Chapter 12

1. Chapter 12 The Presidency: Leading the Nation

2. Things to Remember for Chapter 12 • Public expectations, national crises, and world conditions have required the presidency to become a strong office. • The modern presidential election campaign is a marathon affair in which self-selected candidates must plan for a strong start in the nominating contestants and center their general-election strategies on media, issues, and a baseline of support. • The modern presidency could not operate without a large staff of assistance, experts, and high level managers, but the sheer size of this staff makes it impossible for the president to exercise complete control over it. • The president’s election by national vote and position as sole chief executive ensure that others will listen to the president’s ideas; but to lead effectively, the president must have the help of other officials and, to get their help, must respond to their interests as they respond to the president. • Presidential influence on national policy is highly variable.

3. Foundations of the Modern Presidency • The writers of the Constitutions knew exactly what they wanted from the president • National leadership • Statesmanship in foreign affairs • Command in time of war or insurgency • Enforcement of law • Article II of the Constitution contains relatively vague statements on the president’s power.

4. Foundations of the Modern Presidency • President’s constitutional powers have been extended in practice beyond the framers’ intention. • Congress must declare war • There have been more than a dozen wars, but only 5 of those have been declared by Congress. • War of 1812 (United Kingdom) Pres. Madison • Mexican-American War (Mexico) Pres. Polk • Spanish-American War (Spain) Pres. McKinley • World War I (Germany & Austria-Hungary) Pres. Wilson • World War II (Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary & Romania) Pres. Roosevelt • Recent wars have not been declared • America’s most recent conflicts have not been declared by Congress. • Korea Pres. Truman • Vietnam Pres. Johnson • Persian Gulf Pres. Gorge H.W. Bush • Balkans Pres. Bush & Clinton • Afghanistan Pres. George H. W. Bush etc. • Iraq Pres. George H.W. Bush etc.

5. Foundations of the Modern Presidency • Constitution also empowers the president to act as diplomatic leader withy the authority appoint ambassadors and to negotiate treaties with other countries, subject to approval by a 2/3 vote of the Senate. • Congress would define foreign policy and the president would oversee the implementation. • Executive Agreements • Agreement made the president and a head of state • Agreements made at the Yalta Conference • Presidents have negotiated more than 10,000 executive agreements since WWII, while Congress has ratified fewer than 1,000 treaties.

6. Foundations of the Modern Presidency • The Constitution also vests “executive Power” in the president. • Execute laws faithfully • Appoint major administrators • According to Hamilton and the Federalist No.76 , this was the presidents real power • Presidents find the power to execute laws even more beneficial. • Enables them to determine how laws will be interpreted and applied.

7. Foundations of the Modern Presidency • The Constitution provides the president with legislative authority. • Veto • Recommendations to Congress. • Framers expected this power to be used sparingly. • George Washington only proposed 3 legislative measures • He only vetoed 2 acts of Congress • Modern presidents have taken a more active roll

8. Foundations of the Modern Presidency • The presidency is far more powerful than the framers had anticipated. • National Election • President is the only position that is elected nationally. • Singular authority • Leader of the American people. • These ideas are key to understanding the role and power of the president.

9. Asserting Claim to National Leadership • Andrew Jackson was the first president to assert claim to popular leadership. • He routinely challenged Congress’s claim to national leadership. • Climate at the time did not call for a strong presidential leadership. • Whig Theory • Prevailed in the 19th century, and held that the presidency was a limited or restrained office whose occupant was confined to expressly granted constitutional authority. • Carry out the will of Congress

10. Asserting Claim to National Leadership • Theodore Roosevelt rejected the Whig Theory upon taking office in 1901. • Stewardship Theory • Assertive presidency that is confined only at points specifically prohibited by law. • “Do anything the nation that the needs of the Nation demanded unless such action was forbidden by the Constitution or by the laws.” • Attacked business trusts • Aggressive foreign policy • Progressive domestic policies

11. The Need for Presidential Leadership of an Activist Government • Most of the 19th century (except during the Civil War) the United States did not require a strong presidency. • Federal government and its bureaucracy was small. • Issues were sectional (North and South) • These issues were better suited to Congress

12. Foreign Policy Leadership • The president has always been the foreign policy leader. • The United States was involved in isolation as far as foreign policy. • Was involved with foreign trade • Building industry • “open door policy” • Congress voted against entry into the League of Nations

13. Foreign Policy Leadership • World War II fundamentally changed America’s role in foreign policy and the role of the president. • The US emerged as a world power and a leader among the noncommunist world. • Trade balances • Energy supplies • International issues facing the world • The effects of this issue has been one-sided. • The president, not Congress, has taken the lead in addressing the nation’s increased responsibility in world affairs. • Foreign policy requires singleness of purpose and fast action. • Congress large and unwieldy is ill equipped to deal with these issues.

14. Domestic Policy Leadership • There has also been substantial changes in the president’s domestic policy leadership. • By the early 20th century the national government was taking on a more aggressive role in domestic policy due to the transition from an agrarian to an industrial society. • The federal government began to grow and Congress began to accept some issues were out of their scope.

15. Domestic Policy Leadership • 1921, Budget and Accounting Office • Congress conceded that it lacked the centralized authority to coordinate the growing national budget. • The New Deal also expanded the realm of economics outside the power of Congress. • In order for economic regulation to work, unified and continuous policy leadership had to be provided. This was done so by the president. • All democracies have seen a shift in the powers of the legislature to the powers of the executive. • In Britain, the prime minister has taken on responsibility that once belonged to the cabinet or to parliament.

16. Choosing the President • As the president’s policy and leadership responsibility changed during the nation’s history, so did the process of electing the president. • As the president became closer to the people, there role in selecting the president became even more important. • Legitimacy • The idea that the selection of office holders should be based on the will of the people as expressed through their views.

17. Toward a More “Democratic” System of Presidential Election • The Framers devised the electoral college. • President is chosen by a vote of electors who are appointed by the states. • The candidate with the most electoral votes wins. • Each state is given one electoral vote for each member it has in the House and the Senate combined. • In the early years, the electorate voted in their own interest. • This changed after the election of Andrew Jackson. • Jackson had won the popular vote four years earlier, but lost the electoral vote. • He rallied to get Congress to approve an amendment to dissolve the electoral college, but failed. • Electoral votes should mirror the popular vote.

18. Toward a More “Democratic” System of Presidential Election • Jackson also championed the national convention for nominating the parties presidential candidate. • Each state sends delegates to the convention and these delegates select the party candidate. • Early in the 20th century, Progressives devised the primary election as a means of curbing power of party bosses • Hand picking state delegates • Indirect Primary • Voters are not choosing the nominees directly but rather choosing delegates who in turn select the nominee. • Only convinced a small number of states to change.

19. The Campaign for Nomination • The fact that voters pick the party nominees has opened the nominating races to any politician with the energy and resources to run a major national campaign. • Nominating campaigns usually attract about 6 candidates. • Except when an incumbent is seeking reelection • The key to success is momentum • A solid showing in the early contests lead to a buildup of public support in subsequent ones. • First caucuses in Iowa • First primary in New Hampshire • Money is always a critical factor. • The candidate who has raised the most money prior to the start of the primaries, since 1984, has won the primaries. • Except 2004, Howard Dean raised the most money but failed to win the nomination. • Candidates in the primary elections receive federal funding if they meet eligibility requirements. • The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974 • National party conventions mark the end of the nominating campaign. • The presidential nominee picks the vice presidential running mate.

20. The Campaign for Election • The winner of the November general election is certain to be either a democrat or a republican. • 2/3s of the nations voters identify themselves as either of these parties. • Third party candidates have almost no hope of overcoming this obstacle. • Ross Perot

21. Election Strategy • Candidates election strategies are shaped by the electoral system. • First candidate to receive 270 electoral votes wins the election. • Candidates can concentrate on states with higher electoral votes. • Winner take all system • Maine and Nebraska vote differently • If there is a tie, the House of Representatives decides the winner. • 12th Amendment • Has not happened since John Quincy Adams • Concentrate in states with the closeness in races.

22. Media and Money • The modern presidential campaign is a media campaign. • Particularly television • Television is the major forum for the presidential debates. • The first televised debate took place in 1960, and it was between Kennedy and Nixon. • Television campaigns include political advertising. • Commercials are the most expensive part of campaigns, and they account for about half the general election expenditures. • Candidates receive federal funding for their campaigns. • They do not have to take it

23. The Winners • The Constitution specifies only that the president must be at least 35 years old, a natural-born citizen, and a U.S. resident for a least 14 years. • With the exception of four army generals, all presidents have served in some high level office.

24. Staffing the Presidency • We are electing a lot more than just a president on election day. • Secretary of State (other cabinet members) • Director of the FBI • Chair of the Federal Reserve Board • Presidential Appointees

25. Presidential Appointees • Presidents gain an important advantage from their appointments. • Source of policy information • They extend the president’s reach into the huge federal bureaucracy by exerting influence on the departments they head. • Presidents tend to appoint people from the same political party.

26. The Executive Office of the Presidency (EOP) • The key staff organization is that of the EOP. • Created in 1939, to organized and coordinate the activities of the executive branch. • It is the command center of the presidency. • Consists of the Office of the Vice President and 13 other organizations. • WHO Whit House Office • Presidents closest personal advisors • Office of Management and Budget (OMB) • Formulate and administer the budget • National Security Council • Advises on foreign and military affairs • Council of Economic Affairs • Advises the president on the national economy

27. The Presidents Cabinet • The Heads of 15 executive departments make up the presidents cabinet. • Secretary of State • Secretary of Defense • Secretary of the Treasury • Attorney General • These are considered his inner cabinet • All cabinet members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

28. The Problem of Control • The president often has trouble controlling his appointees. • There are just to many of them • WHO often skew information for the benefit of their own party over national interest. • More problem with control outside the White House. • Loyalty is often split between a desire to promote the presidents goals and an interest in boosting themselves or the agency they lead. • Lower level employees within the departments and agencies pose a different type of problem. • President rarely sees them • Usually political novice

29. Factors in Presidential Leadership • Significant presidential action usually depends on approval from Congress, cooperation from the bureaucracy, and sometimes the acceptance of the judiciary. • Congress holds the power to presidential success. • Whether a president’s initiative succeed or fail depends on several factors. • Force of Circumstance • The stage of the President’s term • The nature of the issue • Foreign or Domestic