularity, and has risen again

31. Presidential Primaries (Con’t)
Primaries Today
Since most states have the decision power, the primaries are a patch work
Most states prefer to be toward the front of the primary season
Today we have “Super Tuesday”
Proportional representation
Winner-take-all
candidate who wins plurality, wins all the available delegates
Generally a Republican preference
Proportional Representation
Any candidate who wins at least 15 percent of the votes cast in a primary gets the number of that state’s delegates in their share
Generally a Democratic preference

32. Presidential Primaries (Con’t)
Evaluation of the Primary
Though confusing, generally force “knock-down, drag-out” fights for party out of power
Due to there be no real party leader
Not common for party in power, due to influence of incumbent President
Not true for George W. Bush
Reform Proposals
Many suggestions for changes, but very unlikely to take place

33. The Caucus-Convention Process
Iowa the most common state with the Caucus

34. The National Convention
Meetings at which delegates vote to pick their presidential and vice-presidential candidates
Meets three different goals
Name the party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates
Bring the various factions and the leading personalities in the party together in one place
Adopt the party’s platform
formal statement of basic principles, stands on major policy matters, and objectives for the campaign and beyond

35. The National Convention (con’t)
The First Two Days
Keynote address is given on first day
delivered by one of the party’s most accomplished orators
Second day the platform is adopted
The Last Two Days
Third day is spent to nominating the presidential candidate
Fourth day is devoted to nominating the vice-presidential candidate
leading to the president candidates acceptance speech

36. Who is Nominated Political Experience Other Characteristics
Generally the most electable candidate is nominated
Other Characteristics
Generally Protestants, from larger states, pleasant and healthy appearance, an attractive family, etc.

37. Section 5
The Election

40. The Electoral College Today
People do not vote directly for a Presidential candidate, they vote to elect presidential electors
Choosing Electors
Electors chose by popular vote in every state
Chosen on a winner-take-all manner
Some states have the names of the electors on the ballot

41. The Electoral College Today (con’t)
Counting Electoral Votes
Electors meet on the same day, in each of their respective state capitals
After the vote, it is signed and sealed, then sent to the president of the Senate
Formal election takes place on January 6th
However, most people know the next President by the November election
Must win at least 270 electoral votes
If there is a tie, the election is sent to the House of Representatives

42. Flaws in the Electoral College
First Major Defect
That the winner of the popular vote will not win the presidency
2000 election of George W. Bush
Bush lost the popular vote by 537,179 votes, but won the electoral college with 271 electoral votes
Thus a distorted view of the popular vote

43. Flaws in the Electoral College (Con’t)
The Second Major Defect
No requirement for electors to vote for the candidate that carried their state
One elector from Washington, D.C., did not vote in 2000 election… a vote for Gore
The Third Major Defect
Presidential election being decided by the House of Representatives, due to the majority of electoral votes not being met (270 votes)

44. Proposed Reforms The District Plan
The electors would be chosen in each state in the same way as members of Congress
Possibly take away the winner-take-all problem
Still does not answer the inability of the popular vote to decisively win the electoral vote

45. Proposed Reforms (Con’t)
The Proportional Plan
Win electors based on the percentage of popular vote in each state the candidate wins
cures winner-take-all
Possibly destroy the two-party system
also increases the odds that the decision would be made by the House of Representatives
Some argue, then the number of electors to win should be lowered to plurality, rather than majority

46. Proposed Reforms (Con’t)
Direct Popular Election
Each vote would count equally in the national result
However, multiple issues with the proposal
Small states would lose their say
Possibly weaken the federal system of government
States are no longer represented
Increase likelihood of voter fraud
Some parts of the electorate would lose representation

47. Proposed Reforms (Con’t)
The National Bonus Plan
Proposal for electing a President by which the winner of the popular vote would receive a bonus of 102 electoral votes in addition to his or her state based Electoral College votes. If no one received at least 321 electoral votes, a run-off election would be held
Not a likely plan
Electoral College Supporters
Any of the proposed reforms could have unintended consequences
Identifies the winner quickly