1. Presidential Power

2. Questions: Who enforces checks on the president’s power?
Why can the Yoo memo refer to sources of presidential authority as broad as “the text, plan and history of the Constitution, its interpretation by both past Administrations and the courts, the longstanding practice of the executive branch, and the express affirmation of the President’s constitutional authorities by Congress”?
Are there other sources of legitimacy for the use of presidential power?

3. Framework for the class
Checks and balances, and legitimate authority, are socially and politically constructed
Presidents are empowered and constrained by other actors in the system

4. Sources of Presidential Power
The Constitution
Congress
Courts
Political parties
Bureaucracy
The public
The media
International affairs and events
Skill & bargaining

5. Constraints on Presidential Power
The Constitution
Congress
Courts
Political parties
Federalism
Bureaucracy
The public
The media
International affairs and events
Skill & bargaining

6. How do presidential elections empower presidents
How do presidential elections empower presidents? How do elections constrain presidents? How have those effects varied over time?

7. How do political parties (nomination processes, organizations, affiliated voters) empower presidents? How do parties constrain presidents? How have those effects varied over time?