The President “No man will ever bring out of that office the reputation which carries him into it. The honeymoon would be as short in that case as in any other, and its moments of ecstasy would be ransomed by years of torment and hatred.” —Thomas Jefferson ( )

Executive Powers The “executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States” Commander-in-Chief Grant reprieves and pardons Make treaties (with the “advice and consent” of the Senate) Nomination power (cabinet members, ambassadors and judges, although many appointments are subject to Senate approval) Give to the Congress information on the State of the Union from “time to time” Power to convene Congress “on extraordinary Occasions” Commissions “all the Officers of the United States,” which implies removal power as well The President is to recite an oath of office that reads “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”

Some Examples of Presidents Who Expanded the Executive Power George Washington and the “Neutrality Proclamation” Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase James Polk and the Mexican War Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War George W. Bush and the war on terror

Rankings of “Presidential Greatness” GREAT: Lincoln, F. Roosevelt, Washington NEAR GREAT: Jefferson, Jackson, Wilson, T. Roosevelt, Truman, Polk AVERAGE: Eisenhower, L. Johnson, Kennedy, J. Adams, Cleveland, McKinley, Madison, Monroe, Reagan, J.Q. Adams, Carter, Clinton, Van Buren, G.H.W. Bush, Taft, Hayes, Arthur, B. Harrison, Ford, Obama BELOW AVERAGE: Coolidge, Tyler, Taylor, Fillmore G.W. Bush FAILURE: Hoover, Nixon, Pierce, A. Johnson, Grant, Buchanan, Harding

Presidential Approval Ratings,

What kind of president do Americans want? What kind of President do we get?