Transcript Reg Gov 13-15 Presidency 

Lyndon Johnson
1963-1969
Ronald Reagan
1981-1989
Richard Nixon
1969-1974
George H.W. Bush
1989-1993
Gerald Ford
1974-1977
Bill Clinton
1993-2001
Jimmy Carter
1977-1981
George W. Bush
2001-2009
• Americans expect a lot from presidents… and this is perpetuated by the myth
that he is a powerhouse.
• To accomplish policy goals, the president must get other people to do
things they otherwise would not do.
• The main reason presidents have trouble getting things done is that
other policymakers with whom they have their own agendas.
• Presidents operate in an environment filled with checks and balances
and competing centers of power.
To be effective, the president must have highly developed political skills to
mobilize influence, manage conflict, negotiate, and build compromises.
Political scientist Richard Neustadt has argued that presidential power is the
power to persuade, not to command.
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Objectives
1. The interrelated roles of the President.
2. Qualifications, tenure and compensation.
3. Presidential succession in terms of vacancy or disability.
4. Role of the Vice President.
5. National Conventions in the nominating process.
6. The role of the electoral college in the election
[also its defects and proposals for change].
The executive branch is the largest and most complex of
the three branches. The President has many powers which
have grown.
“I do solemnly swear 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, so help me God”
• Roles of the President [The President wears a lot of hats]
•1 Among the different roles a President must fill are six
assigned by the Constitution.
•2 1. Chief of State – ceremonial head of the nation. He reigns and he also rules.
The President is both “a king and prime minister”. He lights the national
Christmas tree, gives medals to heroes, and throws out the first baseball.
•3 2. Chief Executive – enforces laws passed by Congress and enforces Supreme
court decisions. He enforces treaties and appoints federal judges and government
officials. Oversees departments & agencies in the executive branch. Proposes laws.
• 3. Chief Administrator – of a government made up of some three million civilian
employees that spend about $3 trillion a year. He is the CEO heading one of the
largest governmental machines on earth.
•4 4. Chief Diplomat – main architect of our foreign policy and our
chef spokesman to the rest of the world. Decides how our country
will act towards other countries.
•5 5. Commander in Chief of the two million in the Armed Forces.
Presidents have sent troops into action on more than 200 occasions
to protect American lives and property.
• 6. Chief Legislator – Chief architect of public policies by shaping the congressional
agenda. Proposes laws and veto power. Presidents have vetoed over 2,500 times
and only 104 have been overridden. Can call special sessions.
• One of the president's most important roles is presiding
over the administration of government.
• The Constitution merely tells the president to "take care
that the laws be faithfully executed."
• Today, the federal bureaucracy includes 4.5 million civilian
and military employees and spends around $3 trillion a year.
• One of the resources for controlling the bureaucracy is the
presidential power to appoint top-level administrators.
• New presidents have about 300 high-level positions available for
appointment (cabinet and subcabinet jobs, agency heads, and other
non-civil service posts), plus 2000 lesser jobs.
• In recent years, presidents have paid close attention to appointing
officials who will be responsive to the president's policies.
• Presidents have also taken more interest in the regulations issued by
agencies.
• Presidents have the power to recommend agency budgets to Congressthe result of the Budgeting and Accounting Act of 1921.
•The president alone extends diplomatic
recognition to foreign governments (and
the president can also terminate relations
with other nations).
• The president has the sole power to
negotiate treaties with other nations,
although the Constitution requires the
Senate to approve them by a 2/3 vote.
• Presidents negotiate executive
agreements with the heads of foreign
governments; unlike treaties, executive
agreements do not require Senate
ratification.
• As the leader of the Western world, the
president must try to lead America's allies
on matters of economics and defense.
• Presidents usually conduct diplomatic
relations through envoys, but
occasionally they engage in personal
diplomacy.
• As in domestic policy-making, the
president must rely principally on
persuasion to lead.
Chinese President Hu Jintao meets with visiting
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
President Bill Clinton signing NAFTA
President Harry S. Truman signing NATO Agreement
• Because the Constitution's
framers wanted civilian control
of the military, they made the
president the commander in
chief of the armed forces.
• In additions to controlling 1.5
million troops, the president
commands a vast nuclear arsenal;
the briefcase that contains the
codes to unleash our nuclear
capabilities is never more than a
few steps from the president.
War powers
• Only Congress can declare war
and vote on the military budget,
but it has become accustomed to
presidents making short-term
military commitments of troops
or naval vessels.
• In recent years, presidents have
committed U.S. troops to action
without seeking congressional
approval (Korea and Vietnam).
President George W. Bush walks across the tarmac with NFO Lt. Ryan Phillips to Navy
One, an S-3B Viking jet, at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego Thursday, May 1,
2003. Flying to the USS Abraham Lincoln, the President will address the nation and spend
the night aboard ship.
• As a reaction to Vietnam and Cambodia,
Congress passed the War Powers Resolution
(1973) over President Nixon's veto… It required
presidents to consult with Congress, whenever
possible, prior to using military force, and it
mandated the withdrawal of forces after sixty
days unless Congress declared war or granted
an extension.
• Congress could at any time pass a concurrent
resolution (which cannot be vetoed) ending
American participation in hostilities.
• All presidents serving since 1973 have
deemed the law an unconstitutional, & there is
reason to believe the Supreme Court would agree.
• Presidents have largely ignored the law and
sent troops into hostilities.
• Some observers are concerned that modem
technology allows the president to engage in
hostilities so quickly that opposing points of
view do not receive proper consideration.
• Others stress the importance of the commander
in chief having the flexibility to meet America's
global responsibilities & to combat international
terrorism.
Beirut
1983
Grenada 1983
Somalia 1993
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As chief diplomat and commander in
chief, the president is also the
country's crisis manager.
A crisis is a sudden, unpredictable,
and potentially dangerous event.
Pearl Harbor
Most occur in the realm of foreign
policy; quick judgments are often
needed despite sketchy information.
Challenger
Crises are rarely the president's doing,
Disaster
but they can be the president's
undoing if badly handled.
With modern communications, the
9/11
president can instantly monitor events
almost anywhere.
Because situations develop more
rapidly today, there is a premium on
rapid action, secrecy, constant
Cuban Missile Crisis
management, consistent judgment,
and expert advice.
Since Congress usually moves slowly,
the president has become more
prominent in handling crises.
Roosevelt argued that the presidency was
“not merely an administrative office. That
is the least of it. It is predominately a place
of moral leadership.”
All of the president’s roles must be
performed simultaneously… how he plays
one role will effect how he plays others!
Example: Lyndon Johnson was an
effective president early on (as chief
executive, chief of legislator), but he poorly
oversaw the war in Vietnam and public
sentiment turned against him and he was
unable to get much accomplished.
Consequently, he decided not to run for
reelection in 1968.
Example: Richard Nixon was fairly popular
during his first term as president, and won
49 out of 50 States in the electoral college
in 1972. But after the Watergate scandal
came to light, he resigned in disgrace in
1974 (if he hadn’t, he certainly would have
been impeached and removed from office).
Chief Legislator - The President often
proposes laws and meets with members
of Congress to discuss ideas; he’s a
major shaper of the congressional
agenda
• On occasion, he will vociferously
demand adherence to his agenda.
The President campaigns for his ideas
through TV, radio, and speeches.
• He can veto bills (only 4% are
overridden)
• He can decide not to take any action at
all… If Congress is still in session after
ten working days, the bill will become
law without his signature; if Congress
adjourns within ten days after submitting
a bill, taking no action will permit the bill
to die without his signature (known as a
pocket veto).
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No matter what a president's skills
are, the "chief legislator" can rarely
exercise complete control over the
agenda.
They may, however, use their skills
to exploit favorable political
conditions to bring about policy
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change.
Presidential leadership skills
include bargaining, making personal
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appeals, consulting with Congress,
setting priorities, exploiting
"honeymoon“ periods, and
structuring congressional votes.
Bargaining- in the form of trading
support on two or more policies or
providing specific benefits for
representatives and senators-occurs less often and plays a less
critical role in the creation of
presidential coalitions in Congress
than is often implied.
• Four other roles of the President, not mentioned in the Constitution, but
based on custom and tradition, are:
•6 7. Chief of Party – the leader of the political party in control of the
executive branch. He is chief fund-raiser and also campaigns for party
7 candidates. Patronage – political job appointments reward persons who
supported the President and the party during an election.
• 8. Chief Citizen – representative of all the people and must do what is
best for all of them. He is expected to represent and work for the public
interest against many private interests.
• 9. Economic Planner – tries to make the economy run smoothly.
• 10. Chief Mourner – “You die and I fly.”
Teddy Roosevelt
The President serves as the leader of his
political party. The president is expected
to raise money for his party and for
candidates from his party.
• One way for the president to improve the
chances of obtaining support in Congress
is to increase the number of party
members in the legislature.
• “Presidential coattails” refers to voters
casting their ballots for congressional
candidates of the president's party
because those candidates support the
president.
• However, most recent studies show a
diminishing connection between
presidential and congressional voting.
• In midterm election, the Presidents party
generally loses seats.
• Often, when there is divide government,
the president usually has to solicit help
from the opposition party… and a few
votes can make the difference.
Bush raises record $100 million
President Bush has been raising money for
Republican candidates more aggressively than
any of his predecessors and has topped the
$100 million mark, by far the highest amount for
any president after 19 months in office.
Focus:
1. What are the formal qualifications for President?
2. How long can a person serve as President?
3. What are the fringe benefits and salary of the President?
• The presidency is a highly personal office: the personality of the individual
who serves as president does make a difference.
• Americans are of two minds about the presidency.
1. They want to believe in a powerful president--one who can do good.
2. Americans do not like concentrations of power; they are basically
individualistic and skeptical of authority.
• Formal Qualifications
1. Natural-born citizen. He can be born abroad if his parents are citizens.
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A naturalized citizen cannot be President.
9 2. 35 years old. At 43, John Kennedy was the youngest elected. Teddy
Roosevelt, at 42, reached it by succession. Ronald Reagan, at 69, was
the oldest elected to office.
10 3. Reside in the U.S. for at least 14 years. [any 14 years of your life]
All American presidents have been white, male, and (except for John
Kennedy) Protestant. In other ways, there has been considerable
diversity among recent presidents.
What is a Natural Born US Citizen?
1. Anyone born inside the United States
2. Any Indian or Eskimo born in the United States, provided being a
citizen of the U.S. does not impair the person's status as a citizen
of the tribe.
3. Any one born outside the United States, both of whose parents are
citizens of the U.S., as long as one parent has lived in the U.S.
4. Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is a citizen and
lived in the U.S. for at least one year and the other parent is a U.S.
national.
5. Any one born in a U.S. possession, if one parent is a citizen and lived
in the U.S. for at least one year
6. Any one found in the U.S. under the age of five, whose parentage
cannot be determined, as long as proof of non-citizenship is not
provided by age 21.
7. Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is an alien and
as long as the other parent is a citizen of the U.S. who lived in the U.S.
for at least five years (with military and diplomatic service included
in this time).
8. A final, historical condition: a person born before 5/24/1934 of an
alien father and a U.S. Citizen mother who has lived in the U.S.
11 •
Four year terms. Before FDR, the “no third term
tradition” became an unwritten rule in presidential
politics.
•The 22nd Amendment of 1951 states:
12 • No person shall be elected more than twice and
no person who has been president more than two
years of a term shall be elected more than once.
12 •So, no President may serve more than ten years.
13 •Roosevelt was the only President to serve more 10 years.
14 •President Nixon was the only President to resign.
•The Framers struggled with the number
of years a president would serve.
• The argument was between a president
who could serve four years and run for
reelection and serving 6-7 year terms.
• Ultimately, they agreed on four year terms
(Federalist 71 said a 4 year terms was long
enough for the president to gain experience,
demonstrate abilities, and establish policies.
• Presidents refused to serve more than two
terms, following Washington’s precedent
(except FDR).
• Two terms became part of the constitution
in 1951 (22nd Amendment).
• Supporters suggested it is a protection
against tyranny.
• Others (including Truman, Eisenhower,
and Reagan) argue it is undemocratic
because it is arbitrary and limits choice.
• LBJ and Carter have called for a single
six year term, freeing presidents from the
pressures of reelection.
• Congress determines the pay of President.
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• President Washington was paid 25,000… now it is $400,000.
• President now also gets $50,000 per year expense allowance.
• The President is forbidden by the Constitution from accepting “any
other emolument (profit, salary, or fees from office or employment) from
the United States, or any of them.”
• But there are “fringe benefits”… 132 room mansion (White House)
•Marine One – Eisenhower was the first President
to use a helicopter; The Sikorsky can seat 14.
•Camp David – located in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains
and named after the son of President Eisenhower, it is
virtually the only place in the world that is secure enough
for the President to do as he pleases. Includes a
three-hole golf course, horse stables, bike paths, movie
theater, a pool and a well-stocked trout stream.
• Solarium – Originally a kindergarten for the Kennedy, the solarium now has a
soda fountain for kids and is stocked with snacks for Sunday Football watching.
• Special Staff – of 90 persons including a presidential barber, four florists and
five calligraphers, butlers, doormen, electricians, carpenters, plumbers,
personal tailor, and a grounds person who supervises maintenance of the 18acre site.
• Movie Theater – it seats about 40 and includes a large-screen TV.
• Physician – and a team of nurses is on duty at all times in the White House
Clinic. A dentist is on call.
• Pension – presidents get a pension of $161,200 and each presidential widow
gets a pension of $20,000 a year upon his death. They also get free office
space, free mailing service, and about $150,000 a year to maintain staff.
• What does the First Family pay for? Private meals, travel by other
members of the family unless they are on official business and all personal
items and clothing.
• Air Force One – this 747 cost $26,000 an hour to operate.
A C-5A plane, with an hourly operating cost of $9,000, hauls
bullet-proof limousines, Secret Service “war wagons” and a
White House communications car. Air travel runs about $60
million a year.
Presidential pay history
Date Established
September 24, 1789
March 3, 1873
March 4, 1909
January 19, 1949
January 20, 1969
January 20, 2001
Salary
$25,000
$50,000
$75,000
$100,000
$200,000
$400,000
Salary in 2005
dollars
$531,000 (1789)
$811,000 (1873)
$1,607,000 (1909)
$820,000 (1949)
$1,067,000 (1969)
$441,000 (2001)
Our President
Party: Democrat
President since 2009
Home is in Chicago,
Illinois
Born: Aug. 4, 1961, in
Honolulu, Hawaii
Education: BA
Columbia University;
JD Harvard University,
President Barrack H. Obama
How they got there
• Elections: the normal road to the
White House.
• Most presidents reach the White
House through the electoral
process.
• Once in office, presidents are
guaranteed a four-year term by the
Constitution, but the 22nd
Amendment (1951) limits
them to a maximum of two terms
or ten years.
• Only 12 of the forty-one
presidents before George W. Bush
have actually served two or more
full terms.
The 12
Presidents
who
completed
at least two
full terms in
office
(FDR was
elected to 4)
• Thomas Jefferson – The Presidency is a place of splendid misery.
• John Quincy Adams – The four most miserable years of my life were my
four years in the White House.
• Rutherford B. Hayes – Nobody ever left the presidency with less regret.
• James Garfield – What is there in this place that a man should ever want
to get into it?
• William McKinley – I have had enough of it, Heaven knows; I have had all
the honor there is in this place, and have had responsibilities enough to kill
any man.
• William Howard Taft – I’m glad to be going. This is the loneliest place in
the world.
• Warren G. Harding – The presidency is a prison.
• FDR – The first 12 years are the hardest.
• Harry S. Truman – There is no exaltation in the office of the President of
the United States. Sorrow is the proper word.
• LBJ – No one can experience with the President of the U.S. the glory and
agony of his office.
• Bill Clinton – The presidency is like a cemetery, a lot of people under you
but no one is listening.
• Proposes laws and programs to Congress.
• Is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.
• Appoints Cabinet members, ambassadors, and federal
judges.
• Prepares the budget of the federal government.
• Receives foreign ambassadors.
• Conducts the foreign relations of the U.S.
• Approves or vetoes all bills passed by Congress.
• May call special sessions of Congress
• Keeps Congress informed about the state of the nation
and of the economy.
• May pardon persons found guilty of federal crimes.
•16 The Vice Presidency may serve any number of terms [not limited to two].
• Focus:
1. What are his duties?
2. How a vacancy is filled.
• Throughout history, the Vice President has been
slighted and treated as the Butt of jokes.
• The job of Vice President has been described:
1. “Not worth a bucket of warm spit” [John Nance Garner]
2. “The most insignificant office that ever the invention of man
contrived or has imagination conceived” [John Adams]
3. “If you had two sons and one went away to sea, the other
became Vice President, neither would ever be heard from again.
4. “I am nothing but I may be everything.”
5. “I do not propose to be buried until I am dead.”
[Daniel Webster when turning it down]
•17 The Constitution assigns the Vice President only TWO FORMAL DUTIES:
•18 1. Preside over the Senate and vote in case of a tie.
• 2. Help decide whether the President is disabled and to serve as Acting
President should that happen.
• The main job of the vice President is to WAIT.
• Their main job seems to be going to funerals. Their motto could also be,
“You die, I fly.”
• Importance of the Vice Presidents: Ten have become Presidents.
• Presidents are handpicked but Vice Presidents are chosen to
19 “balance the ticket.”
• When the office of the Vice President becomes vacant, [which has
happened 18 times], the President nominates a Vice President who takes
20 office after confirmation by a majority vote of both houses.
•21 Compensation of the Vice President – receives a salary of $208,100 plus a
$10,000 expense account. A mansion on the grounds of the Washington
Naval Observatory is his office residence.
• The Vice President cannot be removed from office by the President.
• “I was recently on a tour of Latin America, and the only
regret I have was that I didn’t study Latin harder in school,
so I could converse with those people.”
• “If we don’t succeed, we run the risk of failure.”
• “Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a
mother and child.”
• Welcome to President Bush, Mrs. Bush, and my fellow astronauts.”
•
“Mars is essentially in the same orbit…Mars is somewhat the same
distance from the Sun, which is very important. We have seen pictures where
there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, that means there
is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breath.”
• “What a waste it is to lose one’s mind. Or not to have a mind is being
very wasteful. How true that is!”
• “The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation’s history. I mean in this
century’s history. But we all lived in this century. I didn’t live in this century.”
•
•
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“I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and
democracy – but that could change.”
“It isn’t pollution that’s harming the environment. It’s the impurities in our air
and water that are doing it.”
“I stand by all the misstatements I’ve made.”
ACCIDENTAL PRESIDENTS
OTHER VEEPS TO PREZ
The Vice Presidency: Another Road to
the White House
a. About one in five presidents assumed the
presidency when the incumbent president
either died ("accidental presidents”) or in
Nixon's case, resigned;
b. At one time, the selection of the vice
president was of little importance. Today,
the selection is primarily an effort to placate
some important symbolic constituency.
c. Once in office, vice presidents find that
their main job is waiting.
(1) Constitutionally, they are assigned the
minor task of presiding over the Senate and
voting in case of a tie.
(2) Recent presidents have involved their
vice presidents in policy discussions and
important diplomacy.
Importance of the
Office:
• Usually chosen
to symbolically
reward an
important
constituency.
• Often the job is
to wait for
"better" political
opportunities.
Our Vice President
Party: Republican
Vice President since
2001
Home is in Wyoming
Born: January 30,
1941 in Lincoln,
Nebraska
Education: BA and MA
from University of
Wyoming
Vice President
Richard B. Cheney
• Presidential succession is the scheme by which a
presidential vacancy is filled.
• If the President dies, resigns, or is removed by
impeachment, then the Vice President will become President.
• Originally, the Constitution said nothing about
succession… it merely said the “powers and duties” of the
office were to devolve to the Vice President (not the office
itself).
• VP John Tyler was the first to succeed a President
after William Henry Harrison died… but again, the
Constitution did not provide for it. It was just
accepted as a new precedent.
• The practice became part of the Constitution in
1967 with the 25th Amendment.
• It provides, “In case of the removal of the President from
office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall
become President.”
Focus:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Line of Succession
Vice President
1. How does a person succeed to the Presidency?
22 Speaker of the House
2. How is presidential disability determined and
President Pro Tem
dealt with?
of the Senate
Eight presidents have died in office.
Secretary of State
Sec. of Treasury
Four have died in office of natural causes.
Sec. of Defense
Four died from assassin’s bullets.
Attorney General
One [Nixon] was forced to resign.
Sec. of the Interior
Sec. of Agriculture
Presidential Succession
Sec. of Commerce
If the office of President becomes vacant, the Vice
Secretary of Labor
President succeeds to it.
Secretary of Health
Next in line would be the Speaker of the House, Secretary of HUD
President Pro Tem of the Senate, then the Secretary Sec. of Transportation
Secretary of Energy
of State and then by each of the other 13 heads of
Sec. of Education
the Cabinet departments, in order of precedence.
• The 25th Amendment makes the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 a law
with little real significance unless simultaneous vacancies in the Presidency
and Vice Presidency occur.
Incomplete Presidential Terms
• For 180 years, the nation played with fate. [Ike had 3 serious illnesses.
Garfield lingered 80 days before he died of an assassin’s
bullet, and Wilson had a paralytic stroke for 3 years].
• The 25th Amendment of 1967 took care of the disability gap;
• 23 The Vice President is to become Acting President:
Garfield’s
•
1.) if the President informs Congress in writing, “that he is
Deathbed
unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office” or
•
2.) if the VP and a majority of the members of the Cabinet inform
congress, in writing, that the President is so incapacitated.
• The President may resume the powers and duties by informing Congress
that no inability exists. The VP and a majority of the Cabinet may
challenge the President on his ability to perform. Congress then has 21
days to decide the matter. Two-thirds vote is required.
•
On July 13, 1985, George H.W. Bush served as President for 7 hrs
and 54 minutes while Reagan had a cancerous polyp removed
from his large intestine. After the operation Reagan reclaimed
his presidential. This was the first official use of the provision of
the 25th Amendment. Before the operation, Reagan signed a letter
saying, “shall discharge those powers and duties in my stead
commencing with the administration of anesthesia to me.”
• Focus
• How did the presidential election system develop historically?
• Original Constitutional Provisions
• It was felt that Congress should not select the President because
this would place the President “too much under the legislative thumb.”
• It was felt a popular vote for the President would lead to
disorder as the people could not make wise decisions.
• The Framers decided that electors from each State would choose the
President and Vice President by casting two votes each. The person
with the 2nd highest number would become Vice President.
• Electors would equal a State’s senators & representatives
24 so every State would have three.
•25 The House would decide a tie for the President and the
Senate would decide a tie for the Vice President.
• The Electors were thought of as “the most enlightened and
respectable citizens” from each State.
• There were no political parties when George Washington was elected.
• By 1800, political parties developed. In the 1800 election, the system
broke down when each of the 73 Democrat-Republicans who won votes
as electors voted for Jefferson and Burr, producing a tie for the presidency.
The House almost chose Burr instead of Jefferson as President. The 12th
Amendment [1804], separated the presidential and vice presidential
elections, to prevent another fiasco.
Focus:
1. Functions of the National Conventions
2. How the primaries work [preference election or selection of delegates]
3. Advantages and disadvantages of primaries, caucuses, and
conventions.
• National Conventions have been used by the two major political parties
since 1882 as their nominating device. They are a creature of the political
parties. [Show, “Path to the Presidency” on the next slide]
Election Day
Electoral Collage
Voters, in choosing between candidates,
Actually pick presidential electors, known
As the Electoral College-people expected
To support a specific candidate. Election
Day is the Tues. fol the 1st Monday in Nov.
Presidential electors meet in State capitals on the
Monday following the 2nd Wed in Dec to cast their
Electoral votes, to be officially counted in Washington
On Jan. 6. A majority of electoral votes-270 out of
538 is needed for election as President.
National Conventions
Delegates choose the nominee of each major party – with the
convention of both major parties held in mid-summer.
Presidential Primaries[44]
In States with these, party’s voters
select some or all of the national
convention delegates &/or express
a preference among various
contenders for presidential nominee.
District Conventions
State Conventions
Conventions held in the several
congressional districts select some
or all of the State’s delegates
to the party’s national convention.
Convention held at the State
level picks some or all of the
State’s delegates to the party’s
National convention
Local Caucuses [6 States do this]
Party voters in local meetings choose delegates to conventions
at the congressional district and/or State levels.
Candidate
Two main paths are taken to win delegates at the National nominating convention
of a candidate’s party – one in States that choose delegates through primaries, the
other in States that choose delegates by party conventions.
• Conventions are held in June, July or August. A large city in a “pivotal”
State is normally chosen. In 1984, the Republicans chose Dallas.
•26 Chicago has been chosen more than any other city [25 times].
• Chicago has been chosen 14 times by the republicans and 11 by the
democrats. Philadelphia is next with 8 and New York with 5.
• Apportionment – convention votes are based on that State’s electoral
votes plus bonus delegates to those States that have supported the
party’s candidates in recent elections. The Republicans have close to
2500 delegates and the Democrats around 4,335.
• Selection of Delegates. State laws or party rules fix the procedures by
which the delegates are chosen.
“Beauty contest”
“Knock down, drag out”
• A presidential primary is either or both of two things:
1.) A delegate selection process and/or a preference election [often
called a “beauty contest”]. 44 States have a presidential primary. These
are “knock down, drag outs” for the party out of power.
2.) In the 6 States that don’t hold presidential primaries, delegates are
chosen in a system of caucuses and district or State conventions.
• Some think the primaries are too hard on the candidates and that there
should be just one national primary.
• Focus:
• How the National Conventions operate
• The republicans send about 2,000 delegates
to the convention and the democrats send
over 4,300.
• The purpose of having a convention is to:
• 1.) Adopt a party platform, and
• 2. Pick Presidential and vice Presidential candidates
• 3. Unify the party behind those candidates
• The setting is always in a huge auditorium, where there are
flags, party symbols, and portraits of past party personalities
adorning the hall. The convention runs four or five days.
• The opening session begins with the “Star Spangled Banner,” a
prayer, a call of the temporary roll of delegates, and welcoming speeches.
• The temporary chairperson gives the first major speech and another person
gives the Keynote address. They praise the party and attack the opposition.
• The next sessions are followed by more speeches by leading party figures
and committee reports are given. The permanent chairperson takes the
rostrum with another lengthy speech glorifying the party.
• The party’s platform emerges from a draft drawn up by party
leaders or for the party in power, by the President and his advisors.
• The platform is a basic statement of the party’s principles and
its stand on major policy matters.
• It is also a campaign statement intended to win as many votes as possible.
It tends to be generalized comments on many of the questions of the day.
• Platforms do contain some hard policy positions but also reflect compromise.
These positions have a major impact on the way voters vote on election day.
• The promises are designed for a candidate to “run” on, not to “stand” on.
“Platforms are written to be ignored and forgotten…like jell-o
shimmering on a dessert plate, there’s usually little substance and
nothing you can get your teeth into.”
• Politicians do break promises. The Republican platform in 1980 promised
to balance the federal budget. After four years, it doubled to two trillion.
However, most promises are probably kept.
• The main task of the final session is the nomination of the party’s
presidential candidate. For each contender, a nominating speech and
several seconding speeches are made. Lengthy, wild, noisy demonstrations
always follow.
• In both parties, a majority vote is needed to select a candidate. Most
often the first ballot produces a choice.
If there is a deadlock, a
DARKHORSE CANDIDATE [someone who did not appear to be a likely
candidate before the convention] may be nominated. In 1924, in New York,
the Democratic Convention took 123 separate ballots, over a period of 9
days before John Davis was selected.
• The choice of a RUNNING MATE to balance the ticket is made and both
give their acceptance speeches where the super patriots of the party nearly
tear the convention hall apart.
• Incumbents normally get another term. Most candidates have well known
records in public office where they have demonstrated a considerable votegetting ability. Former lawyers who have also been governors have been
popular choices.
•27 The Governors of large States have produced the largest number of
candidates, followed by Senators. Most have been protestants and come
from “pivotal” States.
• Neither party has seriously considered a woman or a minority for the top
spot. Most have a pleasing and healthy appearance, seem to be happily
married, and have not been divorced. Only Stevenson and Reagan were
nominated who had been divorced.
• A well-developed speaking ability and good TV personality have become
a must. Example: Kennedy v. Nixon, 1961, the TV debates won it for
Kennedy.
By the 1960 presidential campaign, television had
become so central to people's lives that many observers
blamed Nixon's loss to John F. Kennedy on his poor
appearance in the televised presidential debates. JFK
looked cool, collected, presidential. Nixon, according to
one observer, resembled a "sinister chipmunk."
• Focus
•
•
•
•
•
28
•
29
•
30
1. Why the electoral college was established.
2. The way in which the electoral college functions.
Every means are to put their ideas before the voters.
These include TV, radio, newspapers, “Whistle-stop”
President Ford
tours, and party dinners.
On election day, the voters are actually voting to elect presidential
electors. Electors are selected before the election by State committees or
conventions of each political party. In most States, a list of electors is chosen
at large from the entire State. Each State’s number of electoral votes is
equal to that State’s representatives in Congress.
The electors can use their own judgment in selecting a President. They
have become “rubber stamps” for the popular vote taken in their State.
The presidential candidate receiving the largest popular vote in a State
wins all of that State’s electoral votes. The electors meet at their State
capitol on the Monday following the 2nd Wednesday in December. They cast
their electoral votes which are then sent by registered mail to the President
of the Senate.
On January 6 [unless it falls on a Sunday], the President of the Senate
counts the electoral votes from each State before a joint session of
congress. The candidate receiving a majority of the elector’s votes is elected.
31 If no one has a majority for President – at least 270 of the 538 electoral
votes – the election is thrown to the House.
•
•
32
•
•
Focus:
1. Major criticisms of the electoral collage
2. Proposals for reform
3. Advantages and disadvantages of different reforms
Three Major Weaknesses of the electoral collage
A. Winner of the popular vote may not win the presidency because of the
“winner take all”. Ex: NY-Clinton got about 50% of popular vote but
received all 33 of their electoral votes. California has 55 votes [or 1 elector
per 551,000]; Alaska has only 3 votes [but 1 per 183,000]. The winner of
the popular vote may lose the election such as in 1824: Adams[31%] over
Jackson[40%] [went to the House]; 1876:[the “stolen election”] Hayes[185
electoral votes and 4,034,311 popular vote] over Tilden[184 electoral votes
and4,238,549 popular vote]; & 1888: Harrison[233 electoral votes over
Cleveland[168 electoral votes (Harrison had 90,000 less popular votes).
B. Electors don’t have to vote for the candidates who won the popular
vote [has happened 9 times]. [In some States it is illegal not to vote for
winner in popular election. Most voters think they are actually voting for the
president and vice-president.
C. Election could be decided in the House [has happened twice – 1800
and 1824] where the small States have as much weight as the large States.
Four Reforms [a. District Plan and b. Proportional Plan.]
a. District Plan [Maine & Nebraska] – electors chosen like members of
Congress. The two at-large electors would cast their vote in line with the
State-wide popular vote. The other electors [34 in Texas] who represent
each district would vote in line with the popular vote in their district.
This eliminates the “winner-take-all” problem and makes electoral vote a
reflection of popular election. This would encourage “gerrymandering”.
Maine and Nebraska have this plan.
A constitutional convention would be held to require all States to do this.
The loser of the popular vote [Nixon in 1961] could still win the electoral
vote.
b. Proportional Plan – each candidate would receive the same share of
a State’s electoral votes as he received in the popular election.
In Texas, if Bush gets 75% of the vote, then he gets 26 of 34 electoral votes.
This would cure the “winner-take-all” problem, the faithless elector
possibility, and produce an electoral vote closer to the popular vote.
It is still possible for the loser of the popular vote to win because of the
smaller States being overweighed by their two senate-based electors.
Four Reforms [c. Direct Popular Vote and d. National bonus Plan.]
c. Direct Popular Vote – favored by the public – each vote
counts equally.
Small States would lose power so they would not vote for this
system.
This would weaken federalism as States would lose their role
in the choice of a president.
The candidates would have to campaign in every State [more
voter fraud and would spur ballot stuffing].
A president could no longer win by carrying only 12 States.
d. National Bonus Plan – maintain the electoral college, but
provide enough bonus points [102] to the winner of the
popular vote to guarantee victory.
The winner of the popular vote would always win the electoral
vote.
Final Electoral Count
Bush: 286
Kerry: 251
Edwards: 1
2004
Election
Final Popular Vote
Bush: 62,040,610 [50.7%]
Kerry: 59,028,111 [48.3%]
[4 others got 1% of the vote]
Cost of Presidential Elections
1860
Abraham Lincoln spent $100,000.
Stephen Douglas spent $50,000.
1924 - Calvin Coolidge spent $4 million.
1928 – Herbert Hoover spent $6 million.
2004
George Bush spent $368 million.
John Kerry spent $323 million.
2008
It is expected to cost $400 million to win.
Focus:
1. Functions of the White House office
2. Functions of the National Security Council [NSC]
3. Function of the OMB
• There was no money for presidential staff until 1857 when congress gave
James Buchanan $2,500 for one clerk.
• The Executive Office oversees about 3 million workers. Under Thomas
Jefferson, there were only 2,100 workers in the Executive Branch.
• The Executive Office is an umbrella agency of separate agencies staffed by
the presidents closest advisers. George Washington hired his nephew at
his own expense to be his personal secretary. Thomas Jefferson had only
one secretary and one aide and paid their salaries out of his own pocket.
• James Polk’s wife was his secretary. Both President Cleveland and
McKinley personally answered the White House phone in the 1890s.
The EOP [Executive Office of the President] really expanded in the 1930s
and today has about 2,000 staff members and a budget of over $100 million.
• Includes the key aides the president sees daily the chief of staff, congressional liaison people,
press secretary, national security advisor, and a few
other administrative political assistants.
• The full White House Office, consists of about 600
people ranging from advance travel preparations to
answering the thousands of letters received each year.
• Each president
organizes the White
House to serve his
own political and
policy needs, as well
as his decisionmaking style.
[Product of
“custom”]
Department of
Homeland Security
(2002)
[15]
Department of
Veteran’s Affairs
(1989)
• 1. White House Office – the “nerve center of the executive
office.” About 400 workers, most of whom occupy the West
Wing where the Oval Office and Cabinet room are located
work for the President. Public tours are on the East Wing. “West Wing”
The Chief of Staff directs the operations of the whole presidential staff.
• 2. National Security Council – made up of the Vice President, Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs, Secretaries of State and Defense, and director of the C.I.A.
They advise the President on all matters – domestic, foreign, and military –
that bear on the nation’s security.
• 3. Office of Policy Development – advise the President about domestic
affairs [home front policy]
• 4. Office of Management and Budget [OMB] – directs the preparation of
the federal budget, which the President must submit to congress. It also
oversees the execution of the budget.
• 5. Office of Homeland Security – created after 9/11
• 6. Council of Economic Advisers – the President chooses three of the
countries leading economic advisers to keep a close watch on the economy
and keep the President informed of economic developments and problems.
•33 The Cabinet – an informal advisory body that serves the President’s needs.
34 The Cabinet is a product of custom.
Head of the CEA
Edward Lazear
PHD in Econ, Harvard
Matt
Slaughter
of
Dartmouth
Katherine Baicker
U.C.L.A.
WASHINGTON’S CABINET
State Department
Thomas Jefferson
Treasury Department
Alexander Hamilton
War Department
Henry Knox
Attorney General
Edmund Randolph
Postmaster General
Samuel Osgood
The Cabinet
• Although the group of presidential
advisors known as the cabinet is not
mentioned in the Constitution, every
president has had one.
• George Washington's cabinet
consisted of just five people (state,
treasury, war and the attorney
general as well as a post master
general. Presidents since Washington
have increased the size of the cabinet
by asking Congress to create new
executive departments.
• Today, fourteen secretaries and the
attorney general head executive
departments (and constitute the
cabinet). In addition, individual
presidents may designate other
officials (such as the ambassador to
the United Nations) as cabinet
members.
Secretary of
Agriculture
Mike Johanns
Secretary of
Commerce
Carlos Gutierrez
Secretary of
Defense
Robert M.
Gates
Secretary of
Education
Margaret Spellings
Secretary of
Energy
Samuel W.
Bodman
Secretary of
Health & Human
Services
Michael Leavitt
Secretary of
Housing & Urban
Development
Alphonso Jackson
Secretary of
Treasury
Henry M.
Paulson, Jr.
Secretary of the
Interior
Dirk Kempthorne
Secretary of
Veterans Affairs
Jim Nicholson
Attorney General
Alberto
Gonzales
Secretary of
Homeland
Security
Michael Chertoff
Secretary of
Labor
Elaine Choa
Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of
Transportation
Mary E. Peters
Director of the
Environmental
Protection Agency
Stephen L. Johnson
Director of the Office
of Management &
Budget
Rob Portman
Chief of Staff
Joshua B. Bolten
•
•
•35
•
•
•
They are selected by the President subject to confirmation by the
Senate. Only 12 of over 600 appointments have been turned down.
[The most recent was in 1989, John Tower was turned down as
Secretary of Defense].
John Tower
Cabinet members are selected because of their professional qualifications,
experience, geography [to give sectional balance], and how they stand on the issues
of the day.
The 15 Cabinet members:
1. head their executive departments, and,
2. act as advisers to the President.
Some Presidents [Kennedy] thought meetings were a waste of time. Others
[George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton] felt differently and relied heavily on their
Cabinets. The cabinet is a product of custom so doesn’t have to be used.
Women and minorities, until recently, have historically been given
36 very few of the Cabinet positions.
• Lincoln laid a proposition he favored before his Cabinet.
Each member opposed it. He decreed, “7 nays, 1 aye,
the ayes have it.
PRESIDENTIAL POWERS
•
•
The contemporary presidency differs
dramatically from the one the framers of
the Constitution designed in 1787.
The executive office they conceived of had
more limited authority, fewer responsibilities,
and much less organizational structure than
today's presidency.
Constitutional powers:
The constitutional discussion of the presidency begins with these general words:
"The executive power shall be vested in a president of the U.S. states of America."
•
The Constitution says little else about presidential
authority, going on to list only a few powers…
•
Institutional balance was essential to delegates at
the Constitutional Convention.
•
There is little that presidents can do on their own.
They share executive, legislative, and judicial power
with the other branches of government.
• Today there is more to presidential power than the
Constitution alone suggests, and that power is derived
from many sources.
• The role of the president changed as America increased
in prominence on the world stage, and technology also
helped to reshape the presidency.
• Presidents themselves have taken the
initiative in developing new roles for the office.
Various presidents enlarged
the power of the presidency by
expanding the president's
responsibilities and political
resources.
•
•
•
•
•
•
The following factors have fed the growth of “Executive Power”.
1. The unity of the Presidency as compared to 535 members of Congress.
2. The influence of the Presidents themselves [Roosevelt]
3. People looking to President for leadership in social & economic matters.
4. Need for decisive action during natural emergencies.
President’s ability to gather support through the press, radio, and TV.
• The President’s Executive Powers
• The President has to carry out the provisions of all
federal laws [civil rights, housing, armed forces, etc.]
• The President has Ordinance Power – power to issue executive orders,
37 which have the effect of law. In 1948, Truman issued executive order 9981
to integrate the armed forces. This has been used to ration goods,
establish wage/price controls, implement affirmative action. There have
been 13,000 executive orders.
• The President has Appointment Power–shall appoint ambassadors, public
ministers, consuls, and all federal judges [by & with the consent of Senate]
•38 He has Removal Power – the power to remove any officer, except federal
judges whom he appointed. He can’t remove the Vice President because he
was elected.
• Treaty Power – negotiation of an international agreement
[treaty] with Senate approval. The Senate doesn’t ratify
treaties but they can pass a law contrary to its provisions.
The Senate did reject in 1919 the Treaty of Versailles, ending
WWI. In 1979, the Senate rejected Carter’s SALT II treaty.
•39 Executive Agreement – agreements between the President
and the heads of other countries. These agreements have
the same legal status as treaties but do not require Senate
consent. They cannot be secret and must be made public
within 60 days.
• Power of Recognition – the President recognizes the
legal existence of a country and its government. He is
accepting that country as an equal and is prepared to do
business with it.
• The President may show displeasure with another country by
the recall of their ambassador. The withdrawal of recognition
is the sharpest diplomatic rebuke and has often been a step to war.
• The President’s powers as Commander In Chief of the Armed Forces
are almost without limit. They usually delegate much of this command
to military subordinates.
• Most Presidents don’t become directly involved in military matters but they
have the final authority and responsibility for them. They normally are
involved in the most critical decisions, like secret bombing or committing
massive ground forces.
• Presidents have used the armed forces abroad on more than 200 occasions.
[Combat without a declaration of war by Congress] Korea and Vietnam
were the largest of those “undeclared wars.” Did the Constitution intend for
the President to have this much power? Korea was called a “police action.”
• War Powers Resolution of 1973 – designed to place limits on the
President’s war-making powers. Nixon vetoed this & Congress overrode him.
-Within 48 hours after committing troops to combat abroad, the President
must report to Congress, detailing the circumstances.
40 -That combat commitment must end within 60 days, unless Congress
authorizes a long period.
• Congress may bring an end to combat commitment at any time by
passing a resolution to that effect.
• Wartime Powers – he may be given greater powers such as
to ration food and gasoline, control wages and prices, and
seize and operate private industries vital to the nations war effort.
• He may also use the armed forces to keep the domestic peace
or call a State’s militia into federal service.
• 1. Power To Recommend Legislation [State of the Union, Budget and
Economic report, and special messages] [Nation’s Chief Legislator]
• 2. Approve or Veto Acts of Congress. He has 4 options when Congress
sends him a measure.
• A. Sign the bill making it law.
•
B. Veto the bill in its entirety although Congress may override
41 the veto with a 2/3’s vote in both houses. There is no line-item veto.
•
C. Allow the bill to become law without signature by not acting on it for 10
days [not counting Sundays].
•42 D. The “Pocket Veto” can be used at the end of a congressional session
if there are less than 10 days left. Veto power acts as a check on Congress.
• 3. Call special sessions of Congress [haven’t done this since 1948] or
adjourn Congress when they cannot agree on an adjournment date. This
has never happened.
• 1. The President appoints judges to the federal courts.
• 2. The President may exercise the following executive clemency [mercy].
• 43 A. Reprieve – postponement of a legal punishment.
• 44 B. Pardon – release from a legal punishment. It frees a person from
punishment for a crime and blots out the record of guilt. In the eyes of
the law, the person never committed the crime. Fugitive Mark Rich, who
owed millions in taxes and was convicted of fraud, was pardoned by
Clinton.
• The most famous pardon was in 1974 granted by Ford to Nixon.
• To be effective, a pardon must be accepted by the person granted.
Its acceptance is seen as admission of guilt. Any person who
accepts a pardon cannot hold a public office.
• The pardoning power includes the power to grant conditional
pardons if the conditions are reasonable.
•45 Commutation – power to commute or reduce the length of a
sentence or fine to be paid.
•46 Amnesty – group pardon for an offense against the government.
• President Harrison in 1889 issued amnesty forgiving Mormons
who had violated the anti-polygamy law.
• President Carter in 1977 issued amnesty forgiving Americans who had fled to
Canada rather than serving in Vietnam. [Although they did have to work in public service].
Impeachment:
• Impeachment refers to the formal accusation,
not to conviction. 47
• The House of Representatives may impeach
the president (and other civil officers) for
"Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and
Misdemeanors." requires a simple majority vote
• If the House votes for impeachment, the
accused president will be tried by the Senate.48
• The chief justice of the Supreme Court
presides when a president is being tried; the
vice president (as president of the Senate) will
preside if a civil officer other than the president
has been impeached.
• The Senate may convict and remove the
president by a two-thirds vote.
• Impeachment charges are heard first by the
House Judiciary Committee or by a select
committee, which makes recommendations to
the full House.
• In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee voted
to recommend the impeachment of Richard
Nixon… he escaped a certain vote for
impeachment by resigning.
• Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton are the only
two presidents ever impeached.
Hillary Rodham-Clinton
•49 Not an official
government position.
• Historically, First
Ladies have received a
lot of attention, and
occasionally been
active in politics.
• More recently, First
Ladies have been at the
center of attention in
policy-making matters
and played important
roles as advisors to
their husbands.
• Widespread support gives the
president leeway and weakens
resistance to presidential policies.
• Lack of support strengthens the
resolve of those inclined to oppose
the president and narrows the range
in which presidential policies receive
the benefit of the doubt.
• Low ratings in the polls may create
incentives to attack the president,
further eroding an already weakened
position.
• Public approval gives the president
leverage, not control; presidents'
leadership resources do not allow
them to dominate Congress.
• An electoral mandate - the
perception that the voters strongly
support the president's character and
policies - can be a powerful symbol in
American politics. It accords added
legitimacy and credibility to the newly
elected president's proposals.
• Merely winning an election does not
provide presidents with a mandate.
• It is common after close elections to
hear claims--especially from the other
party-that there was "no mandate" (as
with Bill Clinton's election in 1992).
• Even large electoral victories (such
as Richard Nixon's in 1972 and
Ronald Reagan's in 1984) carry no
guarantee that Congress will interpret
the results as mandates, especially if
the voters also elect majorities in
Congress from the other party.
Election of
1984
LBJ in Vietnam
POWER FROM THE PEOPLE: THE PUBLIC
PRESIDENCY
• Perhaps the greatest challenge to any
president is to obtain and maintain the
public's support. Because presidents are
rarely in a position to command others to
comply with their wishes, they must rely on
persuasion.
Clinton pushes
Going public
1. Public opinion can be an important
resource for presidential persuasion.
2. Public relations techniques similar to those
used to publicize products area necessity
a. JFK was the first president to regularly use
public appearances to seek popular
backing for his policies.
b. Kennedy's successors (with the exception
of Richard Nixon) have been even more
active in making public appearances. The
Clinton administration made an art of
public relations.
universal health
care
Bush
advocates
tax cuts
65%
The president's standing in the polls is
monitored closely by the press, members
of Congress, and others in the Washington
political community: the higher the
president stands in the polls, the easier it
is to persuade others to support
presidential initiatives.
• Presidents frequently do not have
widespread public support, often failing to
win even majority approval.
• Many people are predisposed to support
the president.
• Political party identification provides the
basic underpinning of approval or
disapproval.
• Presidents usually benefit from a
50 "honeymoon" with the American people
after taking office.
• People now judge the president
by his handling of policy.
• Citizens seem to focus on the
president's efforts and stands on
issues rather than on personality
or simply how presidential policies
affect them.
• Job-related personal
characteristics of the president
such as integrity and leadership
skills-also play an important role.
• Public approval takes sudden
jumps, often stimulated by "rally
events" that relate to international
relations (18-percentage-point rise
immediately after the Persian Gulf
War).
• Such occurrences usually have
little enduring impact on a
president's public approval.
• Commentators on the presidency often refer to it as a "bully pulpit,"
implying that presidents can persuade or even mobilize the public to
support their policies if they are skilled-enough communicators.
• Presidents frequently do attempt to obtain public support for their
policies with speeches over the radio or television or speeches to
large groups.
• All presidents since Truman have had media advice from experts on
such matters as lighting, makeup, stage settings, camera angles, and
even clothing.
• Despite these efforts, presidential
speeches designed to lead public
opinion have typically been rather
unimpressive.
• The public is not always receptive
to the president's message, and the
public may misunderstand or ignore
even the most basic facts regarding
presidential policy.
•
Mobilization of the public may be the ultimate weapon in the president's
arsenal of resources with which to influence Congress.
•
Entails the double burden of obtaining both opinion support and political
action from a generally inattentive and apathetic public.
•
There are certain risks involved: if the president attempts to mobilize the
public and fails, the lack of response speaks clearly to members of
Congress.
•
Perhaps the most notable recent example of the president mobilizing
public opinion to put pressure
on Congress was Ronald
Reagan's televised plea for
support of his tax-cut
proposals, which resulted in
a massive outpouring of
phone calls, letters, and
telegrams.
•
Despite high levels of
approval for much of his
presidency, Reagan was
never again able to
arouse many in his audience
to communicate their support
of his policies to Congress.
•
•
•
•
•
•
THE PRESIDENT AND THE PRESS
The press has become the
principal intermediary between the
president and the public, and
relations with the press are an
important aspect of the president's
efforts to lead public opinion.
It is the mass media that provides
people with most of what they know
about chief executives and their
policies.
The media also interprets and
analyzes presidential activities, even
the president's direct appeals to the
public.
Presidents and the press tend to
conflict.
Presidents want to control the
amount and timing of information
about their administration.
The press wants all the information
that exists, without delay.
•
Because of the importance of the press to
the president, the White House goes to great
lengths to encourage the media to project a
positive image of the president's activities and
policies.
•
The White House monitors the media
closely.
•
The president's press secretary conducts
daily press briefings, giving prepared
announcements and answering questions.
•
Press secretaries and their staffs arrange
private interviews with White House officials,
photo opportunities, and travel arrangements for
reporters when the president leaves Washington.
•
The best-known direct interaction between
the president and the press is the presidential
press conference.
•
Despite their high visibility, press
conferences are not very useful means of
eliciting information.
•
Although press conferences may appear
spontaneous, presidents and their staffs can
anticipate most of the questions that will be
asked and prepare answers to them ahead of
time.
When is
this damn
thing
over?
• Most of the news coverage of the
White House comes under the
heading of "body watch," which
means that reporters focus on the
most visible layer of presidents'
personal and official activities rather
than on the substance of policies or
the fundamental processes operating
in the executive branch.
• Bias is the most politically-charged
issue in relations between the
president and the press.
• A large number of studies have
concluded that the news media is not
biased systematically toward a
particular person, party, or ideology.
• Some observers believe that news
coverage of the presidency often
tends to emphasize the negative;
George Bush's handling of the
economy during the 1992 election
campaign is an example.
• One could also argue that
the press is inherently biased
toward the White House.
• A consistent pattern of
favorable coverage exists in
all major media outlets, and
the president is typically
portrayed with an aura of
dignity and treated with
deference.
• The White House can largely
control the environment in
which the president meets the
press (as when Marine
helicopters revved as
President Reagan approached
them so that he "could not
hear“ reporters' questions).
• Because the presidency is the single most
important office in American politics, there
has always been concern about whether the
president is a threat to democracy.
• Concerns over presidential power are
generally closely related to policy views:
those who oppose the president's policies
are the most likely to be concerned about
too much presidential power.
• In an era of divided government, some
observers are concerned that there is too
much checking and balancing and too little
capacity to act to meet pressing national
challenges.
• However, the best evidence indicates that
major policy change is not hindered by
divided government-that it is as likely to
occur when the parties share control as
when party control of the executive and
legislative branches is divided.
The presidency and the scope of
government
• Supporting an increased role
for government is not inherent
in the presidency; leadership
can move in many directions.
• It is often said that the American
people are ideologically
conservative and operationally
liberal.
• In the past generation, the public
has chosen a number of presidents
who reflected their ideology and
congresses that represented their
appetite for public service.
• It has been the president more
often than Congress who has
objected to government growth.
Great
Near Great
Above Average
1. Abe Lincoln
2. FDR
3. G. Washington
4. T. Jefferson
5. T. Roosevelt
6. W. Wilson
7. A. Jackson
8. H. Truman
9. John Adams
10. LBJ
11. Eisenhower
12. J. Polk
13. R. Reagan
14. JFK
15. J. Madison
16. J. Monroe
17. J.Q. Adams
18. G. Cleveland
Average
Below Average
Failures
19. W. McKinley
20. W. Taft
21. M. Van Buren
22. H. Hoover
23. R. Hayes
24. C. Arthur
25. G. Ford
26. J. Carter
27. R. Nixon
28. B. Harrison
29. Z. Taylor
30. J. Tyler
31. M. Fillmore
32. C. Coolidge
33. F. Pierce
34. A. Johnson
35. J. Buchanan
36. U. Grant
37. W. Harding
38. W. Harrison
39. J. Garfield
*38 & 39 died
early in office.
1. Which president was the only president who wasn’t elected to the
presidency or vice-presidency?
a. Gerald Ford
b. Chester A. Arthur
c. James Polk
2. At what school did Woodrow Wilson hold the title President Wilson?
a. Princeton University
b. Texas University
c. U.C.L.A.
3. What award did John F. Kennedy receive for his book,
“Profiles in Courage”? The Pulitzer Prize
4. Who besides John F. Kennedy, is the only other president to be
buried at Arlington national Cemetery?
A. Ulysses S. Grant b. Thomas Jefferson c. William Howard Taft
5. How old was Andrew Johnson when he was taught to read?
a. 17
b. 3
c. 22
6. How did Grover Cleveland avoid military service?
a. He purchased a substitute to serve for him in the Civil War.
b. He pretended he had an injury.
c. He hid at a distant relative’s home.
7. What was “James Madison’s War”?
a. Spanish-American War b. War of 1812 c. Civil War
8. Which future president served as a general in the War of 1812?
a. James Monroe b. William Henry Harrison c. James Madison
9. In what war did George H.W. Bush serve?
a. Vietnam War
b. Korean War
c. World War II
10. What region of the country was Calvin Coolidge from?
a. New England B. The south c. Midwest
11. How was President John Adams related to Samuel Adams?
a. Distant Cousins
b. Samuel Adams was his nephew
c. Samuel Adams was his brother in law
12. In what States was Theodore Roosevelt born and buried in?
a. Massachusetts b. Ohio c. New York
13. Which Whig president had fifteen children?
a. John Tyler b. Zachary Taylor c. Milliard Fillmore
14. By what margin in the electoral collage was James Monroe elected to his
second term?
a. He won by a close margin.
b. He received 2/3 of the electoral vote.
c. He received all but one vote from the electoral college.
15. Who was president at the same time Adolf Hitler came to power?
a. Herbert Hoover b. Dwight Eisenhower c. Harry Truman
16. How many other presidents lived or are buried in the same State as
James Polk?
Andrew Jackson & Andrew Johnson
a. 5
b. 2
c. None
17. Which president served in the House of Representatives from 1831-1848,
making him the only president to hold office in the House after his presidential
term expired?
a. John Q. Adams b. Andrew Jackson c. James Madison
18. Why was Zachary Taylor nicknamed “Old Rough and Ready”?
a. He was eager to fight and start a war.
b. He was a slovenly dresser.
c. He yelled at people when he was in a hurry to implement policy.
19. Which president led the D-Day invasion?
a. Dwight Eisenhower b. William H. Taft c. Woodrow Wilson
20. What topic did Andrew Jackson address in a letter to his wife dated
September 18, 1816?
a. His efforts to make a treaty with the Cherokee Nation
b. Troubles in his presidency
c. His mother
21. Who was the last president to be born in a log cabin?
a. Rutherford Hayes b. James Garfield c. Abraham Lincoln
22. Who appointed the first woman to the Supreme Court?
a. Ronald Reagan b. Jimmy Carter c. Bill Clinton
23. During which president’s term were females lawyers first admitted to practice
before the Supreme Court [before women even had the right to vote]? Hayes
24. How many terms did Bill Clinton serve as governor of Arkansas?
a. 2
b. 3
c. 5
25. What president was elected to four terms?
a. Woodrow Wilson b. Franklin Roosevelt c. George Washington
26. Who was the president during the panic of 1837?
a. Martin Van Buren b. Andrew Jackson c. William H. Harrison
27. How did “Lady Bird” Johnson help her husband carry out his duties when
he served in Congress?
a. She kept records of meetings with all visitors which took place at the congressional office.
b. She acted as an “unpaid” second chief of staff.
c. She helped keep his Congressional office open during WWII when he volunteered for naval service.
28. Which president was the first president since 1932 to lose his bid for re-election?
a. Jimmy Carter b. William McKinley c. Benjamin Harrison
29. Who was in office when the Confederate States declared their independence?
a. James Buchanan b. Abraham Lincoln c. Andrew Johnson
30. What slogan did Warren G. Harding campaign on?
a. Return to Normalcy b. It’s the economy, stupid! C. A thousand points of light
31. What city is now the home of the Ulysses S. Grant national Historic Site?
a. St. Louis, MO b. Cleveland, OH c. Albany, NY
32. How did Harry S. Truman first obtain the office of president?
A. He became president when President Roosevelt died.
B. He was elected in a landslide election.
C. He was the only Republican candidate who ran for office.
33. Which mid-29th century president authorized Matthew C. Perry’s trip
to Japan in an attempt to open trade with that country??
A. Milliard Fillmore b. Calvin Coolidge c. Grover Cleveland
34. Who was the first president to be born outside the thirteen colonies?
a. James Polk b. Abraham Lincoln c. Andrew Jackson
35. Who was William McKinley’s first vice-president?
a. Garret Hobart b. John Calhoun c. Millard Fillmore
36. How many people, yearly, visit Mt. Vernon, where George Washington is buried?
a. Over 100,000 b. Over three million c. Over one million
37. What does the first paragraph of Franklin Pierce’s inaugural address reveal
about his attitude toward the presidency?
a. He wanted to be president all his life.
b. His greatest ambition was to be a policy maker.
c. He did not want the job.
38. Which mid-19th century president gave the longest inauguration speech of
any president? It was a lengthy 8,445 words!
A. Franklin Pierce b. William H. Harrison c. Zachary Taylor
39. What statue guards Chester A. Arthur’s gravesite in Albany, New York?
a. Dove b. Soldier c. Angel
40. Who was the president who was first to be elected to that office by the House?
a. Theodore Roosevelt b. John Tyler c. Thomas Jefferson
41. Who was the first president to visit all fifty States?
a. Richard Nixon b. Jimmy Carter c. John F. Kennedy
1. Among the different roles a President must fill are (four/six/eight/ten) assigned
by the Constitution.
2. As Chief of __________,
the President is the ceremonial head of the nation.
State
Executive the President enforces laws passed by Congress and
3. As Chief ____________,
enforces court decisions.
Diplomat
4. As Chief ____________,
the President is the main architect of our foreign policy
and our chief spokesman to the rest of the world.
5. As ____________
___ in
_________
Commander
Chief of the Armed Forces, our Presidents have sent
troops into action on more than 200 occasions.
6. Three other roles of the President, not mentioned in the Constitution [besides Chief
Mourner] are Economic Planner, Chief Citizen and Chief of ____________.
Party
7. Political job appointments for persons supporting the President is known as
(pardons/patronage).
8. The President can be a natural born citizen but he [can/can not) be a naturalized
citizen.
9. The President and Vice President must be (30/35/40) years of age.
10. The President must have lived in the U.S. for at least [10/14/20] years.
11. The term of the President is for (two/four/six/ten) years.
12. No President (since 1951-22nd Amendment) shall be elected for more than
(two/four) terms nor can they serve more than (four/six/eight/ten) years.
F. Roosevelt was the only President to serve more than two terms.
13. _______________
14. _______________
Richard Nixon was the only President to resign from office in 1973.
15. The salary of the President is ($200,000/$300,000/$400,000/$500,000) and his
$200,000
pension is currently $__________.
16. The Vice President can serve (only two/any number of) terms
17. The Constitution assigns the Vice President only (2/10/17) formal duties.
18. These duties of the Vice President include presiding
_________ over the Senate and vote
only in case of a _______.
The second duty is to decide whether the
tie
President is disabled and to serve as Acting President should that happen.
_________
19. It is said that Presidents are handpicked but Vice Presidents are chosen to
“balance____
the ticket.”
_________
________.
20. If the office of the Vice President becomes vacant [ has happened 18 times],
the President nominates a Vice President who takes office after confirmation
majority of both Houses.
by a ___________
21. The salary of the Vice President is __________.
$208,000
22. Next in line for the Presidency after the Vice Presidency is the
________
___of
____
Speaker
the___________.
House
23. The Presidential Amendment of 1967 [25th] said the ______
___________ is to
Vice-president
become Acting President if the President informs Congress that he is unable to
discharge his duties.
24. Electors equal to a State’s senators and representatives, therefore every
State will have (2/3/5).
25. The (Senate/House) decides when there is a tie for the President and the
(Senate/House) decides when there is a tie for the Vice President.
26. The city chosen most often for national conventions is
(Dallas/L.A./San Francisco/Chicago).
27. The largest number of major party presidential nominees have been former
(senators/governors/representatives).
28. On election day voters are actually voting for (the President and Vice
President/Presidential Electors). So as previously noted, there are at least
3 Electors from each State.
29. Although the Electors can use their own judgments in selecting a President, they
have become “________
_______” for the popular vote taken in their State.
Rubber Stamps
30. If 75% of a State’s popular vote goes to one Presidential candidate, then
(75% of that State’s electoral vote goes to that candidate/all of that State’s electoral
votes go to him).
270 of the 538 electoral votes],
31. If no one has a majority for President [at least _____
the election is thrown to the (Senate/House/back to the Electors).
32. A major weakness of the Electoral College is that the
“________
______
Winner
take______”.
all
33. A group of top advisers who help the President in making decisions is the
Cabinet
__________.
34. The Cabinet is a product of the (the Constitution/custom).
35. Although George Washington had 4 executive departments, today there are
(four/eight/ten/fifteen).
36. Women have always had about (half of/very few of) of the Cabinet positions.
37. The President has “Ordinance Power” – power to issue executive orders,
which have the effect of ______.
law
38. The President (can/can not) remove federal judges.
39. The President has the power of ____________
____________ which is
Executive Agreement
an agreement between the President and the heads of other countries
which have the same legal status as treaties but do not require consent.
40. The President can send troops where he wants but that combat commitment
must end within (40/60/80) days, unless congress authorizes a longer period.
41. Bills have to be accepted or rejected in their entirety. So, there (is/is no)
line-item veto.
42. The ________
Pocket veto
______ can be used at the end of a congressional session
if there are less than 10 days left.
43. The President may grant a __________
reprieve which is the postponement of a
legal punishment.
44. The President may also grant a __________
pardon which is a release from a
legal punishment.
45. ____________
Commutation is the Presidents power to reduce the length of a sentence
or fine.
46. __________
Amnesty is a group pardon for an offense against the government.
47. Impeachment means you (have/have not) been convicted.
48. The trial of an impeached President would take place in the (House/Senate).
49. The First Lady (is/is not) an official government position.
50. Presidents normally (benefit/don’t benefit) from a political honeymoon.