1. American Government and Politics Today
Chapter Ten:
The Presidency

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Learning Outcomes
LO 1 Identify the types of people who typically undertake serious campaigns for the presidency. LO 2 Distinguish some of the major roles of the president, including head of state, chief executive, commander in chief, chief diplomat, chief legislator, party chief, and politician. LO 3 Describe some of the special powers of the president, and tell how a president can be removed from office. LO 4 Explain the organization of the executive branch and, in particular, the executive office of the president. LO 5 Evaluate the role of the vice president, and describe what happens if the presidency becomes vacant.
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3. Who Can Become President?
A “Natural Born Citizen”
Birth controversies
The age of the president
The Process of Becoming President
Obama’s Hawaiian short-form birth certificate was accused of being a forgery
Minimum age is 35 – JFK youngest at 43, Ronald Regan oldest at 69
Parties nominate candidates at conventions every 4 years
Electors choose president and VP
Someone can be elected without a plurality of the popular vote
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Left: In 1960, John F. Kennedy became the youngest person elected president of the United States. (AP Photo)
Bottom: President Harry Truman (on right), stands with General Dwight Eisenhower in A year later, Eisenhower successfully ran for president. (George Skadding/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)
Right: President Ronald Reagan fought hard for the line-item veto. Why did the Supreme Court overturn the Line Item Veto Act? (AP Photo)
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Left: President Obama speaks at the Pentagon in January How are top members of the military likely to react to budget cuts?
(Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Right: President George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) meets with the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia in 1990.
(AP Photo/Barry Thumma)
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Left: President George W. Bush gives a State of the Union address while Vice President Dick Cheney listens. Where is that address given?
(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Right: President Bill Clinton speaks to Democratic members of Congress after receiving news of his impeachment in Standing next to him is Vice President Al Gore. What has to happen after an impeachment for a president to be removed from office?
(AP Photo/Doug Mills)
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7. The Many Roles of the President
Head of State
Chief Executive
The powers of appointment and removal
The power to grant reprieves and pardons
Head of state – ceremonial head of the government
Chief executive – head of the executive branch
Appointment power is limited to cabinet, subcabinet, federal judgeships, agency heads, and other lesser jobs
Allowed to remove those he/she has appointed
Power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the U.S. except on matters of impeachment
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8. The Many Roles of the President
Commander in Chief
Wartime powers
The War Powers Resolution
Commander in chief: Supreme commander of military forces and state National Guard units when they are called into federal service
Wartime powers – everywhere the president goes, so too goes the briefcase filled with all of the codes necessary to order a nuclear attack – can also send armed forces into situations equivalent to war
War Powers Resolution – a law passed in 1973 spelling out the conditions under which the president can commit troops without Congressional approval – president must report to Congress within 48 hours of sending forces
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9. The Many Roles of the President
Chief Diplomat
Diplomatic recognition
Proposal and ratification of treaties
Recent treaty efforts
Executive agreements
Chief diplomat: role of the president in recognizing foreign governments, making treaties, and effecting executive agreements
Diplomatic recognition: the formal acknowledgment of a foreign government as legitimate
President has sole power to negotiate treaties with other nations. Treaties must be presented to the Senate and ratified by a 2/3 vote
George W. Bush attempted to gain international support for the war against Iraq but was unsuccessful
Executive agreements: international agreements made by the president, without senatorial ratification, with the head of a foreign state
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10. The Many Roles of the President
Chief Legislator
Creating the Congressional agenda
State of the Union message
Getting legislation passed
Saying no to legislation
The line-item veto
Congress’s power to override presidential vetoes
Chief legislator: role of the president in influencing the making of laws
State of the Union message: an annual message to Congress in which the president proposes a legislative program. The message is addressed not only to Congress but also to the American people and to the world.
President can propose legislation, but Congress is not required to pass or introduce the administration’s bills
Veto message: the president’s formal explanation of a veto, which accompanies the vetoed legislation when it is returned to Congress
Pocket veto: a special veto exercised by the chief executive after a legislative body has adjourned. Bills not signed by the chief executive die after a specified period of time
Line-item veto: the power of an executive to veto individual lines or items within a piece of legislation without vetoing the entire bill
Congress can override a presidential veto with 2/3 of each chamber voting to override – only about 7% of all American vetoes have been overridden
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11. The Many Roles of the President
Party Chief and Politician
Presidential constituencies
Public approval
Recent presidents and public opinion polls
“Going public”
Patronage: practice of rewarding faithful party workers and followers with government employment and contracts
President is an important fund-raiser for the party through appearances at dinners, speaking engagements, and other social occasions
Constituencies include the entire electorate, their party, members of the opposing party whose cooperation the president needs, and the Washington community
Public approval – high level of public approval is impressive to constituencies because it’s very difficult to maintain
After 9/11, Bush had the highest job approval ratings ever recorded, and by the time he left office, only 25% of the public approved of him – accomplished very little in second term
Obama popularity was very high initially and has dropped since
“Going Public” – now more than in the past, presidents go over the heads of Congress and political elites and take their cases directly to the people
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Presidential Powers
Emergency Powers
Executive Orders
Executive Privilege
Invoking executive privilege
Limiting executive privilege
Constitutional powers – a power vested in the president by Article II of the Constitution
Statutory powers – a power created for the president through laws enacted by Congress
Expressed power – a power of the president that is expressly written into the Constitution or into statutory law
Inherent power – a power of the president derived from the statements in the Constitution that “the executive Power shall be vested in a President” and that the president should “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed”
Emergency power – an inherent power exercised by the president during a period of national crisis
Executive order: a rule or regulation issued by the president that has the effect of law
Federal Register – a daily publication of the U.S. government that prints executive orders, rules, and regulations
Executive privilege: the right of executive officials to withhold information from, or to refuse to appear before, a legislative committee or a court
Invoking – in order to avoid having to disclose information to Congress about actions of the executive branch
Limiting – limits weren’t used frequently until Watergate – Nixon ordered to turn over the tapes of Oval Office conversations
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Presidential Powers
Signing Statements
Abuses of Executive Power and Impeachment
Presidents Andrew Johnson and Richard Nixon
President Bill Clinton
Signing statement: a written declaration that the president may make when signing a bill into law. It may contain instructions to the bureaucracy on how to administer the law or points to sections of the law that the president considers unconstitutional or contrary to national security interests
Impeachment: an action by the House to accuse the president, VP or other civil officers of the U.S. of committing “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors”
Andrew Johnson was impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate (he succeeded to the presidency after assassination of Lincoln)
Nixon was impeached by the House and resigned after realizing he would not survive a trial in the Senate
Clinton was impeached by the House but not convicted by the Senate
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14. The Executive Organization
The Cabinet
Members of the cabinet
Presidential use of cabinets
Cabinet: an advisory group selected by the president to aid in making decisions – includes the heads of 15 executive departments and others named by the president
Kitchen cabinet: the informal advisers to the president – usually friends with whom the president worked before being elected
Presidential use – purely discretionary – few presidents have relied heavily on the advice of their cabinet members
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15. The Executive Organization
The Executive Office of the President
White House Office
Key White House staff
The Office of Management and Budget
The National Security Council
Executive Office of the President: an organization established by President FDR to assist the president in carrying out major duties
Presidents reorganize the EOP and the White House Office constantly
White House Office: personal office of the president, which tends to presidential political needs and manages the media
Chief of Staff: the person who is named to direct the White House Office and advise the president
Office of Management and Budget: assists the president in preparing the annual budget, clearing and coordinating departmental agency budgets, and supervising the administration of the federal budget
National Security Council: an agency in the EOP that advises the president on national security
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The Vice Presidency
The Vice President’s Job
Presidential Succession
When the president
becomes incapacitated
When the vice presidency
becomes vacant
U.S. Vice President
Joseph Biden
Photo: U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden speaks at a conference at the White House. What is the vice president’s formal role in our government? (Chris Kleponis/AFP/Getty Images)
VP not given much power by the Constitution – only formal duty is to preside over the Senate, which is rarely necessary
VP have traditionally been chose by presidential nominees to balance the ticket – Sarah Palin for social conservatives and women
Succession – in the case of presidential disability, the 25th Amendment was passed to establish procedures in the event of presidential incapacity, death, or resignation
When there’s a vacancy in VP, president nominates a VP “who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress”
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17. Line of Succession to the Presidency of the United States
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18. President Obama Energy Policy Focuses on Long-Term Change
Click picture to play video
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19. President Obama Energy Policy Focuses on Long-Term Change
Taking a closer look:
Which presidential role is demonstrated by this proposal?
Why is President Obama “going public”? What methods are available to presidents for persuading Congress to pass legislation?
Why is it so difficult to alter U.S. energy policy?
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