Questions for FDR 1 st inaugural

1. “Making income balance outgo” refers to what? FDR felt that international trade relations, for the time being, should be secondary to what? What was he requesting from the American people if necessary? Questions for FDR 1st inaugural

2. Roosevelt’s campaign: he campaigned against the policies of Hoover, but said as little as possible about what he would do. Roosevelt actually expanded dramatically on the policies that Hoover had implemented in his last year in office. Why? They appeared to be working. Inaugural address

4. Starts with historic phrase that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” But what is this fear? • Enumerates the problems: • Values have shrunken to fantastic levels (real estate and stock market crashes), • government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income (state and local government revenues are decreasing, creating budget shortfalls), • the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade (loans are not available, credit markets are frozen) • The withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side (manufacturing has disappeared) • Farmers find no markets for their produce (there is plenty of food, but few with the money to buy it – think food banks) • The savings of many years in thousands of families are gone (trillions of dollars lost in market crashes in real estate and other markets)

5. Addressing the issue of just needing to restore confidence. “Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.” Is FDR addressing fear as a lack of consumer/business confidence? “Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, on unselfish performance; without them it cannot live.”

6. Redistribution of land sounds significantly similar to land reform that has marked the transition from feudal to capitalist societies. Raise values of agricultural products – farm subsidies Stop foreclosures Reduce spending at all levels of government austerity in administration. What is he calling for?

7. A more centralized effort at relief Nationalization of transportation, communications, and utilities. “there must be a strict supervision of all banking and credit and investments; there must be an end to speculation with other people’s money, and there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency.” “income balance outgo” – balancing the budget

8. Meet financial obligations of debt, but foreign trade takes a back seat to “the establishment of a sound national economy.” Declares a hope that the existing government institutions will result in the changes he describes, but is asking for tolerance of broad presidential powers to get these things done. Requesting war powers. Fear that he spoke of may be fear of government intervention in the market and government as tyranny.

9. Natural-born citizen, 35 years old, and a resident of the US for at least 14 years. 4 year term with eligibility for reelection. Limited to two terms by the 22nd Amendment. Two terms was traditional until FDR who was elected into office four times, serving 12 years before dying in office. Vice President – breaks a tie in the Senate. John Nance Garner – formerly Speaker of the House – FDR’s VP in first two terms – said the office of VP was “not worth a bucket of warm piss.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wYYX0mZsQA Chapter 7 The Presidency

10. Ben Franklin preferred to assassination The House votes to impeach the President. Once articles of impeachment have been passed in the House the President has been impeached. The Senate then tries the President on the counts brought against him. The Senate convicts or acquits. Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson were both impeached, then acquitted by the Senate. If it is easier, think of it in terms of an individual being indicted by a grand jury then tried by a court. iMPEACHMENT

11. Passed in 1947 in facing the reality of nuclear arms where it might be possible to lose a dozen of these leaders in one strike. If we are attacked in some fashion to where the President and the first 15 on this list are eliminated, who would you rather have running the government, the Secretary of Education or the Secretary of Homeland Security? Presidential succession Act

12. Concern over the orderly transfer of power. LBJ had no vice president until being reelected and retaking the office in 1964. LBJ died in 1973, four years after leaving office. Speaker of the House is very powerful. Would not want to give that up for VP. Appointment for vacant VP

13. Some confusion during the Reagan administration regarding who was in charge when Reagan was shot. James A Garfield lingered for three months after being shot before dying and being replaced by Chester Arthur. Woodrow Wilson was incapacitated after a stroke for the last 18 months of his administration. Ron Reagan, Jr. has said that Ronald Reagan showed signs of Alzheimer’s after his third year in office. Unable to fulfill duties

14. Number of appointees have changed over time. As seen in the chapter on Congress, this power has been significantly diminished by the use of the filibuster. Elizabeth Warren – Barack Obama’s first choice to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Withdrew under threat of filibuster. Republicans object to the existence of the bureau itself and have pledged to filibuster ANY nominee unless the powers of the bureau are radically reduced. Richard Cordray is operating as the unconfirmed director of the CFPB. Appointment power

15. Senate must ratify treaties that are signed before they have the full force of law. The textbook discusses the unsigning of treaties as almost a common practice. The only historic example of this occurring is the one discussed of the Bush Administration unsigning the ICC agreement. The constitutionality and international legality of this act of “unsigning” treaties has not been tested in the courts. It could likely set a bad precedent as nations sign up for treaty benefits then unsign when obligations come due. Fast track negotiations – Senate cannot amend the treaty – up or down vote only. Executive agreements – only in power while executive is in office. A gentleman’s agreement between world leaders. Sign and unsign treaties

16. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) Signed by the Carter Administration in 1979, it has been pending in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ever since. Force of law to prevent economic discrimination in providing for basic human needs. Dark green has signed and ratified, light green has signed but not ratified, gray has not signed.

17. Power to convene Congress not such a big deal anymore. Early days when Congressional sessions were shorter and Congressmen spent more time at home, President could call them back for an emergency, such as declaring war. Veto power – covered in chapter on Congress. Line item veto is where the President removes parts of a bill he does not like and then signs the rest. Bills are compromises between the parties. If you give up something in order to get something back and the President eliminates what you were getting in return, you will be unwilling to vote for any future bills that has anything you do not like. Line item veto declared unconstitutional in Clinton v. City of New York (1998) Signing statements – provide direction to agencies of how to interpret or enact legislation. IE Congress passed and President Obama signed a Military Appropriations Bill that had included a “poison pill” or “wrecking amendment” that allowed for “indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens”. In a signing statement Obama stated that he saw this as unconstitutional and directed agencies to disregard this portion of the bill. The constitutionality of signing statements has yet to be determined in a court of law. Veto power and the power to convene Congress

18. War Powers Resolution was the result of the Pentagon Papers and Nixon’s “secret war”, the expansion of hostilities into Laos and Cambodia. Vetoed by Nixon, veto overridden. President can commit forces in the case of an attack on the US, its possessions, or its armed forces. President must notify Congress within 48 hours of this commitment, and must pull them out after 60 days without further approval of Congress. Does this have any affect on drone strikes? In and out. Takes minutes. No boots on the ground. Commander in Chief

19. Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. Many of the Congressmen who voted for the authorization did so with the understanding that the President would use it as a saber to wave to get nuclear weapons inspectors back into Iraq. This gave the President the leverage necessary to engage in negotiations. The tactic worked and inspectors returned. Bush then declared that the Iraqi government was obstructing the inspections and that nothing short of Saddam Hussein stepping down would prevent war. By “authorizing the use of force”, Congress abdicated their RESPONSIBILITY to declare war, something that it could be argued would be unconstitutional. In our readings of John Locke we found that the legislature does not have the right to abdicate responsibilities. The founders believed that the decision to go to war should not be left to one man and made the declaration of war very difficult to achieve. Iraq War

20. FDR had long wanted the US to get involved in the war with Germany but could not get Congress to agree on its necessity. Pearl Harbor 12/07/1941 changed all of that. 12/08/1941 Congress declares war on Japan. In response, Germany and Italy declare war on the US. 12/11/1941 Congress recognizes that a state of war exists with Germany and Italy. Conspiracy theories argue that officials high in the administration knew about the planned attack but let it go ahead in order to bring us into the war. World war ii

21. Often controversial Ford pardoned Nixon Carter pardoned Vietnam War draft dodgers George HW Bush pardoned Iran Contra participants (members of the Reagan Administration) Bill Clinton had controversial pardon of tax evader. George W Bush did NOT pardon Scooter Libby Usually happens at the end of the administration Power to pardon

22. Crisis (war or economic crisis)= expansion of power. The public becomes concerned or even afraid, and are more willing to support greater powers for a strong chief executive taking decisive action. A president who ably marshals that support will find a more pliable Congress. It is not enough for a president to handle issues effectively, he must get the public behind his programs. September 11th enabled the rapid passage of the Patriot Act which expanded the government’s surveillance of private US citizens. It passed the House 357 to 66 and the Senate 98 to 1 Expansions of power

23. Abraham Lincoln – Civil War Woodrow Wilson – World War I FDR – Great Depression and World War II LBJ – Viet Nam and the assassination of JFK Ronald Reagan – Oil crisis George W Bush – 9/11 examples

24. Suspended writ of habeas corpus. Expanded size of Army. Blockade of Southern ports Closed the mail to treasonable correspondence Lincoln

25. In first Inaugural Address, FDR specifically asks the public (not Congress) to grant him “broad executive powers to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.” “Relief, recovery, and reform” Not only to get the economy back in shape, but to prevent it from happening again. Although the “bully pulpit” was a term coined by Teddy Roosevelt, FDR took it to an art form with his fireside chats, educating and informing the public regarding policy without the filter of news media. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)

26. Took advantage of a nation in mourning to address two of his pet peeves – poverty and discrimination. Unyielding and almost unscrupulous use of the bully pulpit. Kennedy assassinated on November 22, 1963. Johnson addresses Congress on November 27th saying "No memorial oration or eulogy could more eloquently honor President Kennedy's memory than the earliest possible passage of the civil rights bill for which he fought so long.“ He was talking to the public who were following current events carefully, not necessarily Congress. LBJ

27. The oil crisis as a result of agreed upon quotas of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Ronald Reagan was a ready made, made-for-TV hero riding into town on his white horse to save the day. Was experienced in front of the cameras. Often referred to as the Teflon President. Americans responded to him positively. Unable to make much headway with a Democratic Congress, he remade the bureaucracy through executive orders and political appointments. Ronald Reagan

28. Appointments: • Alden Clausen - CEO of Bank of America to President of the World Bank • James Watt – an Anti-environmentalist as the Secretary of the Interior • Ray Donovan - Dept of labor – reduced enforcement of existing OSHA regulations and cut staff and budget • William Bennett – Education Secretary – ardent advocate of school vouchers, curriculum reform, and religion in education. • Anne M Burford – Administrator of the EPA, gutted the agency during her tenure. examples

29. Advises president on policy, typically do not have an administrative or regulatory function. Most do not require Senate confirmation except Director OMB, council of economic advisors, and USTR. Do we find it odd that the section on first ladies neglected to mention the most powerful first lady of them all? Executive office of the president (EOP)

30. “A president’s ability to get his programs adopted or implemented depends on many factors, including his leadership abilities, his personality and powers of persuasion, his ability to mobilize public opinion to support his actions, the public’s perception of his performance, and Congress’s perception of his public support.” Each of these factors listed above can be traced directly back to an effective use of the bully pulpit. The bully pulpit

31. Proactive not reactive Leading, not following or leading from behind Want to do something in Washington rather than be something in Washington State of the union: correlation is not causation. Does the president make issues more salient by talking about them at the State of the Union address, or does the president address issues that poll as salient at the State of the Union address? http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/stateoftheunion-nielsenratings.pdf Presidential leadership

32. Goal is to both go over the heads of Congress and to bypass the filter of media. • Speeches: rehearsed and staged. Unilateral conversation set up to put out the message the president wants to send. Few speeches are broadcast in their entirety and news media will often cut and paste soundbites to portray the president according to their preference • One on one interviews: Have become more common, interviewer given exclusive access and usually tends to be deferential to the president allowing him to get his message out. If in a regularly scheduled show, the president can reach a larger group or a specific demographic. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POHzV7iEhEY Going public

33. Press conferences: Makes a knowledgeable candidate look very good and a less knowledgeable president look incompetent. Can demonstrate the ability of the president to think on his feet and demonstrate a broad knowledge of national issues. We have seen more staged press conferences in recent years with questions being known ahead of time. Barack Obama addressed the Republican Caucus and took questions, the closest we have come to having “question hour”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-GkrHKcwvo&feature=related Going public

34. Presidents campaign on vague ideas, not concrete policies. Voters hear what they want to hear and believe the candidate will make the changes they advocate. Once the president actually begins to govern, the perception inevitably departs from the image. With the era of the continual campaign, opposition congressmen make points and generate campaign donations by campaigning against the president until a challenger is named. This means roughly 250 Congressmen producing negative campaigning against the president. Public’s perception of presidential performance

35. Rally effect – President as commander in chief often gives a boost to the President Scandals or financial crises tend to reduce support of the president. Rally effects and scandal

36. Boosts and scandals – Johnson, death of Kennedy and Vietnam War; Nixon End of war and Watergate; Carter, oil crisis, pardon draft dodgers, gave away the Panama Canal, Iran hostages; Reagan oil crisis, end of oil crisis, Iran Contra scandal; GHW Bush, Gulf War followed by recession; Clinton, strong economy and prosperity; GW Bush, 9/11, prolonged war, economy on the brink of failure. Presidential popularity Note that in this graph the President’s approval ratings at the beginning are usually much higher than their predecessor's ratings at the end of their term. I mention this because the graph in the textbook would suggest that the gap between Bush’s low ratings and Obama’s high ratings would appear to be unusual.

37. A popular presidential candidate is able to get members of his party elected as voters vote the ticket. It also helps to raise money. Obama had strong coattails in 2008, not so much in 2010. Coattail effect

38. Have to have ideas and know how to get them through the system. Need to use the bully pulpit to “campaign “ for your ideas. Need to understand the potential veto points and how to navigate through them. Proposing and facilitating legislation

39. Fiscal policy has a huge effect on the economy. This is by far the most important task the president has, yet it is the one that is the least understood or appreciated. Technically the job of the US House of Representatives, but a clearly popular President can work to get his own fiscal agenda passed. The budget

40. Way for the president to take on the power to legislate. Executive orders deal with how an agency is run and how laws will or will not be enforced. Notable examples: Truman integrates military services and federal employment, FDR internment camps, many of the executive orders issued by Barack Obama were repealing EOs issued by George W. Bush. PPD Presidential Policy Directives – called something else by nearly every administration. Limited to national security issues often involving classified information. Carries the full force of law. Executive orders