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Learn about the key roles of the President as Chief of State, Chief Executive, Chief Diplomat, and more. Explore the formal and informal qualifications needed to become President and understand the Electoral College process.
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Presidential Roles Chief of State • The President is chief of state. This means he is the ceremonial head of the government of the United States, the symbol of all the people of the nation. Chief Executive • The Constitution vests the President with the executive power of the United States, making him or her the nation’s chief executive. Chief Administrator • The President is the chief administrator, or director, of the United States government. Chief Diplomat • As the nation’s chief diplomat,the President is the main architect of American foreign policy and chief spokesperson to the rest of the world.
Presidential Roles (continued) Commander in Chief • The Constitution makes the President the commander in chief, giving him or her complete control of the nation’s armed forces. Chief Legislator • The President is the chief legislator,the main architect of the nation’s public policies. Chief of Party • The President acts as the chief of party,the acknowledged leader of the political party that controls the executive branch. Chief Citizen • The President is expected to be “the representative of all the people.”
Formal Qualifications • The following are the qualifications for President of the United States as written in the Constitution: 1. Be “a natural born citizen.” • A person must be born a citizen of the United States to be able to become President 2. Be at least 35 years old 3. Must have lived in the United States for 14 years
Informal Qualifications • Name Recognition • Pleasing TV appearance • No “Skeletons in the closet” • Support of major political party • Religion his/her choice • Experience • Money • Good Education • Family & pets
Line of Presidential Succession Positions 8 – 17 are on p. 320
Electoral College • The Electoral College process consists of the selection of the electors, the meeting of the electors where they vote for President and Vice President, and the counting of the electoral votes by Congress. • The Electoral College consists of 538electors. • A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President.
Electoral College clarification in12th Amendment • The Twelfth Amendment (Amendment XII) to the United States Constitution provides the procedure by which the President and Vice President are elected. • It replaced the procedure of the Electoral College under Article II, Section 1, Clause 3, which demonstrated problems in the elections of 1796 and 1800.