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3.  Born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4 th, 1961  “Barack” means “one who is blessed” in Swahili.  On his high school basketball team, he earned the nickname the “O’bomber”.  He’s 53 years old.  Graduated from Colombia University & Harvard Law School  Worked in Chicago as a community organizer before he finished Law School.  Worked as a civil rights lawyer in Chicago as well.  Taught a “Constitutional Law” class at the University of Chicago from 1992-2004. 3 (47 Total Slides)

4.  Served 3 terms in the Illinois Senate.  Favorite music: Bob Dylan & Miles DavisBob Dylan Miles Davis  Favorite food that he cooks: Chili  Doesn’t drink coffee, rarely drinks alcohol.  Bad Habit: Constantly checking his BlackBerry.  He has read all 7 Harry Potter books.  When he lived in Indonesia, he had a pet ape named Tata. 4 (47 Total Slides)

5.  According to the Constitution: Natural born citizen in the U.S. Be at least 35 years old Have been a resident within the United States for 14 years. More than 100 million people in the country meet these qualifications! Do you? 5 (47 Total Slides)

6.  A Presidential Term lasts 4 years – and each President may serve for 2 terms. Typically the longest a President can serve is 8 years.  Example: President George W. Bush from 2000-2008. However…if a VP must step in & become President mid-term (for 2 years), he may still run for the additional terms remaining. This means we could have a President potentially serve for 10 years. 6

7.  Up until 1951, the Constitution placed no limit on the number of terms a President may serve.  FDR served as President from 1933-1945.  In 1951, the Constitution was amended for the 22 nd Amendment limiting Presidential terms. 7 (47 Total Slides)

8.  The President of the United States is known as the “Leader of the Free World”.  The President simultaneously fills 8 different roles: Chief of State Chief Executive Chief Administrator Chief Diplomat Commander in Chief Chief Legislator Chief of Party Chief Citizen 8

9.  This means the President is the ceremonial head of the government of the United States, the symbol of all people of the nation. 9

10.  This means the President is vested by the Constitution with “the executive power” of the U.S. “The most powerful office in the world”. 10 (47 Total Slides)

11.  This means the President is the director of the entire executive branch of the Federal Government. Under President Obama, there has been an increase in federal employees (Dept. of Homeland Security/Dept. of Justice/etc.) 11 (47 Total Slides)

12.  This means the President is the main architect of U.S. foreign policy & the nation’s chief spokesperson to the rest of the world. Ex: Taking trips around the world and meeting fellow presidents or prime ministers, making speeches abroad. 12 (47 Total Slides)

13.  This means the President is control of the nation’s military. According to President Bush’s book, aspect of the job was his favorite. The President in charge of the Army, Navy, Air Force, etc. Makes the ultimate decision on going to war, with Congress having to pass an official declaration. 13

14.  This means the President is the main architect of its public policies. The President sets the Congressional agenda. Ex: Healthcare Reform 14 (47 Total Slides)

15.  This means the President is the acknowledged leader of his political party. Ex: President Obama and the Democrats 15 (47 Total Slides)

16.  This means the President is expected to be the “the representative of all the people”. He’s expected to work for and represent the public interest. 16

17.  They’re all connected.  The decisions the President makes as one role affects all the other roles.  For example, the decisions President Obama has made as the Chief Legislator has affected his role as the Chief of the Party. 17 (47 Total Slides)

18.  Congress determines the President’s salary. The salary cannot be changed during a President’s term. 18 DateSalarySalary in 2009 dollars 1789$25,000$566,000 1873$50,000$865,000 1909$75,000$1,714,000 1949$100,000$906,000 1969$200,000$1,175,000 2001$400,000$487,000

19.  In addition to the $400,000 yearly salary: $50,000 expense account $100,000 nontaxable travel account $19,000 for entertainment  Government pays for state dinners and official functions, but the president must pay for food that he, his family, and personal guests consume. (47 Total Slides) 19

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27.  Presidential Succession: The scheme by which a presidential vacancy is filled.  Originally, Article II of the Constitution is vague succession of the President…does not explicitly state whether the Vice President shall become President. Tyler Precedent Until the 25 th Amendment in 1967, which deals with Presidential and Vice Presidential Succession. 27 (47 Total Slides)

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29.  Congress fixes the order of succession following the V.P.  What about Presidential disability? President can transfer power in cases of disability, even temporarily.  In 2002, President Bush had surgery for 2 hours. For these 2 hours, Bush transferred his power to V.P. Dick Cheney. 29 (47 Total Slides)

30. The Vice President is kind of like the back-up quarterback of football. “I am Vice President. In this I am nothing, but I may be everything.” – John Adams, 1 st VP “The most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived.” John Adams “Honorable and easy”, and “tranquil and unoffending”. Thomas Jefferson Through much of history, the VP has been treated as an office of little importance. 30 (47 Total Slides)

31.  President Theodore Roosevelt was annoyed by a chandelier making a tinkling noise. He ordered it to be removed and said: “Take it to the office of the Vice President. He doesn’t have anything to do. It will keep him awake.”  Yet, the VP is a heartbeat away from becoming the President of the U.S. (8 Presidents have died in office. 1 President has resigned). 31

32.  Many blame the low status of the VP on the two- party system and how candidates are picked for office.  Usually, the presidential candidate picks someone who will balance the ticket – which means someone who can strengthen his chance of being elected by virtue of certain ideological, geographic, racial, ethnic, gender, or other characteristics. 32 (47 Total Slides)

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34.  Remember, parties have committees and convention to nominate their candidate for President.  How does this process begin? Presidential Primary – An election in which a party’s voters choose their preference among various contenders for their party’s presidential nomination 34

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36.  Primaries have recently focused on looking at the popularity of candidates for president.  N.H. holds the first primary of any state every election year, in January. The N.H. primaries are early indicator of success – so candidates spend a lot of time and money there. Romney won the 2012 N.H. Primary. 36

37.  Not all states have primaries, they use a “caucus-convention” process. Iowa’s caucus gets the most attention, as it is the first of all caucuses. When the caucus begins, the voters sort themselves into groups based on which candidate they support.  The undecided come together, and wait to be chosen by supporters of other candidates.  Iowa Caucus: Explain Using Corn Iowa Caucus: Explain Using Corn 37 (47 Total Slides)

38.  How should we elect our President?  Founding Fathers gave more time to the method for choosing the President than to any other matter. Against the two obvious ways: Electing the President by Congress or Electing the President by a direct vote of the people. 38 (47 Total Slides)

39.  Too political.  Hamilton said that to elect by way of Congress would be “too much under the legislative thumb.” 39 (47 Total Slides)

40.  At the time, the process would lead to “tumult and disorder”.  At the time, people were scattered over so wide an area they couldn’t know enough about the available candidates to make informed choices. 40

41.  Electoral College is the group of people (electors) chosen from each State and D.C. to formally select the President & V.P.  They case their Electoral Votes, which are votes cast by electors in the electoral college.  Total of 538 votes.  270 are needed to win. 41

43. Representatives + Senators = # of Electoral Votes Virginia: 11 Representatives + 2 Senators = 13 Electoral Votes 43

44. (The purple hands represent a visit by a presidential campaign as the election was nearing its end.) (Each green money sign represents 1 million dollars of campaign money spent as the election was nearing its end.) - Why do you think both presidential campaigns were targeting these states? 44

45.  Elections of 1876, 1888, & 2000 the winner of the election did not win the national popular vote, yet still won the presidency.  If a presidential candidate can win these 11 states: CA, TX, NY, FL, IL, PA, OH, MI, GA, NJ, and NC….then he/she will win the Presidency, despite losing the other 39 states. Why? 45

46.  The Electoral College does have some positives:  Example of federalism – An idea our country was founded on. Gives the States a voice.  Its easier compared to counting every single individual vote.  Prevents urban-centric victories : This means a President winning by simply winning heavily populated areas. 46

47.  President must balance many different roles and jobs.  Though the V.P. is thought to be somewhat useless, the V.P. is a heartbeat away from being the President.  The way we nominate and elect our President is rather complex. Major controversy of this unit: The Electoral College. Is it fair? 47