The Presidency

1 December 2009

Announcements

• Papers will be ready to collect from the school office when you return from Holiday

• Final exam is scheduled for Saturday, 16 January 15:00-16:30. You will be notified of the location.

• Review sheet for the final exam

Powers of the Presidency

• How much power do presidents actually have? • Why do some presidents succeed while others fail?• What is success? How can it be defined?

The President and the Constitution

• The president’s constitutional duties and authority are found in Article II of the Constitution.– commander in chief– executive – diplomat – legislator

Emergence of the Modern Presidency

• Prior to 20th century, president exercised little power• Congress was the main institution – leadership in policymaking• Growth of federal government and complexity of policy led to

increased role for president• Also, involvement in world wars• Staff, resources grew as asserted more power (Executive Office of

the President)

Sources of Presidential Power

• Constitutional powers-formal powers• Delegated powers vs. implied powers

– Example: Executive privilege is implied as an incident of executive necessity and power

• Presidential popularity

Presidential Popularity (Bush)

Presidential Popularity (Obama)

Link to Presidential Approval Tracker on USA Today

Voters’ Focus on Presidents

• Voters expect president to act in area of foreign affairs.• Support the president in crisis situations.

– “Rally ‘round the flag” effect: The tendency for the public to back presidents in moments of crisis.

– While voters are supportive initially, they tend to demand quick results, and often forget foreign policy accomplishments, particularly if domestic economic issues become concerns.

Rally events

Rally events and Bush’s Approval Ratings

Link to Washington Post Polls

Presidential Legislative Agenda

How popularity can influence Congress

• Differences between president’s own party and opposition. Who will react most to changes in popularity?

• Who gets credit?• Presidents may behave differently when they are popular (less

willing to compromise?)

Reasons for Influence on Own Party Members

• Policy agreement• Successful president helps party• Small favours

– Fundraisers, photo op

Reasons for Less Influence on Own Party Members

• No sanctions• Little personal contact between president and rank and file

members• Different constituencies

– National vs. district/state

The President As Legislator:The Veto

• Perhaps the president’s most formidable tool in dealing with Congress is the veto.

• Constitution defines the veto precisely.• Used relatively rarely – most used by Gerald Ford. In the past 50

years, the average is fewer than 10 vetoes a year.• The veto allows the president to block congressional action, but

does not allow the president to substitute his own policy preferences.

Trends in Veto Use

Vetoes by President

Presidential Vetoes (1960-2007)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Kennedy Johnson Nixon Ford Carter Reagan Bush Clinton Bush

Regular Vetoes Pocket Overridden

War Power

• Presidents have more constitutional discretion with respect to foreign policy. But, presidents may not act contrary to the expressed will of Congress.

War Power

• Prior to Civil War presidents seldom acted on their own on military matters.– Abraham Lincoln first to action based on an expanded

interpretation of commander in chief.– Theodore Roosevelt: sent ships to Japan without Congressional

approval of cost– Not since WWII has Congress officially declared war.– Truman fought the Korean War without any congressional

declaration at all.

Vietnam

• Focused attention on the issue of executive authority• Eisenhower and Kennedy sent “advisors”• Johnson asked for Tonkin Bay Resolution

– Authorized response to attack with armed force (was told that U.S. had NOT invaded N. Vietnam’s territorial waters – but in reality they had)

– Gave president the authority “to take all necessary measures” to repel any attacks and to “prevent further aggression.”

– Resolution was legal basis for a war that would last 8 more years but based on misinformation from the Johnson administration.

War Powers Resolution

• 1973 congressional resolution requiring the president to notify Congress formally upon ordering U.S. troops into military action.– Troops must be withdrawn unless Congress approves the

presidential decision within 60 days after notice of the military action has been received.

War Powers Resolution & 9/11

• At Bush’s request passed war on terrorism resolution.– One dissenting vote in the House.– President authorized to “use all necessary and appropriate

force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept 11, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism.”

– No limit placed on time period in which president may act.– Second resolution focused continuing threat posed by Iraq.

But required Bush to exhaust “diplomatic or other peaceful means” of resolving the conflict prior to resorting to force.

Treaty Power

• Treaties are official agreements with foreign countries that are ratified by the Senate (by 2/3rds).

• Because a small number of Senators can block a treaty, Presidents opt instead for executive agreements

• These are agreements with foreign countries that require only a presidential signature. Power not found explicitly in the Constitution.

• Most executive agreements either are extensions of treaties ratified by the Senate or involve routine presidential actions that have been authorized by Congress.

Use of Executive Agreements