American Government

American Government The Presidency

The Presidency: Unique Institution • There was nothing like it when it was created in the 1780s • it represents the founders' most profound contribution to the structure of government • Congress, courts had direct antecedents in England • there was no model for the presidency: part king, part prime minister • There is no other institution in the world like it today • most countries prefer a prime ministerial arrangement • only 16 countries worldwide have an independently elected executive designed like ours • only in the U.S. is the president a stable, long standing institution • only here is it neither tyrant nor patsy

The U.S. President Two things make the U.S. President unique: • first, it is simultaneously a very powerful and a very weak office • second, the president is both head of state and head of government

The Paradox of Presidential Power Powerful…yet weak… • The contradiction lies in the fact that president is the focal institution of government in a system of separated powers • As the focal institution of government of the world's only true superpower, the presidency has enormous responsibilities and powers • -command of the nuclear arsenal • -commander in chief of the world's strongest military force • -leader of the western side • -unparalleled access to the media • -responsibility for guiding the world's largest economy • -chief executive of a 3 million person federal bureaucracy • -focal point of public expectations regarding gov't

Powerful President • NOTE: presidency also has a broad grant of power under the Constitution that allows for a great deal of latitude/discretion • Article II is virtually an elastic clause • -"the executive power shall be vested in a president" (some have argued that the term 'executive power' is broad, including many powers exercised by kings not explicitly outlined in the Constitution) • -he shall "take care that the laws be faithfully executed" --- broad latitude to enforce the law

Weak President: Congress In the American system, the president must share powers with other institutions • Founders designed the system this way • The other institutions insist upon it • As a result, president finds action is often difficult unless he has consensus and cooperation • Virtually no power of the presidency can be exercised unilaterally • Most visible in terms of Congress: • -president may propose, but Congress must dispose • -president may nominate, but Senate must confirm • -president may be C-in-C, but only Congress can declare war • -president may want to act, but only Congress can appropriate funds to pay for action • -president may veto, but Congress can override veto • -president may excoriate MCs, but H of R may impeach and Senate may remove president • Problem often exacerbated by divided party government

Weak President: Courts & Bureaucracy • President must also struggle with federal courts • -president nominates justices to the courts, but • -justices often behave differently once they are on the bench, with life tenures - hard to predict (e.g., Earl Warren and desegregation, Harry Blackmun and abortion, flag burning and Reagan appointees) • -Court has power of judicial review - may rule presidential action is unconstitutional and therefor null and void • -Chief Justice presides during impeachment trial • President must also struggle with the bureaucracy • -most are civil servants, very hard to remove • -even appointees tend to go native • -Congress has more day to day interaction - so bureaucrats may be able to resist presidential directives • -government is large -- much goes on that president is not aware of

Weak President: Federalism • federal system also limits presidential power • -many of the issues people care most about are the primary responsibility of state/local government: education, crime, welfare • -president has a difficult time affecting policy in these areas

Is it good to be the King? • presidential responsibility is vast, but presidential power is tenuous - which makes the study of presidency fascinating • -what resources are available? • -what personality traits are critical? • -what strategies are successful? • -how does the office (w/ its inherent insulation) affect officeholders?

Power to Persuade • Richard Neustadt: Presidential Power (1960) • Richard Neustadt observed the essence of presidential power when working in the executive branch during Franklin Roosevelt's term as president. He stayed to serve under President Truman. It is said that President Kennedy brought Presidential Power with him to the White House, and Neustadt worked briefly for JFK. • Neustadt’s fundamental argument: presidential power is the power to persuade. • He argued that the President is actually rather weak in the U.S. government, being unable to effect significant change without the approval of the Congress, and that in practice the President must rely on a combination of personal persuasion, professional reputation "inside the Beltway", and public prestige to get things done.

Presidential Character • Following Neustadt, Barber argues that the president’s character determines how he governs and what kind of presidency and administration he has.

Presidential Character Typology

Head of State / Head of Government • In the U.S., we unite what other countries generally separate • -most countries have a symbolic head of state and a different head of government (e.g., queen and PM) • There is a reason for that -- the roles are quite distinct • Head of state is largely symbolic • -embodies the values, traditions, essence of the realm • -above and removed from politics --- God save the Queen • - serves to unite a people at a level deeper than politics • NOTE: we have a Constitution that is our unifying force, but it is a piece a paper --- too dry, abstract --- need a person

Heads of Government • Head of government is a practical office • -responsible for the management of government • -real policy concerns • -not symbolic but practical, actual • -essentially a political office, up to its neck in the hurly-burly of politics • -not "God Save the Queen," but rather: “By God, can't that idiot do anything right?"

Two Heads Better than One? By combining the two, the U. S. presidency is unique (and problematic): • Accounts for the symbolic nature of many campaign appeals (and their vapid nature) -- e.g., family values; change is good; morning again in America • Complicates government • -symbolic campaigns provide very little direction for government • -successful candidates are good at capitalizing on symbols • -may have very little to say about policy • -diverts attention from more practical concerns • -e.g., deficit, environment, energy • -generally, our system requires that a president be the quintessential politician, yet we often expect the president to rise above politics --- hard to be successful at both

American Government