Presidential Powers Intro

Hail to the ChiefHail to the Chief

Demographic Characteristics of U.S.

Presidents

• 100% male• 100% 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

Fortunate Son Recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival

(1969)Some folks are born made to

wave the flag,

Ooh, they’re red, white and blue.

And when the band plays, “Hail to the Chief,”

Ooh, they point the cannon at you, lord,

It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no senator’s son, son.

It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no fortunate one, no.

Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,

Lord, don’t they help themselves, oh.

But when the taxman comes to the door,

Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,

It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no millionaire’s son, son.

It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no fortunate one, no.

Fortunate SonRecorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival

(1969)

Some folks inherit star spangled eyes,

Ooh, they send you down to war, lord,

And when you ask them, “How much should we give?”

Ooh, they only answer more! more! more! yo,

It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no military son, son.

It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no fortunate one, one.

It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no fortunate son, son.

It ain’t me, it ain’t me, I ain’t no fortunate son, no, no, no.

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

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

Presidential Roles

Head of State

Queen Elizabeth and President Reagan, 1983

President Kennedy speaks at Berlin Wall, 1963

Chief Executive

President Bush holds cabinet meeting in October, 2005

President Clinton with Janet Reno, the first female Attorney General,

February, 1993

Commander-in-Chief

President Bush aboard U.S.S. Lincoln, May, 2003

President Johnson decorates a soldier in Vietnam, October, 1966

Chief Legislator

President Clinton delivers the State of the Union Address, 1997

President Roosevelt signs into law the Social Security Act, 1935

Political Party Leader

President Reagan & Vice-President Bush accepting their party’s nomination in 1980

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

Moral Persuader

President Lincoln during the Civil War, 1862

President Roosevelt and the “Bully Pulpit,” 1910

Formal Powers of the President

Constitutional or enumerated powers of the presidency

Found primarily in Article II of the Constitution

Formal Powers: Commander-in-Chief

Commander in Chief of the Army & Navy Commander in Chief of the state militias (now

the National Guard) Commission all officers

Formal Powers: Chief Executive

“Faithfully execute” the laws Require the opinion of heads of executive

departments Grant pardons for federal offenses except for

cases of impeachment Nominate judges of the Supreme Court and all

other officers of the U.S. with consent of the Senate

Fill vacancies that may happen during recess of the Senate

Formal Powers:Foreign Affairs

Appoint ambassadors, ministers and consuls

Make treaties subject to Senate confirmation

Receive ambassadors

Formal Powers:Chief Legislator

Give State of the Union address to Congress

Recommend “measures” to the Congress

Upon “extraordinary occasions” convene both houses of Congress

Formal Powers:Chief Legislator (cont.)

Presidential Veto

Veto Message within 10 days of passing the House of origin

Pocket Veto - President does not sign within 10 days

Congress can override with 2/3 majority from both Houses

Veto Politics Congressional override is difficult (only 4%)

Threat of veto can cause Congress to make changes in legislation

• Those powers not explicitly written in the Constitution

• Similar to “necessary and proper” powers of Congress

• In the modern era (since 1933), the President’s informal powers may be significantly more powerful than his formal powers

Informal Powers

Executive Orders• Orders issued by the

President that carry the force of law

• Clinton’s “Don’t ask don’t tell” gays in the military policy

• FDR’s internment of Japanese Americans

• GWB trying suspected terrorists in military tribunals

Notice for Japanese “relocation,” 1942

Executive Agreements• International agreements, usually related to trade, made

by a president that has the force of a treaty; does NOT need Senate approval

• Jefferson’s purchase of Louisiana in 1803 • GWB announced cuts in the

nuclear arsenal, but not in a treaty; usually trade agreements between

US and other nations

Executive Privilege• Claim by a president that he has the right to decide

that the national interest will be better served if certain information is withheld from the public, including the Courts and Congress

• United States v. Nixon (1973) – presidents do NOT have unqualified executive privilege (Nixon Watergate tapes)

Questions for Discussion• Why are informal powers more important

than formal powers, particularly to modern presidents?

• Identify several advantages and disadvantages of the use of the president’s informal powers.

• Has the use and perhaps abuse of the informal powers created an “Imperial Presidency?” Defend your answer.

Presidential Quotations

President Harry S. Truman

"I sit here all day trying to persuade people to do the things they ought to have the sense to do without my persuading them. That's all the powers of the President amount to."

Truman, 33rd President, 1945-53

President John F. Kennedy

“No easy problem ever comes to the President of the United States. If they are easy to solve, somebody else has solved them.”

President Kennedy’s nationally televised address during the Cuban Missile Crisis,

October, 1962

President Lyndon B. Johnson

“The presidency has made every man who occupied it, no matter how small, bigger than he was; and no matter how big, not big enough for its demands.”

President Johnson, 36th President, 1963-69

President Richard M. Nixon

"Under the doctrine of the separation of powers, the manner in which the president personally exercises his assigned executive powers is not subject to questioning by another branch of government." In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal,

President Nixon departs the White House after his resignation, Aug., 1974

President George W. Bush

“To those of you who received honors, awards, and distinctions, I say 'Well done.' And to the C students, I say 'You, too, can be president of the United States.'”President George W. Bush, speaking at Yale University's 300th commencement ceremony

President Bush, 43rd President, 2001-present