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CHAPTER 14: THE PRESIDENCY

CHAPTER 14: THE PRESIDENCY. PAGES: 370-407. PRESIDENTS & PRIME MINISTERS. PAGES: 368-370. PRESIDENTS V. PRIME MINISTERS. Presidents : popularly elected – an American invention Only 16 countries have a popularly elected president, and 13 are in North and South America.

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CHAPTER 14: THE PRESIDENCY

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  1. CHAPTER 14: THE PRESIDENCY PAGES: 370-407

  2. PRESIDENTS & PRIME MINISTERS PAGES: 368-370

  3. PRESIDENTS V. PRIME MINISTERS • Presidents: popularly elected – an American invention • Only 16 countries have a popularly elected president, and 13 are in North and South America

  4. PRESIDENTS V. PRIME MINISTERS • Prime Ministers: chosen by and responsible to Parliament • Most Western European countries as well as Israel and Japan • No nation with a purely presidential political system in Europe • Voters in Europe do not directly elect Prime Minister • Prime Minister is elected by majority party

  5. UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS • PRESIDENTS ARE OFTEN OUTSIDERS: • Is easier to win election if you can show voters you are not part of the “mess in Washington” • The majority of presidents elected from 1828-2000 were either governors, military leaders, or vice presidents

  6. UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS • PRESIDENTS CHOOSE CABINET MEMBERS FROM OUTSIDE OF CONGRESS: • Under the Constitution, no sitting member in Congress can hold office in the executive branch (Prime Ministers choose cabinet members from Parliament) • Presidents choose (close personal friends, campaign aides, representatives of important constituencies, and experts on various policy issues, or some combination of all three

  7. UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS • PRESIDENTS HAVE NO GUARANTEED MAJORITY IN THE LEGISLATURE: • Prime ministers do have majority in Parliament • President’s party often does not have congressional majority – usually controlled by opposite party creating a divided government

  8. DIVIDED GOVERNMENT PAGES: 370-372

  9. DIVIDED GOVERNMENT • Divided Government: one party controls the White House and a different party controls the Congress • Unified Government: the White House and Congress are controlled by same party

  10. DIVIDED GOVERNMENT • Americans say they do not like a divided government. • They think divided government produces partisan bickering, political paralysis, and policy gridlock

  11. DIVIDED GOVERNMENT • It is not clear that divided government produces gridlock that is any worse than when there is a unified government • It is not clear that, even if gridlock does exist, it is always, or even usually, a bad thing for the country

  12. DIVIDED GOVERNMENT • DOES GRIDLOCK MATTER? • Not clear if divided governments produce fewer or worse policies than a unified one • Scholars say: • Conclude that divided governments do about as well as unified ones in passing important laws, conducting important investigations, and ratifying significant treaties

  13. DIVIDED GOVERNMENT • WHY DO DIVIDED GOVERNMENTS PRODUCE ABOUT AS MUCH IMPORTANT LEGISLATION AS UNIFIED ONES? • Unified government is something of a myth • Republicans as a party can be divided between conservatives and liberals • Constitution ensures that the president and Congress will be rivals for power and thus rivals in policy-making

  14. DIVIDED GOVERNMENT • The only time there is a unified government is when not just the same party but the same ideological wing of that party is in effective control of both branches

  15. DIVIDED GOVERNMENT • IS POLICY GRIDLOCK BAD? • American President has less ability to decide what laws get passed than does a British Prime Minister • To change this the Constitution must be changed; Americans don’t want to do this • Voters split-tickets: vote Democratic for President, but Republican for Congress

  16. THE EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY PAGES: 372-379

  17. THE EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY • James Wilson: suggest a single, elected president at the Constitutional Convention in 1787

  18. THE EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY • CONCERNS OF THE FOUNDERS: • Most frequent concern was over the possibility of presidential reelection. • Governor of Pennsylvania in the 1700s stated: “Make him too weak: the Legislature will usurp his powers. Make him too strong: he will usurp the Legislature.”

  19. THE EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY • CONCERNS OF THE FOUNDERS: • Suspicious of human nature • President would use militia to overpower state governors • President would use bribery, intrigue, and force to win election

  20. THE EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY • CONCERNS OF THE FOUNDERS: • Argued against Congress choosing the president which would make our system quasi-parliamentary

  21. THE EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY • ELECTORAL COLLEGE: • Each of the states would select electors in whatever manner the states wished • Electors would meet in each state capitol and vote for president and vice president • If tie in the Electoral College the decision goes to the House of Representatives

  22. THE EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY • THE PRESIDENT’S TERM OF OFFICE: • Franklin D. Roosevelt only president to serve more than two terms • 1951 – Twenty-second Amendment limited all presidents to two-year terms

  23. THE EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY • THE FIRST PRESIDENTS: • The presidency was kept modest • President could not appear on coin or currency until dead

  24. THE EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY • THE JACKSONIANS (Andrew Jackson): • Broad changes began to occur in American politics • Altered the relations between president and Congress and the nature of presidential leadership. Was a strong independent President – not afraid of Congress

  25. THE EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY • THE JACKSONIANS (Andrew Jackson): • Jackson vetoed 12 acts of Congress • Jackson demonstrated what could be done by a popular president • Jackson believed in a strong and independent presidency – President stronger than Congress

  26. THE EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY • THE REEMERGENCE OF CONGRESS: • End of Jackson’s second term, Congress quickly established its power • For great periods of time congressional – and usually senatorial – dominated the national government • Abraham Lincoln exemplified a strong president; did much without Congress • Later Congress becomes principal federal institution

  27. THE EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY • President becomes equipped with great powers during a national emergency, and when popular and strong-willed the president can expand his or her powers

  28. THE EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY • Since the 1930s • Presidency has been more powerful no matter who occupied the office and whether or not there is a crisis • WHY? Because government is more involved in our lives today

  29. THE POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT

  30. THE POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT • Most powers are found in Article II of the Constitution • Two types of Powers: • Those he or she can exercise in their own right without formal legislative approval • Those that require the consent of the Senate or the Congress as a whole

  31. THE POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT • POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT ALONE • Serve as commander in chief of the armed forces • Commission officers of the armed forces • Grant reprieves and pardons for federal offenses (except impeachment) • Convene Congress in special sessions • Receive ambassadors • Take care that the laws be faithfully executed • Wield the “executive power” • Appoint officials to lesser offices

  32. THE POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT • POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT THAT ARE SHARED WITH THE SENATE • Make Treaties • Appoint ambassadors, judges, and high officials

  33. THE POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT • POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT THAT ARE SHARED WITH CONGRESS AS A WHOLE • Approve legislation

  34. THE POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT • Woodrow Wilson wrote a book called: Congressional Government • Book describes the president’s powers as “usually not much above routine”

  35. THE POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT • President has great military powers, and in defining the regulations and programs that will actually be put into effect • PRESIDENT IS NOT FIRST BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT; CONGRESS IS

  36. THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT Pages: 381-385

  37. THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT • HUNDREDS OF STAFF • HELICOPTER, GUARDS, LIMOUSINES • PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS

  38. THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT • THREE DEGRESS OF KINSHIP • The White House Office • The Executive Office • The Cabinet

  39. THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT • THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICE • Closest assistants have offices in the West Wing of the White House

  40. THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT • THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICE • Three ways in which the president can organize his or her staff • Pyramid Structure: assistants report through a hierarchy to a chief of staff, who then deals directly with the president • Circular Structure: cabinet secretaries and assistants report directly to president • Ad hoc Structure: task forces, committees, and informal groups of friends and advisers deal directly with the president

  41. THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT • Pyramid Structure: provides for an orderly flow of information and decisions, but does so at the risk of isolating or misinforming the president

  42. THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT • Circular method: has the virtue of giving the president a great deal of information, but at the price of confusion and conflict among cabinet secretaries and assistants

  43. THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT • Ad hoc structure: allows great flexibility, minimizes bureaucratic inertia, and generates ideas and information from disparate channels, but risks cutting the president off from the government officials who are ultimately responsible for translating presidential decisions into policy proposals and administrative action

  44. THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT • THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT • The Executive Office report directly to the president and perform staff services for him but are not located in the White House • President’s appointments to the Executive Office must be approved by the Senate. • Most important Executive Office is The Office of Management and Budget

  45. THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT • THE CABINET: • A product of tradition and hope • The role of the cabinet is largely fiction • Constitution does not mention the cabinet • 25th Amendment implies the cabinet as consisting of “the principal offices of the executive departments • There are 14 major cabinets • Page 3784; Table 14.1 lists the Cabinets • Cabinet appointments rewards the president’s friends and political supporters

  46. THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT • INDEPENDENT AGENCIES, COMMISSIONS, AND JUDGESHIPS: • President can appoint federal judges, subject to the consent of the Senate. • Judges serve for life unless removed by impeachment and conviction • What is an “Acting” appointment • Say for instance I am an “Acting” Appointment – means I have not yet been confirmed by the Senate

  47. WHO GETS APPOINTED

  48. WHO GETS APPOINTED • FEDERAL AGENCIES: • Executive Agencies: Head can be removed at any time • Independent or “Quasi-Independent” Agencies: members serve for a fixed term

  49. WHO GETS APPOINTED • Most of cabinet, subcabinet, and independent-agency appointees had some prior federal experience • They are in-and-outers: go between federal jobs and private sector jobs • Most selected because of expertise or administrative experience

  50. PRESIDENTIAL CHARACTER

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