THE PRESIDENCY OR, WHO REALLY RUNS THE SHOW???. CONSTITUTIONAL POWERS Delegates to the...
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Transcript of THE PRESIDENCY OR, WHO REALLY RUNS THE SHOW???. CONSTITUTIONAL POWERS Delegates to the...
THE PRESIDENCYOR, WHO REALLY RUNS THE SHOW???
CONSTITUTIONAL POWERS
• Delegates to the Constitutional Convention wary of unchecked power-needed national leadership without tyranny• Balance fear of powerful presidency with
desire for strong leadership• Articles of Confederation did not provide
for national leader• Governors of colonies weak-had few
formal powers
POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT
• Article II• Natural born US citizen• At least 35 yrs. old• Lived in US for minimum of 14 yrs.• Description of presidential duties
purposely vague•Framers already had Washington in
mind as first president-knew he would not abuse powers
PRESIDENTIAL DUTIES
• Administrative head of nation• Supervise and offer leadership to various
departments, agencies and programs created by Congress• Spends more time making policy decisions for
Cabinet departments and agencies than enforcing existing policies
• Commander in Chief of Military• Pres.= highest ranking officer in armed
forces, but Congress has power to declare war (check and balance)
PRESIDENTIAL DUTIES
• Convene Congress• Can call Congress into “special session” on
“extraordinary Occasions”-rarely done• “He shall from time to time…deliver to Congress
a State of the Union”• Has evolved into annual speech to joint session
of Congress that is televised• Veto Legislation
• Can veto any bill or resolution enacted by Congress-except joint resolutions that propose Constitutional amendments
• Congress can override Presidential veto with 2/3 vote in each house
PRESIDENTIAL DUTIES
• Appoint various officials• Federal court judges• Ambassadors• Cabinet members
• Subject to Senate approval
• Make treaties• With “Advise and Consent” of 2/3 of
Senate• Receive ambassadors-evolved into right to
recognize other nations formally
PRESIDENTIAL DUTIES
• Grant pardons• Can pardon persons who have committed
“Offenses against the United States, except in cases of Impeachment”
EXPANSION OF PRESIDENTIAL POWER
• Formal powers• Vetoes have become much more frequent
• Most often when Congress dominated by opposing party
• 1st 16 Presidents (Washington to Lincoln) issued total of 59 vetoes
• Ike issued 181• Reagan 78 vetoes• Bush-not one veto in first term
• Veto threats shape legislation b/c Congress anticipates them and modifies legislation
EXPANSION OF PRESIDENTIAL POWER
• Commander-in-Chief• Enter into foreign conflicts w/o appealing
to Congress for formal declaration of war• Vietnam “conflict” fought w/o declaration• Clinton put troops in Bosnia w/o declaration• Bush ordered retaliatory military strikes and
bombing in Afghanistan though Congress never declared war
INHERENT POWERS
• Authority claimed by Presidents that is not clearly specified in Constitution BUT are typically inferred from Constitution• When a power is claimed, Pres. forces Congress
and the courts to allow or restrict it• If allowed, Pres. leaves legacy of permanent
expansion of Presidential power• Lincoln said urgent nature of South’s challenge to
Union forced him to act w/o waiting for Congress-circumvented Constitution to save nation
• Congress and SC approved of Lincoln’s actions gave legitimacy to theory of inherent powers which has transformed Presidency
INHERENT POWERS
• Executive orders• Presidential directives that carry the force of law• Allow Pres. to act quickly and decisively
• Sometimes used to ensure laws are “faithfully executed”
• IKE ordered Arkansas National Guard into service in Little Rock to enforce court orders to desegregate schools
• FDR used EO to centralize budget-making authority in Exec. Branch and control the growing federal bureaucracy
• Truman issued EO to desegregate armed forces• JFK created Peace Corps• Clinton-”Don’t ask, don’t tell”
INHERENT POWERS
• Executive agreements• Used in foreign policy instead of treaty…
WHY???• Carry force of law
CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION OF POWERS
• Congress gives to Executive branch more responsibility to address various problems• Great Depression-FDR given wide latitude
to solve nation’s economic problems• Bush and Obama-stimulus plans???• Nixon given discretionary power to impose
freeze on prices and wages to combat escalating inflation
EXECUTIVE BRANCH ESTABLISHMENT
• Who else helps?• White House staff helps Pres. formulate
policy• VP can help as much as Pres. allows
•Biden “negotiated” input when he agreed to be VP
• Cabinet Secretaries
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
• All the departments, advisors, etc. that advise the President• Exec. Office employs close to 1600 with an
annual budget close to $375 million
• Chief of Staff• May be first among equals or
unquestioned leader of the staff• Under Nixon, H.R. Haldeman felt his role was to
take heat for President• “Every president needs a son of a bitch, and
I’m Nixon’s”
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
• National Security Advisor• Provide daily briefings on foreign and military
affairs
• Council of Economic Advisors• Report on state of economy• Advise President on best way to promote
economic growth
• Office of Management and Budget (OMB)• Analyzes budget requests, involved in policy-
making, examines agency mgmt. practices
Figure 12.1: Growth of the White House Office, 1935-1985
Figure 14.1: Growth of the White House Staff, 1945-2002
Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics, 2003-2004 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2003), 254-255.
White House Office
• Rule of propinquity: power is wielded by people who are in the room when a decision is made
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
• Three major styles1. Competitive management (Circular
structure)•FDR organized staff so his advisors had
overlapping authority and differing points of view
•Ensured he would get best info., hear all sides, and still be the final decision maker
White House Office
• Circular structure: cabinet secretaries and assistants report directly to the president• Carter (early in his administration)
• Ad hoc structure: task forces, committees, and informal groups deal directly with president• Clinton (early in his administration)
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
2. Hierarchical management (Pyramid structure)• Staff arranged with clear lines of authority
• IKE-former general-placed fewer demands on his time and energy
3. Collegial management (Ad hoc structure)• Loose structure that gives top staffers direct
access• Clinton-fully immersed in details of policy-
making, brainstorming sessions• Less likely to delegate authority to others
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
• The Vice President• Most important job is to take over if the
president dies, is disabled, impeached or resigns• Traditionally not an advisor• Before 25th Amendment, if VP became Pres., a
new VP was not selected• Traditionally carried out political chores
• Campaigning, fundraising, “stroking” party faithful
• VP chosen to appeal/carry regions or coalitions• Think JFK needing South=LBJ• McCain needing NW and female vote=Palin
PRESIDENTIAL CABINET
• Composed of heads of departments of executive branch and other key officials• Greatly expanded since Washington-had
attorney general and Secretaries of State, Treasury and War
• Today there are 15 Cabinet departments-most recently Homeland Security
PRESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP
• Leadership=function of character and skill coupled with political environment
• Character• Biographers argue LBJ had trouble getting
US out of Vietnam b/c of issues w/masculinity--- “did not want to be seen as a coward, running away form Vietnam”
• Nixon had exaggerated fear of his enemies• Created a climate in WH that nurtured
Watergate break-in and cover-up
PRESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP
• Clinton-Monica Lewinsky• Consensual sex with woman half his age
who was an intern in the White House• Reckless and (possibly) immoral-not qualities
that speak to good character• While public was disgusted and angry, many
unconvinced it was an impeachable offense• Great economy, general satisfaction w/Clinton
leadership
• House voted to impeach, but Senate did not have required 2/3 to convict
PRESIDENT’S POWER TO PERSUADE
• Character comes through when faced with dilemma where alternatives carry risk• 1953-IKE-how to deal w/Joe McCarthy (a
Republican like IKE)• IKE chose to work behind the scenes to weaken
McCarthy • Chose not to deal w/him directly b/c IKE was
worried about his own popularity• If he had dealt w/him-witch hunt may have
ended sooner
PRESIDENT’S POWER TO PERSUADE
• LBJ=master persuader• Presidents move at “the margin”
• Get several Congressmen to agree as opposed to large group• Let small group persuade the rest of the group
• Risk big, gain big-may also fail big• Vietnam• Iraq War• Obama’s stimulus/budget, health care
PRESIDENT AND THE PUBLIC
• Popular president has more power to persuade because of public support
• Use TV addresses, remarks to reporters, and public address to speak directly to American people= “going public”
• Closely monitor their standing in the polls• Approval rating highest during first year in office
• “Honeymoon period” = good opportunity to get public support to get bills through Congress
• First term Presidents who got into office with low popularity ratings tend not to win re-election-Ford, Carter
PRESIDENT AND THE PUBLIC
• Public approval affected by 1. economic conditions, such as unemployment
and inflation2. Major events that occur3. Typically lose popularity when involved in a war
with heavy casualties• Not easy to sway public opinion
• Should not be used as leverage when dealing w/Congress
• Responsiveness to public’s views = bedrock of democracy• Need to respond as well as lead public opinion
POLITICAL CONTEXT
• President has greatest success when their party has a majority
• Divided government• One party controls the WH and the other controls
at least one house of Congress• Political schizophrenia?
• Nope-Americans like it this way best, but probably don’t intentionally vote this way
• President elected for stand on national issues and competence in dealing w/national problems• Congress elected for more local matters
POLITICAL CONTEXT
• President will work court of public opinion if he doesn’t have a strong base of Sen. and Reps who feel their election was tied to his (coattails)• Political scientists don’t believe divided
govt. produces gridlock=govt. incapable of acting on important policy issues
• Strong tradition of bipartisan policy-making that facilitates cooperation when govt. is divided
ELECTIONS
• Carter: "The President is the only elected official charged with representing all the people.”• Lashed out against interest groups- “not always
the sum of all single or special interests”• Majoritarianism vs. pluralism
• The very nature of running for office means a candidate has aligned him/herself with specific segments of the population
• Vagueness of some allows voters to interpret meaning
• Nixon promised to end war in Vietnam-no plan
• Obama promised change…in what, how?
ELECTIONS
• Mandate-endorsement by voters to carry out the party platform on which he campaigned• 2000 election, Bush entered office w/o
even illusion of mandate• Emphasized national unity and bipartisanship
instead of popular support• 2004 election won by narrow electoral college
victory• Interpreted reelection as positive referendum on first
term and vote of confidence on foreign policy
POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEMS
• Presidents who come to power right after critical elections have most favorable environment for exerting strong presidential leadership• FDR right after Hoover and Rep. failed to
offer solutions to economic crisis•Weak Presidents are constrained by
affiliation w/political party that is perceived to have old, worn out ideas
POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEMS
• Weak Presidents are constrained by affiliation w/political party that is perceived to have old, worn out ideas•Truman and LBJ well positioned b/c
they were affiliated w/New Deal coalition
• IKE and Nixon needed to get support of voters and leg. in both parties to achieve successful leg. program
• Obama-backlash against Bush/Rep. party
POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEMS
• 1980 turning point for Rep. party• Reagan-anti-New Deal philosophy:
“government is not the solution but the problem”
• Carter-unable to offer new and creative solutions to economic and social problems
• Bush in a position to have built on and strengthen party base-defender of party faith
• Obama-Majority party in Senate helpful when he has appointments to make-esp. Supreme Court
Characteristics of presidents
• Eisenhower – orderly, military style
• Kennedy – bold, articulate, improviser
• Johnson – master legislative strategist, micromanager
• Nixon – expert foreign policy, hated personal confrontation
Characteristics of presidents
• Ford – discussion oriented, genial
• Carter – Washington outsider, micromanager
• Reagan – set priorities let staff work, leader of public opinion
• Bush the Elder – Washington
insider, hands-on manager
Characteristics of presidents
•Clinton – good communicator, followed liberal/center agenda
• Bush II – tightly controlled White House, foreign affairs dominated after 9/11
• Obama…?
The Veto Power• Veto message sent within ten days of the
bill’s passage• Pocket veto (only before Congress adjourns
at the end of its second session)• Congress rarely overrides vetoes • President does not hold line-item veto
power=ability to remove specific dollars from bills
Table 12.5: Presidential Vetoes, 1789-2000
Other powers to remember
• Executive privilege – need for advice but not absolute power
(US v Nixon)
• Impoundment of funds – president can choose not to spend money appropriated by Congress
Presidential transition
• Only 15 of 44 presidents have completed 2 terms – 8 have died in office (4 assassinated)
• Vice president’s job – President of Senate• only 5 have been elected President
(Adams, Jefferson, Van Buren, Bush the Elder and later, Nixon)
• Succession determined by 25th Amendment now
The 25th Amendment (1967)
• Allows vice president to serve as acting president if president is disabled
• Illness is decided by president, by vice president and cabinet, or by two-thirds vote of Congress
• The new vice president must be confirmed by a majority vote of both houses
# Office Officer1 Vice President and President of the Senate Joe Biden2 Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner3 President pro tempore of the Senate Daniel Inouye4 Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton5 Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner6 Secretary of Defense Robert Gates7 Attorney General Eric Holder8 Secretary of the Interior Kenneth Salazar9 Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack10 Secretary of Commerce Gary F. Locke11 Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis12 Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius13 Secretary of Housing and Urban Dev. Shaun Donovan14 Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood15 Secretary of Energy Steven Chu16 Secretary of Education Arne Duncan17 Secretary of Veterans Affairs Erik Shinseki18 Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano
Presidential transition
• President ill?? VP in charge but who decides?
• A new president after a death must choose a new VP and he or she must be confirmed by a majority of BOTH houses
Impeachment
• More judges than presidents get impeached• Only Andrew Johnson, Nixon and Clinton could
have been impeached• Nixon resigned but would have been• Johnson and Clinton indicted by House but not
convicted in Senate
How powerful is the President?
• Less now than before – many constraints on the job
• Complex issues• Constant watch by the media• More interest groups with more power
• Responses to constraints include:• Get things done during honeymoon• Just a few priorities on agenda• Give power to White House staff and
supervise closely