The American Presidency Federalist Paper #70: “THERE is an idea, which is not without its advocates, that a vigorous Executive is inconsistent with the.

The American Presidency Federalist Paper #70: “THERE is an idea, which is not without its advocates, that a vigorous Executive is inconsistent with the genius of republican government. The enlightened well-wishers to this species of government must at least hope that the supposition is destitute of foundation; since they can never admit its truth, without at the same time admitting the condemnation of their own principles. Energy in the Executive is a leading character in the definition of good government. It is essential to the protection of the community against foreign attacks; it is not less essential to the steady administration of the laws…”

US Presidency = republican executive….not monarchical!!!

Philosophy of the Founders

Executive Power is UndilutedArticle 1, Section 1: “All

legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States.”

Article 2, Section 2: “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.”

Constitution Encourages a debate between Congressional & Presidential Supremacy

1790’s: Madison v. Hamilton (Helvidius) (Pacificus)

1980’s:Gingrich v. Cheney

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Presidential Greatness

Notice: The entire top 5 served during a time of PresidentialSupremacy, i.e. a crisis.

Early versus Modern Presidency

Early Presidency • Non-Partisan • Rarely gave public speeches • Did not actively campaign

for the office• Secretary of State was the

stepping stone•

Modern Presidency • Governor of Large or

Southern State is the stepping stone.

• Legislators tend not to make it to the Presidency.

(McCain, Kerry, Dole, Webster, Clay, Calhoun)

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Who Can Become President?

• Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution sets forth the qualifications to be president.

• Must be 35 and a natural-born citizen.• The definition of “a natural-born citizen” was

discussed throughout the 2008 presidential election. Republican candidate John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone, though of two U.S. citizens. Is this considered natural-born?

• Why Can’t he be President?

Electoral College

1. A candidate becomes president bywinning a majority (270) of the electoralCollege votes (538).

2. Each state gets a vote that is equal to its number of congressional districtsplus 2 senators.

3. Actual presidential election is January6th, not the first Tuesday in November.

4. What happens if no presidential candidate gets 270 electoral votes?If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives elects the President from the 3 Presidential candidates who received the most electoral votes. Each State delegation has one vote. The Senate would elect the Vice President from the 2 Vice Presidential candidates with the most electoral votes. Each Senator would cast one vote for Vice President. If the House of Representatives fails to elect a President by Inauguration Day, the Vice-President Elect serves as acting President until the deadlock is resolved in the House. (1800 & 1824)

Pro’s & Cons of Electoral College

Advantages• Limits national fragmentation by

maintaining 2-party system. • Prevents racial, regional, and

economic parties from forming. • Small States get attention from

candidates.• Reinforces federalism

Disadvantages• President could be elected by a minority of

voters. (1824/1876/2000)

• Only swing states get attention from candidates. • Faithless Electors 1988: Elector mistakenly

voted for Benston instead of Dukakis. 2000: DC didn’t cast votes for president in protest.

• Who selects the Electors? The process for selecting electors varies throughout the United States. Generally, the political parties nominate electors at their State party conventions or by a vote of the party's central committee in each State. Electors are often selected to recognize their service and dedication to their political party. They may be State elected officials, party leaders, or persons who have a personal or political affiliation with the Presidential candidate.

•

Who SHOULD elect the President....from a 1787 point of view

1. The People? Problem: Distance, demagoguery, and direct democracy were unacceptableIn 1787. (Yes, we now love democracy and live in the digital age)

2. The national legislature?Problem: Madison wanted an independent executive so that checks and balances would work. (Yes, we now have an ultra-powerful presidency)

3. Electoral College!!!!!!!!!! Solves the problem of distance, makesthe president independently elected, resolves the disagreement between large and small states, and ensures a Line of succession by giving each elector 2 votes.

The Power of The Swing State

1) Abolish The Electoral College

Problem: The winner could be declared with just a small

plurality of votes instead of a strong majority. Also, a close

election would require a nation-wide recount rather than just

recounting the states in question, which would make the process in

such a situation much longer. Would small states and rural

areas now be ignored?

2) Maine/Nebraska Model(1 congressional district = 1 electoral vote)

&(Winning the most votes in the states = 2 electoral votes)

Problem: Does this raise the stakes of gerrymandering and create even more tunnel-vision campaigning?

3. National Bonus Plan(Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. Plan)

This idea, proposed by historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., retains the current Electoral College system, but also awards extra electoral votes as a bonus to the winner of the popular vote. The amount suggested by Schlesinger in his National Bonus Plan is 102 extra

electoral votes (two for every state and two for Washington, DC). 4. Convert the popular vote into the electoral vote.

(Colorado)

Problem: How do we split votes evenly and what if only one or a few states do this? Doesn’t it disproportionately

help/hurt one party?

Reforming The Electoral College

Electoral College Video Cliphttp://www.history.com/videos/the-electoral-college#the-electoral-college

Reforms to the Electoral College

12th Amendment

• The old system gave the electors two votes (literally wrote two names on the ballot). The top two vote-getters became president and vice-president, respectively.

• 12th Amendment still gave electors two votes but they voted for President and Vice-President separately.

2008 Results (Obama v. McCain)

2004 Results (Bush v. Kerry)

1984 Results (Reagan v. Mondale)

1992 Results (Clinton v. Bush)

Domestic Powers of the President

• Enforces laws, treatises, and court decisions. • To convene Congress into special session.

To nominate heads of executive departments, ambassadors, and federal court justices.

Domestic Powers Continued • Grant Reprieves and Pardons. A pardon absolves punishment of a crime and

restores a person’s full rights and privileges. A President can grant a pardon for any federal offense, except in cases of impeachment.

• Veto Power1) A veto prevents a congressional passed law from

going into effect. 2) A presidential veto can be overridden with a 2/3 vote in both chambers. 3) If the president refuses to sign the bill and Congress adjourns within 10 working days of it being submitted to the president then this is a pocket veto. 4) Line-item veto was briefly used.

Presidential Vetoes

Reg Pkt. Tot over % overFranklin Roosevelt 372 263 635

9 1%Harry Truman 180 70 250

12 5%Dwight Eisenhower 73 108 181

2 1%John Kennedy 12 9 21

0 0% 0%Lyndon Johnson 16 14 30

0 0% 0%Richard Nixon 26 17 43

7 16%Gerald Ford 48 18 66

12 18%Jimmy Carter 13 18 31

2 6%Ronald Reagan 39 39 78

9 12%

Bill Clinton 36 1 372 5% 6%

George W. 11 1 12 433%

Barack Obama 0 1 10 0% 0%

Foreign Policy Powers 1) Commander–in-Chief

a) Congress DECLARES war and FUNDS the war, but the President commands the forces. b) Over 200 military actions have taken place but war has only been declared 5 times.c) Examples of presidents acting without congressional approval:

i. Nixon & Cambodia 1970ii. Reagan & LibyaGrenada, & Lebanoniii. George H.W. &Panama.iv. Clinton & Haiti &Bosnia

Foreign Policy Powers (continued)

• Declared Wars include 1812, Spanish-American, Mexican-American, WWI, & WWII.

• Resolutions include Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (Vietnam), Iraq in1991, Afghanistan in 2001, and Iraq in 2002.

• What is the differencebetween a declaration anda war resolution?

Foreign Policy Powers (continued)• Executive Agreements: These are

pacts between the president and other heads of state that DO NOT have the have senate ratification but have same legal status as treatises. E.g., Lend-Lease. Congress limited this power in 1972 and required the president to inform Congress within 60 days of making any executive agreement.

• Chief Diplomat: As chief diplomat, the president directs the foreign policy of the United States and is our nation’s most important representative.

The War of Terror• President George W. Bush created military

tribunals.• He held American citizens as “military

combatants.” • Time Magazine: December 3, 2001: “Since

Sept. 11, the Bush Administration has detained more than 1,000 noncitizens, waged a foreign war, helped Congress broaden wiretap authority, endorsed military trials for alien alleged terrorists and authorized eavesdropping on certain conversations between lawyers and clients.”

• Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2005) a five-justice majority ruled that the commissions, which were outlined by Bush in a military order on Nov. 13, 2001, were neither authorized by federal law nor required by military necessity, and ran afoul of the Geneva Conventions.

Unofficial Powers The Rise of the Rhetorical Presidency:“The President is at liberty to be as big a man as he can. His

capacity will set the limit; and if Congress be overborne by him, it will be no fault of the makers of the Constitution—it will be from no lack of Constitutional powers on his part, but only because the President has the nation behind him, and Congress has not.”

--Woodrow Wilson“The Bully Pulpit.” TR

Legislative Powers: The Power to Persuade

• The president must rely on the cooperation of others if the administration’s goals are to be accomplished.

• The president may use a strategy known as “going public” – using press conferences, public appearances, and televised events to arouse public opinion in favor of certain legislative programs.

• A president who has the support of the public can wield significant persuasive powers over Congress.

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UnofficialPresidential Power (cont.)

• Executive Privilege– United States v. Nixon—limited executive privilege– Clinton’s Attempted Use of Executive Privilege

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Presidential Popularity

Source: Gallup polls, reported in Public Opinion and updated at www.gallup.com. The question asked is, “Do you approve or disapprove of the way[name of president] is handling his job as president?” The 2006 approval rating for G.W. Bush is from CBS News/New York Times poll data.

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The President’s Cabinet

1. Created by Congress2. Headed by a Secretary of AttorneyGeneral.3. Often has conflicted Loyalty

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The Vice President

• The Vice President’s Job– Strengthening the Ticket– Supporting the President

• Presidential Succession• The Twenty-fifth

Amendment• When the Vice Presidency

Becomes Vacant

(DoD photo by R. D. Ward)

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The Vice President Called to Duty

The Vice President Called to Duty