Chapter 11: The President
Chapter 11: The President
I. The President's Job Description
2. Chief executive - Term for the President as vested with the executive power of the United States.
3. Chief administrator - Term for the President as head of the administration of the vast federal bureaucracy.
4. Chief diplomat - Term for the President as the main architect of American foreign policy and spokesperson to other countries.
5. Commander in Chief - Term for the President as commander of the nation's armed forces.
6. Chief legislator - Term for the President as architect of public public policy, both domestic and foreign, and one who sets the agenda for Congress.
7. Chief of party - Term for the President as leader of the political party that controls the executive branch.
8. Chief citizen -
Term for the President as the representative of the people, working for
the public interest, not just the constituents of a State or congressional
district, or those that voted for him/her.
2. The 22nd Amendment limits Presidents to two full terms in office. However, a President who has succeeded to the office beyond the midpoint in a term to which another person was originally elected could serve more than eight years, i.e., a maximum of 10 years.
3. Some have suggested changing the presidential
term in office to a single six-year term (Johnson and Carter, thereby freeing
the President from the pressures of reelection) or an unlimited number
of four-year terms (Truman, Eisenhower and Reagan, arguing that it is undemocratic
because it places an arbitrary limit on the right of the people to decide
who should be President).
2. President receives many fringe benefits, including use of the White House and Camp David, cars and airplanes.
2. After the Vice President, the order of succession is the Speaker of the House, President pro tem of the Senate, Secretary of State (first cabinet officer), and the other 13 cabinet members in order of precedence. [Treasury, Defense, Attorney General, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor...]
3. The 25th Amendment provides for the succession
of the President by the Vice President. The Presidential Succession Act
(1947) established the line of succession following the Vice President.
2. The President may resume his duties by informing the Congress that any previous incapacitation due to disability no inability exists.
3. The cabinet and the Vice President may challenge
the President's resumption of power. If there is a challenge, Congress
has 21 days in which to decide the matter.
b. help decide the question of presidential disability.
4. If the office of Vice President is vacated, the President must nominate a new Vice President. The nomination must be confirmed by a majority vote of both houses of Congress. Vice President Gerald Ford was nominated by President Nixon upon the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew.
5. The two major political parties try to choose vice-presidential candidates who will help "balance the ticket."
6. Regardless of the circumstances, the Vice President cannot be removed from office by the President.
2. The electoral vote was State by State, with each elector casting votes for two candidates.
3. Originally, the candidate with the most votes became President; the runner-up became Vice President.
4. In case of a tie, the House of Representatives
was charged with electing a President.
b. This development led to a tie between Jefferson
and Burr in the election of 1800, and the House finally chose Jefferson.
b. The 12th Amendment required electors to specify which person they wanted for President and which for Vice President, so that the tie of 1800 would never be repeated.
2. The number of votes that a state has in the electoral college is equal to its number of members in BOTH houses of Congress, i.e., number of congressmen, PLUS, the two senators. It tends to favor small states, since the small states are guaranteed at least 3 electoral votes (one house member and two senators) regardless of the state's population.
2. The party that wins the majority of the popular vote in each State gets all of that State's electoral votes. A political concept known as "winner take all."
3. Electors meet at a time set by law to elect the President, and their votes are sent by registered mail to Washington, D.C., where they are counted on January 6th.
4. In case of a tie for either President or Vice President, the decision is made by Congress.
5. Contrary to popular belief, when citizens vote
for President and Vice President of the United States, they are actually
choosing electors pledged to candidate's political party.
2. The Second Major Defect — Electors are not bound by the Constitution or by any federal law to vote for the candidate favored by the people of their State.
3. The Third Major Defect — Elections may
be thrown into the House of Representatives, where voting is State by State.
2. The Proportional Plan — The proportional plan would give each candidate the share of the electoral vote that he or she earned in the popular vote.
3. Direct Popular Election — Under this system, the electoral college would be abolished, and each citizen's vote would count equally toward the presidential election.
4. The National Bonus Plan — Under this complex plan the winner-take-all feature of the electoral college would be kept but weighted in favor of the winner of the popular vote, and the electoral college would be abolished.
5. A Final Word — Defenders of the current electoral college system emphasize that it is a known process, that it identifies the winner quickly and certainly, and that critics exaggerate the danger of an undemocratic outcome.
2. As the country grew and industrialized, especially in times of emergency, people demanded that the Federal Government play a larger role and looked to the President for leadership.
3. Congress has delegated much authority to the President, although presidential control over foreign affairs is greater than it is over domestic affairs. Congress simply continues to assert itself in the implementation of social programs.
4. Presidents have the attention and general respect
of the media, the public, and their own party.
2. Other Presidents have viewed a strong executive as a threat to liberty, and have interpreted the powers of the office narrowly.
2. The President must carry out laws with which he or she disagrees, but nonetheless has discretion in interpreting the laws and deciding how vigorously the laws will be enforced.
3. Most of the powers exercised by the President
is derived from past precedents as well as congressional authorizations.
2. The President has the authority to issue executive orders, which have the force of law.
3. Executive orders are necessary to the functioning
of the executive branch.
2. Most of the important officers appointed by the President, including ambassadors, judges, and cabinet members, must be approved by the Senate. ONLY the Senate can pass on and approve or disapprove presidential nominees. Cabinet: Presidential advisory body, traditionally composed of the heads of the executive departments and other officers the President may choose.
3. Well over half of the officials in the federal
work force are selected through civil service examinations, and thus are
not under the direct control of the President.
2. The President's power to remove people from office has generally been upheld by Congress.
3. Exceptions to the removal at will principle are: all federal judges and members of independent regulatory agencies, e.g., Interstate Commerce Commission. President CAN remove members of his cabinet and of course members of his own White House staff. The White House staff, while considered the President's personal staff, has tremendously increased in influence, even more than cabinet members.
2. The Senate must approve treaties by a two-thirds vote before they become law. ONLY the Senate may pass on and ratify or disapprove of treaties.
3. A small minority in the Senate has sometimes been sufficient to block approval of a treaty.
4. For the most part, Congress as afforded the
President much more control over matters involving foreign affairs that
it has over matters involving domestic policy. Much of that philosophy
stems from the fact that he is recognized as head of state, Commander-in-Chief,
as the chief executive of a major nuclear power, and the perception his
authority, as view by foreign nations. [Remember, the President CANNOT
declare war]
2. Executive agreements do not require Senate
ratification.
2. Diplomatic recognition is a powerful weapon
because recognition, or the lack of it, often determines the future of
a new foreign government.
2. Presidents usually delegate much of their command authority to military subordinates while retaining final authority in military matters.
3. Only Congress can declare war, but Presidents have often used the military without formal declaration of war.
4. There have been numerous undeclared wars in the country's history, including the Korean and Vietnam Wars and "Desert Storm."
5. In wartime, the President's powers as commander in chief have often been expanded to include nonmilitary matters.
6. The President may use the armed forces, including State militias, to keep the peace in times of domestic upheaval.
7. In reaction to the Vietnam War, Congress passed
the War Powers Resolution Act of 1973.
b. It required the President to gain congressional approval if the commitment lasts longer than 60 days.
c. The constitutionality of the War Powers Resolution has been and remains in dispute.
2. The President also recommends specific legislation to Congress.
3. The President has the power to veto legislation. Laws must be vetoed in their entirety, i.e., line-item veto authority has been declared unconstitutional.
4. The President may call special sessions of Congress.
5. The President may also adjourn Congress if
the two houses cannot agree on a date for adjournment.
2. The President may commute sentences. Commutation is the power to reduce (commute) the length of a sentence or fines imposed for a crime committed. Additionally, a President may grant amnesty. Amnesty is a general pardon offerred to an individual or group of law violators.
2. It includes the chief of staff, the counsel
to the President, the press secretary, and expert advisers in many areas.
2. Its members include the Vice President, the
secretaries of state and defense, the director of the CIA, and the chairperson
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
2. It also monitors the spending of funds appropriated
by Congress and oversees the management of the executive branch.
2. It coordinates the efforts of more than 50
federal agencies involved in the "War on Drugs."
2. It is the President's chief source of information
and advice on the economy.
2. Many factors, both political and substantive,
influence the selection of cabinet officials.
b. Very few women and members of minority groups
have been cabinet members in this century.
Chief
Justice Richard Barajas
Advanced Placement U.S. Government
and Politics
Cathedral High School, El Paso,
Texas
Last updated: April 2002