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Hail to the Chief

Explore the arguments for and against the Electoral College, proposals for reform, demographic characteristics of U.S. Presidents, constitutional qualifications, presidential benefits, formal and informal powers, and key roles including Chief Executive, Diplomat, and more.

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Hail to the Chief

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

  2. ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE • DEMOCRATIC BECAUSE ELECTORS VOTE ACCORDING TO WILL OF MAJORITY • FEDERALISM-VOTING EXPRESSED STATE BY STATE • GUARANTEE OF AT LEAST 3 ELECTORAL VOTES – COLLECTIVELY BENEFITS SMALL STATES

  3. ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE • POPULAR VOTE MORE DEMOCRATIC • ELECTORS CAN VOTE CONTRARY TO WISHES OF MAJORITY • POPULAR THIRD PARTY CANDIDATE--HOUSE OF REPS MAY DECIDE

  4. PROPOSALS TO REFORM THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE • Create a proportional system—candidate receives proportional number based on size of popular vote in state. • Abolish the Electoral College and allow election to be determined by popular vote. • Create a limited term of six years—no reelection

  5. 100% male 97% Protestant 82% of British ancestry 77% college educated Demographic Characteristics of U.S. Presidents • 69% politicians • 62% lawyers • >50% from the top 3% wealth and social class • 0.5% born into poverty • 69% elected from large states

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

  7. Presidential Benefits • $400,000 tax-free salary • $50,000/year expense account • $100,000/year travel expenses • The White House • Secret Service protection • Camp David country estate • Air Force One personal airplane • Staff of 400-500

  8. Presidential Roles

  9. Chief Executive

  10. Commander-in-Chief President Obama with the Joint Chiefs of Staff—August 2011 President Bush aboard U.S.S. Lincoln, May, 2003

  11. Chief Legislator President Clinton delivers the State of the Union Address, 1997 President Obama signs the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) March 23, 2010

  12. Chief Diplomat Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron 2011

  13. Formal Powers of the President • Constitutional powers of the presidency • Found primarily in Article II of the Constitution

  14. Formal Powers: Commander-in-Chief • Commander in Chief of the armed forces • Commander in Chief of the state militias (now the National Guard) • Commission all officers • Mobilize (deploy / send out) troops at any time

  15. Formal Powers: Chief Executive • “Faithfully execute” the laws • Nominate the heads of executive departments (the Cabinet) / must be confirmed by Senate • Grant pardons for federal offenses except for cases of impeachment • Nominate federal judges / including Supreme Court / must be confirmed by Senate

  16. Formal Powers:Chief Diplomat (Foreign Affairs) • Nominate ambassadors, ministers and consuls / Senate must confirm • Negotiate treaties / Senate must confirm • Receive (meet with) ambassadors • Conducts foreign relations (recognize nations / choose to terminate relations with other countries)

  17. Formal Powers: Chief Legislator • Give State of the Union address to Congress • Recommend “measures” to the Congress • Upon “extraordinary occasions” convene both houses of Congress • Sign a bill into law

  18. Formal Powers: Chief Legislator (cont.) • Presidential Veto of a Bill • Veto defeats / kills the bill • Pocket Veto - President does not sign within 10 days and Congress adjourns (not in session) – bill dies • Congress can override a veto with 2/3 majority from both House and Senate • Veto Politics • Congressional override is difficult (only 4%) • Threat of veto can cause Congress to make changes in legislation

  19. Informal Powers • Those powers not explicitly written in the Constitution

  20. Executive Orders • Orders issued by the President that carry the force of law • Do not need congressional approval • FDR’s internment of Japanese Americans • Truman’s desegregation of the armed forces Notice for Japanese “relocation,” 1942

  21. Executive Agreements • International agreements, usually related to trade, made by a president that has the force of a treaty; does NOT need Senate approval • Jefferson’s purchase of Louisiana in 1803

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

  23. Political Party Leader (Informal): try to receive support from own party / help with setting party’s agenda President Reagan & Vice-President Bush accepting their party’s nomination in 1980

  24. Crisis Manager (Informal): try to unite / calm the public in times of sadness / natural disaster, etc. President Bush at Ground Zero after 9-11 Vice-President Johnson sworn in aboard Air Force One after President Kennedy’s assassination, 1963

  25. “Bully Pulpit” (Informal) = using visibility / platform as president to communicate views to the American public / gain support for agenda

  26. Presidential Quotations

  27. President Harry S. Truman "I sit here all day trying to persuade people to do the things they ought to have the sense to do without my persuading them. That's all the powers of the President amount to." Truman, 33rd President, 1945-53

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

  29. President Lyndon B. Johnson “The presidency has made every man who occupied it, no matter how small, bigger than he was; and no matter how big, not big enough for its demands.” President Johnson, 36th President, 1963-69

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

  31. President George W. Bush “To those of you who received honors, awards, and distinctions, I say 'Well done.' And to the C students, I say 'You, too, can be president of the United States.'” President George W. Bush, speaking at Yale University's 300th commencement ceremony President Bush, 43rd President, 2001-2009

  32. Formal Powers in Foreign Policy • President: • Commander-in-chief • Appointments of ambassadors • Negotiate treaties • Recognize nations • Receive ambassadors • Congress: • Confirm ambassad. • Fund the military • Provide army/navy • Declare war • Pass f.p. laws • Regulate foreign trade • Ratify treaties

  33. Informal Powers in Foreign Policy • President: • Executive agreemen. • Access to media • Agenda setting • Meet w/ leaders • Crisis manager • International coalition building • Congress: • Give president advice • Oversight / investigations/ committees that look into f.p. activities

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