1. The Presidency
Magruder Chapter 13

2. The President’s Roles Chief of State Rules and reigns Chief Executive
Vested with immensely broad powers in both domestic and foreign affairs

3. Chief Administrator
Head of one of the largest government machines in the world
Chief Diplomat
Speaks for the nation around the world

4. Commander-in-Chief
Head of the American military
Chief Legislator
Main architect of public policies
Chief of Party
Leader of his respective party

5. Chief Citizen
Representative of the people
Each role is played simultaneously and is inseparable from the others

6. Formal Qualifications
The President must be:
Article II, Section 1, Clause 5
35 years of age
Has lived in the United States for at least 14 years
Is a natural-born citizen, or a citizen at the time of the adoption of the US Constitution

7. The President’s Term of Office
The President is elected for a four-year term
Article II, Section 1, Clause 1
Originally could serve as long as the Electoral College would elect him
Today, can only be elected to two full terms
Twenty-Second Amendment

8. Pay and Benefits The pay of the President $400,000 per year
Fixed by Congress
Washington paid $25,000 per year
$50,000 taxable expense account
Pension of $181,100 per year
Many other perks.

9. Presidential Succession

10. The Constitution and Succession
If the President dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the Vice President succeeds to the office

11. The Constitution and Succession
The Constitution states: “In case of the removal of the president from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve upon the Vice President.”
Article II, Section 1, Clause 6

12. The Constitution and Succession
John Tyler took the office in 1841 instead of becoming acting president
25th Amendment
“In case of the removal of the President from office or his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President”

13. The Constitution and Succession
Presidential Succession Act of 1792
President, Vice President, President pro tempore, Speaker of the House
Special Election to fill the Vacancy

14. The Constitution and Succession
Presidential Succession Act of 1886
President, Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, etc.

15. The Constitution and Succession
Presidential Succession Act of 1947
President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, President pro tempore, Secretary of State, etc.

16. Presidential Disability

17. Disability
The Constitution made no provision for the disability of the President
Dwight David Eisenhower had three serious illnesses
James Garfield
Woodrow Wilson

18. Disability 25th Amendment meets this problem
Vice President will become acting President
If the President informs Congress in writing that he cannot discharge the powers
The Vice President and a majority of Cabinet inform Congress that the President is incapacitated

19. The Vice Presidency

20. The Importance of the Office
The Constitution pays little attention to the office itself
Vice President has only two formal duties
Preside over the US Senate
Article I, Section 3, Clause 4
Help decide presidential disability
25th Amendment, Section 3 & 4

21. The Importance of the Office
The Vice President is only a heartbeat away from the Presidency
Eight presidents have died in office
One president resigned
Vice Presidency has been vacant 18 times
9 times by succession to President
2 by resignation, 7 by death

22. The Importance of the Office
25th Amendment changes this
When a vacancy occurs, the President will nominate someone who will take the office upon a majority confirmation vote of both houses of Congress
1973 – Gerald Ford
1974 – Nelson Rockefeller

23. The Importance of the Office
President has made the Vice President more important of late
Sits in on Cabinet meetings
Head of NASA
National Security Council
Special Ambassador of President
Still not an assistant President

24. The Importance of the Office
Basic bottom line is that the President of the United States cannot fire the Vice President

25. The Electoral College

26. The Electoral College Created in Article II of the US Constitution
Not well understood by most people
Combination of the Constitution, a few State and federal laws, and a number of practices born of the nation’s political parties

27. Original Provisions Many debated this plan
James Wilson (PA) “this was the most difficult of all on which we had to decide”
Most favored selection by Congress
A few by the people
This would lead to tumult and disorder

28. Original Provisions
George Mason: “The extent of the country renders it impossible that the people can have the requisite capacity to judge the respective contentions of the candidates.”
Plan that was approved was originally put forward by Alexander Hamilton
The President would be chosen by electors

29. The College
Each State would have as many presidential electors as it has representatives and senators in Congress
These electors would be chosen in each State in a manner the State legislature directed

30. The College
The electors, meeting in each State, would each cast two votes – each for a different person for President
The electoral votes would be opened before a joint session of Congress and counted
The person receiving the largest number of votes (if a majority) would become President

31. The College
The person with the second largest number would become Vice President
If a tie occurred, the President would be elected by the House of Representatives, voting by States
If a tie occurred for the second spot, the Vice President would be chosen by the Senate

32. The College
The Framers intended the electors to be the “Most enlightened and respectable citizens from each State”
They were to be “free agents” who would be “deliberate freely” in selecting the person’s best qualified to fill the nation’s top two offices.

33. The Rise of Parties
System works only as long as Washington was President
Only President elected unanimously
In 1796, political parties began to play a role.
John Adams is elected President
Thomas Jefferson is elected Vice President

34. The Election of 1800
Each party nominates a presidential and vice presidential candidate
Each party also nominates candidates to serve as electors (would vote for party)
Each of the 73 electors elected voted for Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr
House took 36 ballots to decide on Jefferson

35. The Election of 1800
Election marked the introduction of three elements in the nomination of the president
Party nominations for president
Party nominations for electors pledged to vote for the candidate
Automatic casting of electoral votes in line with those pledges

36. The 12th Amendment Added in 1804
Separates election of President and Vice President
The fiasco of 1800 will never happen again

37. Nominating Candidates Today

38. Nominations
First method devised to nominate candidates was the Congressional Caucus
Used from 1800 to 1824
Both parties turned to the nominating convention in 1832 and used it ever since

39. The Nominating Convention
Largely a creation of the political parties
Constitution is silent on this and have few federal or state laws controlling it
The national committee makes the arrangements for the national convention
Will set the time and date of the convention

40. The Nominating Convention
Will select the city for the convention
Must have facilities
Gain support of a swing state
Many larger cities bid on a convention
Will make a bundle of money

41. Apportionment of Delegates
The national committee issues a call for the convention
Tells each state’s party organization how many delegates it is allowed to send.
1996
Republicans – 1,990 delegates
Democrats – 4,320 delegates

42. Really are two campaigns for president
Primaries and election
State laws and/or party rules fix the procedures for picking delegates in each State
Can use primaries, conventions, and caucuses

43. Presidential Primaries

44. The Election

45. The Electoral College Today
One of the least understood parts of the American political process
Constitution provides for the election of the President by the Electoral College
Each State has the same number of electors that it has members of Congress
Founders expected the electors would use their own judgment

46. The Electoral College Today
Today, the electors are really just a rubber stamp of the popular vote.
They are expected to vote for their party’s candidates.
They go through the form
It is a far cry from the original intent

47. The Electoral College Today
Electors are chosen by popular vote in every State on the same day
Electors are chosen at large except for Maine and Nebraska (district)
Electors are chosen on a winner-take-all basis
Names of the electors are found on less than one-fourth of the ballots in the US

48. The Electoral College Today
The electors meet in their respective State capitals on the Monday following the second Wednesday in December
They cast their ballots for President and Vice President
The ballots are signed, sealed, and sent to the President of the Senate

49. The Electoral College Today
Formal election of the President does not take place until January 6th
Ballots are opened by the President of the Senate and counted before a joint session of Congress
The candidate who receives a majority of Electoral College votes will be the President

50. The Electoral College Today
The candidate who receives a majority of the Electoral College votes in the vice presidential race will be the vice president.
If no one receives a majority of votes (270 out of 538), the election is thrown into the House of Representatives
House chooses from the top three candidates

51. The Electoral College Today
Each State delegation has one vote
26 votes necessary to win
1800 – Thomas Jefferson/Aaron Burr
1824 – John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William Crawford, Henry Clay

52. If no one receives a majority of votes in the vice presidential race, the Senate chooses from among the top two
It takes a majority of Senators to elect
1837 – Richard Johnson

53. Flaws in the Electoral College

54. The First Major Defect
The winner of the popular vote does not become President
Winner-take-all in the voting
1992 – Clinton won 50% of the vote in New York and all 33 electoral votes
Bush won 2.2 million votes
Perot won 1.1 million votes

55. The First Major Defect Way that electoral votes are distributed
California – 55 electoral votes
1 for every 652,614.5 persons
Alaska – 3 electoral votes
1 for every 218,478 persons

56. The First Major Defect
Popular vote winner has failed to win the presidency four times
1824
1876
1888
2000

57. The Second Major Defect
Nothing in any federal statute or the Constitution requires an elector to vote for the person who wins the state popular vote
States can and do require this
Not sure of the constitutionality of states laws
Virginia and Tennessee do require this

58. The Third Major Defect
Contest will be decided in the House of Representatives
Voting is by state, not by individuals
If the state is so divided that it cannot decide, it loses its vote
If strong third-party candidate, then might not have a winner by inauguration day

59. Proposed Reforms

60. The District Plan Choose electors as one would do members of Congress
Two for the senators, and one per congressional district
Much more accurate reflection of popular returns
Would not eliminate possibility of winner of popular vote losing presidency

61. The District Plan 1960 – Richard Nixon wins
Gives another reason for Gerrymandering

62. The Proportional Plan
Each candidate would receive the same share of the electoral vote as he won of the popular vote
40% of popular vote, 40% of electoral vote
Cure winner-take-all problem
Remove faithless electors
Yield a more accurate count with states

63. The Proportional Plan
Would not necessarily produce the same idea nationally
1896 – William Jennings Bryan wins
1880 – Winfield Scott Hancock wins
1876 – Samuel J. Tilden wins
1888 – Grover Cleveland wins

64. The National Bonus Plan
Keep the electoral college as it now is
A pool of 102 electoral votes would be added to the total of the popular vote winner
Need 321 electoral votes to win
If no received 321, a national run-off election between the top two candidates

65. Direct Popular Election
Remove the electoral college altogether

68. “I am Vice President. In this I am nothing, but I may be everything.
“The most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.”
“Honorable and easy”
“Tranquil and unoffending”

69. “The Vice Presidency isn’t worth a warm pitcher of spit”
“A woman had two sons. One of them went away to sea and the other one became Vice President and neither of them was ever heard from again.”