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Demographic Characteristics of U.S.
Presidents• 100% male• 97% Caucasian• 97% Protestant• 82% of British
ancestry• 77% college
educated
• 69% politicians• 62% lawyers• >50% from the top 3%
wealth and social class• 0.5% born into
poverty• 69% elected from
large states
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Constitutional Qualifications
Must be at least 35 years old
Must have lived in the United States for 14 years
Must be a natural born citizen
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Presidential Benefits $400,000 tax-free salary $50,000/year expense
account $100,000/year travel
expenses The White House Secret Service
protection Camp David country
estate Air Force One personal
airplane Staff of 400-500
Christmas at the White House, 2004
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Presidential Roles
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Constitutional Roles
There are 5 expressed roles of the president found in the constitution
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Head of StateQueen Elizabeth and President Reagan, 1983
President Kennedy speaks at Berlin Wall, 1963
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Head of State
• Performs ceremonial roles• Some examples include:
– Hosting foreign leaders– Throwing the first baseball at a game– Meeting public figures, kings, and queens.
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Bush throws first pitch last Sunday at the opening game between the washington nationals and the atlanta braves
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Chief Executive
President Bush holds cabinet meeting in October, 2005
President Clinton with Janet Reno, the first female Attorney General,
February, 1993
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Chief Executive
• Makes sure the laws of congress are carried out
Examples:– Executive Orders- rules that have the force
of the law– Presidential Appointments/Removals-
appoint or remove people from cabinet, government agencies, etc.
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Chief Executive
• Reprieve- postponement of legal punishment
• Pardon- release from legal punishment
• Amnesty- a group pardon to people for offenses against the government
ex: Carter’s amnesty for draft dodgers
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Commander-in-Chief
President Bush aboard U.S.S. Lincoln, May, 2003
President Johnson decorates a soldier in Vietnam, October, 1966
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Commander in Chief
• Power to make “war” or send troops to fight in a certain area
• Power to support war effort by raising gas, ration food, and use industries to make war goods
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Chief Diplomat
Ronald Reagan 1987
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall”
President Bush and
President Putin of Russia
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Chief Diplomat
• Makes foreign policy decisions– Constant struggle between president and
congress over foreign policy
• Signs Treaties – checks and balances- Congress must
approve
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Chief LegislatorPresident Clinton delivers the State
of the Union Address, 1997
President Roosevelt signs into law the Social Security Act, 1935
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Chief Legislator
• President describes laws and policy he would like to create
• See political cartoon on page 255.
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Unwritten Roles• Many roles of the President have
developed over the course of history.
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Political Party Leader
President Reagan & Vice-President Bush accepting their party’s nomination in 1980
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Party Leader
• Supports his own party
• Patronage: Appoint loyal party members to important positions
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Party Leader• President should represent all people so what about
his party?
• Presidents are sometimes criticized for crossing party lines by the party, the media, and the public.
• When President Clinton compromised with the Republican Congress to enact legislation in 1996, more liberal members of his own party criticized him.
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Crisis Manager
Vice-President Johnson sworn in aboard Air Force One
after President Kennedy’s assassination, 1963
President Bush at Ground Zero after 9-11
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Moral Persuader
President Lincoln during the Civil War, 1862
President Roosevelt and the “Bully Pulpit,” 1910
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Economic Planner
FDR New Deal
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Economic Planner
• This role greatly increased after the “New Deal” of FDR.
• Makes decisions about the budget, government spending, tax policy, etc.
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Chief Administrator• Directs government agencies• Employs 3 million people to conduct
government businesses
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Chief Citizen• Representative of all people
• Works for and represents the public interest