The Presidency

AP GOVERNMENTUnit V

Refresh your Memory!

• Who was the youngest U.S. President?

• Who was the oldest P?

• Who was the only P without a party?

• Who was the only Catholic P?

• Who was the only P to ever resign?

• Who dropped the bombs on Japan?

• Who said the “only thing we have to fear is fear itself?”

• Who was the first Republican P?

• P who passed the most massive Civil Rights legislation?

• Who was the greenest P?

The Central Dilemma• The individual (his personality, skills, etc.)

versus history (environment, nature of times)

• Do great presidents make history or does history make them?

• Would a president other than Lyndon Johnson have passed the civil rights legislation of the 1960s?

• Would a president other than FDR have gotten us through the Great Depression and WWII?

• Would a president other than Reagan have dealt as effectively with the Soviets?

Historical Powers of the Presidency:Do you Agree?

1. The Traditional President (late 1700s-early 1930s): presidents did little during this period, and Congress was generally dominant [exceptions?]

2. The Modern President (early 1930s-mid-1970s): a powerful activist presidency prompted by the Great Depression and WWII, Congress become less dominant.

3. The Postmodern President: a weakened presidency whose powers have been sapped by relative economic decline and the growth of interdependence. The world has now “closed in on” the American presidency. The main result of this is that in this new era a president must “go international’ in order to get much of anything done.

Art. II Constitutional Qualifications of POTUS:

(a) 35 or older(b) natural born(c) 14 years of residency(d) term limits (22 amendment-2

terms)(e) disability of president - 25th

amendment. A new non-elected VP needs approval from both houses.

(g) popularly elected – but indirect election through Electoral College.

Many world leaders not elected but selected by someone. i.e., PM’s are chosen by the majority party.

SALARY & BENEFITS:• $400,000 PLUS SALARY!!!!

– ($227,300 – VP – same as Speaker & Chief Justice)

• $50,000 Expense Account +…

• Benefits:– Housing– Transportation– Health Care– Secret Service for Life– Pensions– Movie Theatre

TERM & SUCCESSION:

• 2 Term precedent – from who to who?• 22nd Amendment – 1951 – how long can

POTUS actually serve?– Should this amendment be repealed?

• Reasons for succession:– Death, resignation, impeachment AND

conviction, temporary or permanent disability

• Order of succession:– Determined by Congress – P Succession

Act– VP, Speaker, Pres. Pro Tempore, Sec. of

State ….other cabinet members in order of cabinet creation. Who would be last?

ELECTION

• ELECTORAL COLLEGE• P & VP are only 2 offices in this

country elected by the electoral college method

• Allocation of electoral votes does NOT always reflect the population– CA has approx. 1 electoral vote for

every 500,000 voters– AK has 3 electoral votes for all

183,000 people

Electoral College

• 4 times winner of popular vote has NOT won the P election– 1824 – Jackson lost to John Q. Adams– 1876 – Tilden lost to Hayes– 1888 – Cleveland lost to Benjamin Harrison– 2000 – Gore lost to George W. Bush

• Election date is always the Tuesday after the first Monday in November – why?

• Inauguration is always Jan. 20 (per the 20th Amendment)

• Oath of office is administered by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

ROLES OF POTUS:• Review, brainstorm &

give examples of each:• Chief of State• Chief Executive• Chief Administrator• Chief Diplomat• Commander in Chief• Chief Legislator• Chief of Party

Art. II: Formal Constitutional Powers & Duties of POTUSMILITARY POWERS

• Commander in Chief– What actual powers in this role?

• WHY is a civilian in charge?– Madison in Fed. No. 51: to avoid a

military tyranny• P has more power in this role than

any other• C tries to check it with War Powers

• Most problems between P & Congress• War Powers Resolution of 1973 – why?

– Nixon vetoed / veto overridden• Provisions of War Powers Resolution:

– P can commit troops in 1 of 3 ways:1. Declaration of war by Congress

(only 5 times in history)2. National Emergency3. If use of force is in national interest

– P must advise Congress of troop deployment within 48 hours – and keep Congress advised of actions

– Commitment of troops ends after 60 days UNLESS approved by Congress

Art. II: Military Powers of POTUS

• Resolution has been called a “legislative veto”- is it?– Issue has not yet been resolved by the

Courts• All Ps have deemed War Powers Act basically

unconstitutional and, in many cases, ignored it• Ps who have flaunted war powers?

– Reagan – Grenada– Bush, Sr. – Kuwait/Desert Storm– Clinton – Haiti /Bosnia– George W. – Iraq– Obama – Libya 2011 …. but did notify

Congress of troop deployment there in 2012

Art. II: Military Powers of POTUS

Art. II: Formal Constitutional Powers & Duties of POTUSDIPLOMATIC POWERS

• Make treaties– with “advice & consent” of Senate– 2/3 vote required

• Executive Agreement to get around Senate consent requirement– made with heads of state– examples?– BUT not binding on future Ps like treaties

would be• Recognition – power to recognize foreign

governments

Art. II: Formal Constitutional Powers & Duties of POTUSAPPOINTMENT POWER

• Also with “advice & consent of Senate– Only majority vote required

• Appoints Ambassadors, cabinet members, judges, justices– can fire ambassadors, cabinet– but NOT judges who would have to be

impeached, resign, retire, etc.

• A new POTUS makes approx. 3,000 appointments

• To federal offices (bureaucracy)• Federal/SCOTUS judicial positions• Cabinet

• Divided Government poses problems in appointment – why?

• Harder to get Senate approval• Ideological conflicts• Offices may go unfilled

Art. II: Appointment Power of POTUS

• So… how do appointments get confirmed by the Senate?– To fill positions, POTUS must

• go to public for support• build coalitions in Congress• make deals and compromise• diversify in his choices• do more background screening

• President does have power to make “recess appointments” without Senate confirmation– In June 2014, SCOTUS struck down some of

Obama’s recess appointments – research why.

Art. II: Appointment Power of POTUS

• State of Union address to Congress and the people• How long does P have to act on legislation received

from Congress?– 10 days– Signing statement? Why controversial?

• POWER TO VETO legislation is P’s prime lawmaking power– Usually effective; need 2/3 Congress to override– Only 4% of all vetoed bills overridden– Must attach veto message – why?– More or less use of veto power in divided gov’t?

Art. II: Formal Constitutional Powers & Duties of POTUSLEGISLATIVE POWER

• POCKET VETO– P gets bill in final 10 days of congressional

session– Does nothing– Bill dies

• LINE-ITEM VETO– Governors have it, P’s don’t– Congress gave it to Clinton in 1996

• In Clinton v. City of New York, 1998 – SCOTUS held it unconstitutional grant of power to P by Congress

• Held it violated the presentment clause which governs the law-making process

Art. II: Other Types of Veto Power

• EXECUTIVE ORDERS – P writes law!– Directives that would fall under P’s authority to

“execute” the laws– Source: Constitution: implied; to further acts of

Congress (“execute” the laws)– Can be overturned by Congress – don’t fund it or

pass conflicting law– Can be held unconstitutional by SCOTUS– Can also be overturned by future Ps

Art. II: Legislative PowersORDINANCE POWER

Art. II: Legislative Powers EXECUTIVE ORDERS