1. Hail to the Chief
The Power of the
American Presidency

2. Demographic Characteristics of U.S. Presidents
69% politicians
62% lawyers
>50% from the top 3% wealth and social class
0.5% born into poverty
69% elected from large states
100% male
100% Caucasian
97% Protestant
82% of British ancestry
77% college educated

3. Constitutional Qualifications
Must be at least 35 years old
Must have lived in the United States for 14 years
Must be a natural born citizen

4. Presidential Benefits
$400,000 tax-free salary
$50,000/year expense account
$100,000/year travel expenses
The White House
Secret Service protection
Camp David country estate
Air Force One personal airplane
Staff of
Christmas at the White House, 2004

5. Presidential Succession (Presidential Succession Act of 1947)
1. Vice President
2. Speaker of the House
3. President Pro Tempore of the Senate
4. Secretary of State
5. Secretary of the Treasury
6. Secretary of Defense
7. Attorney General
8. Remaining Cabinet Members

7. Presidential Roles

8. Chief of State Queen Elizabeth and President Reagan, 1983
President Kennedy speaks at Berlin Wall, 1963

9. Chief Executive
President Clinton with Janet Reno, the first female Attorney General,
February, 1993
President Bush holds cabinet meeting
in October, 2005

10. Chief Executive “Faithfully execute” the laws
Require the opinion of heads of executive departments
Grant pardons for federal offenses except for cases of impeachment
Nominate judges of the Supreme Court and all other officers of the U.S. with consent of the Senate
Fill vacancies that may happen during recess of the Senate

11. Chief Administrator

12. Chief Diplomat President Bush at Ground Zero after 9-11
Vice-President Johnson sworn in aboard Air Force One
after President Kennedy’s assassination, 1963

13. Foreign Affairs and Diplomatic Powers
Appoint ambassadors, ministers and consuls
Make treaties subject to Senate confirmation
Receive ambassadors
Power to make treaties
Subject to Senate Approval
Power of Recognition
Persona non grata
Executive Agreement

14. Commander-in-Chief President Johnson decorates a soldier
in Vietnam, October, 1966
President Bush aboard U.S.S. Lincoln, May, 2003

15. Commander-in-Chief Commander in Chief of the Army & Navy
Commander in Chief of the state militias (now the National Guard)
Commission all officers

16. Chief Legislator
President Clinton delivers the State of the Union Address, 1997
President Roosevelt signs into law the Social Security Act, 1935

17. Legislative Powers: Chief Legislator
Give State of the Union address to Congress
Recommend “measures” to the Congress
Upon “extraordinary occasions” convene both houses of Congress
Presidential Veto
Veto Message within 10 days of passing the House of origin
Pocket Veto - President does not sign within 10 days
Congress can override with 2/3 majority from both Houses
Veto Politics
Congressional override is difficult (only 4%)
Threat of veto can cause Congress to make changes in legislation

18. Chief of Party/ Political Party Leader
President Reagan & Vice-President Bush accepting their party’s nomination in 1980

19. Chief Citizen President Roosevelt and the “Bully Pulpit,” 1910
President Lincoln during the Civil War, 1862

20. Presidential Powers

21. Presidential Powers of the President
Constitutional or enumerated powers of the presidency
Found primarily in Article II of the Constitution
President executes (enforces, administers, carries out) the provisions of federal law
Oath of office instructs the President to carry out the laws of the land
Constitution’s command “he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”

22. Executive Orders issued by the President that carry the force of law
Executive Powers: Chief Executive
Ordinance Power
Executive Orders
Executive Orders issued by the President that carry the force of law
Clinton’s “Don’t ask don’t tell” gays in the military policy
WWII and rationing of gas
FDR’s internment of Japanese Americans
GWB trying suspected terrorists in
military tribunals
Notice for Japanese “relocation,” 1942

23. Executive Powers Cont. Appointment Power Removal Power
Appoints: Ambassadors, cabinet members, heads of Independent Agencies, Federal Judges and Officers
Removal Power
Power to remove people from appointed offices

24. Executive Privilege
Claim by a president that he has the right to decide that the national interest will be better served if certain information is withheld from the public, including the Courts and Congress
United States v. Nixon (1973) – presidents do NOT have unqualified executive privilege (Nixon Watergate tapes)

25. Judicial Powers The Constitution gives the President the power to “
Judicial Powers The Constitution gives the President the power to “...grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.” —Article II, Section 2, Clause 1
Reprieve
Postponement of execution of sentence
Pardon
Legal Forgiveness of a crime
Clemency
Mercy or leniency for federal offenses only
Commutation
Reduce the length of a sentence or fine
Amnesty
Pardoning a group of people

26. Diplomatic Powers Power to make treaties Treaty Executive Agreements
Formal agreement between two or more sovereign states
Work with Secretary of State
Senate approval by 2/3 vote
Executive Agreements
Pact between President and head of state
Don’t need Senate approval
Power of Recognition
President recognizes a new country or Government, sign of approval or will
Persona non grata
Unfavorable action = unwelcome person

27. Legislative Powers Recommend Legislation Veto Power Special Session
No Line-item!!
Special Session

28. Presidential Oath-
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

29. Presidential Quotations

30. President Harry S. Truman
"I sit here all day trying to persuade people to do the things they ought to have the sense to do without my persuading them. That's all the powers of the President amount to."
Truman, 33rd President,

31. President John F. Kennedy
“No easy problem ever comes to the President of the United States. If they are easy to solve, somebody else has solved them.”
President Kennedy’s nationally televised address during the Cuban Missile Crisis, October, 1962

32. President Lyndon B. Johnson
“The presidency has made every man who occupied it, no matter how small, bigger than he was; and no matter how big, not big enough for its demands.”
President Johnson,
36th President,

33. President Richard M. Nixon
"Under the doctrine of the separation of powers, the manner in which the president personally exercises his assigned executive powers is not subject to questioning by another branch of government."
In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, President Nixon departs the White House after his resignation, Aug., 1974

34. President George W. Bush
“To those of you who received honors, awards, and distinctions, I say 'Well done.' And to the C students, I say 'You, too, can be president of the United States.'”
President George W. Bush, speaking at Yale University's 300th commencement ceremony
President Bush, 43rd President,