1. Chapter Fourteen
The Presidency

2. Key Questions for Presidency Chapter
How is a president different from a prime minister?
How did the framers view executive power?
What is the current state of executive power?
How has the presidency changed since 1789?
How is the Executive Branch organized?
How is the character of the President related to the accomplishments of various presidents?
What FORMAL and INFORMAL powers does the president possess?
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3. Presidential and Parliamentary Systems
THEME A: THE POWER OF THE PRESIDENT VERSUS OTHER INSTITUTIONS
Presidential and Parliamentary Systems
Presidents may be outsiders; prime ministers are always insiders, chosen by the members of the majority party in parliament
Presidents have no guaranteed majority in the legislature; prime ministers always have a majority
Divided government: one party controls the White House and another controls one or both houses of Congress
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4. Electoral College Almost all states use a winner-take-all system
If no candidate won a majority, the House would decide the election
The Electoral College ultimately worked differently than expected, because the Founders did not anticipate the role of political parties
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5. Map 12.1: Electoral Votes per State
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6. The First Presidents
The office was legitimated by men active in independence and Founding politics
Minimal activism of early government contributed to lessening the fear of the presidency
Relations with Congress were reserved: few vetoes; no advice from Congress to the president
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7. Powers of the President
Potential for power found in ambiguous clauses of the Constitution—e.g., power as commander in chief, duty to “take care that laws be faithfully executed” (executive power)
The Military Commisions Act of 2006
Part 2
CNN’s view of Presidential Signing Statements
Fox News Point of View on Signing Statements
Bill O’Reilly responds!
Greatest source of power lies in politics and public opinion
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8. The Power to Persuade
Presidents try to transform popularity into congressional support for their programs
Presidential coattails have had a declining effect for years
Popularity is affected by factors beyond anyone’s control – consider Bush’s approval ratings following the September 11th attacks
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9. Figure 14.2: Presidential Popularity
What happens to a president’s popularity over time? Why?
How might this trend affect a president’s power and strategy?
You may have to break this into 2 slides.
Thomas E.Cronin, The State of the Presidency (Boston: Little, Brown, 1975), Copyright © 1975 by Little, Brown and Company, Inc. Reprinted by permission. Updated with Gallup poll data, Reprinted by permission of the Gallup Poll News Service.
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10. Figure 14.2: Presidential Popularity
You may have to break this into 2 slides.
Thomas E.Cronin, The State of the Presidency (Boston: Little, Brown, 1975), Copyright © 1975 by Little, Brown and Company, Inc. Reprinted by permission. Updated with Gallup poll data, Reprinted by permission of the Gallup Poll News Service.
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11. Figure 14.3: Presidential Victories on Votes in Congress, 1953-2002
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12. Discussion Questions for Theme A
Given the resources and constraints that confront presidents and prime ministers, which office would you prefer to hold if you were allowed such a choice?
The text concludes that presidential authority began to increase as a result of national crises. Why didn’t presidential power increase after the nation’s first three wars (War of 1812, the Mexican American War, and the Spanish-American War)? Were the wars different or the nation different?
If the expansion of presidential power occurred because of political events and has been fostered by public opinion, under what circumstances might presidential power begin to be limited? Will the historical in favor of expanding presidential power be reveresed?
How has President Bush expanded executive power? Is the new powers he claims constitutional? Is it a good thing that President Bush has expanded the executive’s power?
The text suggests that Congress generally hesitates to chellenge a popular president. Under what circumstances might this maxim not hold true? How can you explain the Clinton impeachment, given the president’s successful re-election campaign and strong approval ratings? How does that compare to the Democrats support of President Bush’s decision to go to war with Iraq?
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13. THEME B: THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF THE PRESIDENCY
White House Office
Rule of propinquity: power is wielded by people who are in the room when a decision is made
Pyramid structure: most assistants report through hierarchy to chief of staff, who then reports to president
Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan, Bush, Clinton (late in his administration)
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14. White House Office
Circular structure: cabinet secretaries and assistants report directly to the president
Carter (early in his administration)
Ad hoc structure: task forces, committees, and informal groups deal directly with president
Clinton (early in his administration)
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15. Figure 14.1: Growth of the White House Staff, 1945-2002
Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics, (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2003),
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16. Figure 12.1: Growth of the White House Office, 1935-1985
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17. The Importance and Power of White House Staff: A Case Study
Karl Rove
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18. The Cabinet Not explicitly mentioned in Constitution
Presidents have many more appointments to make than do prime ministers, due to competition created by the separation of power
Presidential control over departments remains uncertain—secretaries become advocates for their departments
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19. Table 14.1: The Cabinet Departments
What are the responsibilities of each cabinet department?
Which departments are most important? Why?
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20. Presidential Character
Kennedy: bold, articulate, amusing leader; improviser who bypassed traditional lines of authority
Nixon: expertise in foreign policy; disliked personal confrontation; tried to centralize power in the White House
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21. Presidential Character
Reagan: set policy priorities and then gave staff wide latitude; leader of public opinion
Clinton: good communicator; pursued liberal/centrist policies
George W. Bush: tightly run White House; agenda became dominated by foreign affairs following the September 11th attacks
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22. The Veto Power Veto message sent within ten days of the bill’s passage
Pocket veto (only before Congress adjourns at the end of its second session)
Congress rarely overrides vetoes
Commentary on Bush’s first veto and Congress’s failure to overide.
President does not hold line-item veto power
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23. Table 12.5: Presidential Vetoes, 1789-2000
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24. The President’s Program
Resources in developing a program include interest groups, aides and campaign advisers, federal departments and agencies, and various specialists
Constraints include public and congressional reactions, limited time and attention, and unexpected crises
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25. Discussion Questions for Theme B
Why has the president’s staff grown? Many presidents enter office with a commitment to cutting the size of their staff. Why isn’t this goal achieved? Why do presidents rely more on the White House staff than on the various other offices in the Executive Office of the President? Why don’t presidents rely on their cabinets?
The text describes the connections between president’s character and their staffing arrangements. But why would a president’s personality have much to do with the staffing method (circular, pyramidal or ad hoc)? Why must the president rely on staff to devise policy when the executive branch bureaucracy already exists for this purpose?
Presidents frequently sign legislation with which they disagree. Why doesn’t the president simply veto such laws, since Congress seldom manages to override a veto? What kinds of veto strategies would you recommend to a president whose party controlled Congress? Or whose party was in the minority in Congress?
Should the president be grated absolute executive privilege? Have the courts placed too many constraints on the White House staff, in denying them confidentiality in so many of their communications?
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26. Presidential Transition
THEME C: PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION
Presidential Transition
Only fourteen of forty-one presidents have served two full terms (George W. Bush will be the 15th if he finishes his full 2nd term)
Eight vice presidents have taken office upon the president’s death
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27. The Vice President
Prior to 2000, only five vice presidents won the presidency in an election without having first entered the office as a result of their president’s death
The vice president presides over Senate and votes in case of tie
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28. The 25th Amendment (1967)
Allows vice president to serve as acting president if president is disabled
Illness is decided by president, by vice president and cabinet, or by two-thirds vote of Congress
The new vice president must be confirmed by a majority vote of both houses
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29. 1 Vice President and President of the Senate Dick Cheney
This is a list of the current presidential line of succession, as specified by the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 (3 U.S.C. § 19).
# Office Officer
1 Vice President and President of the Senate Dick Cheney
2 Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi
3 President pro tempore of the Senate Robert C. Byrd
4 Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
5 Secretary of the Treasury Henry M. Paulson, Jr.
6 Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
7 Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
8 Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne
9 Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns
-- Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez
(ineligible; not a natural-born citizen)†
-- Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao
10 Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt
11 Secretary of Housing and Urban Dev. Alphonso Jackson
12 Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters
13 Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman
14 Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings
15 Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson
16 Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff ††h
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30. Impeachment Indictment by the House, conviction by the Senate
Presidential examples: Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon (pre-empted by resignation), Bill Clinton
VIDEO: Summary of Clinton Impeachment
Neither Johnson nor Clinton was convicted by the Senate
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31. Constraints on the President
Both the president and the Congress are more constrained today due to:
Complexity of issues
Scrutiny of the media
Greater number and power of interest groups
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32. Discussion Questions for Theme C
What does the peaceful and orderly transfer of power from one president to the next have to do with presidential legitimacy? Can a revolutionary government or a military junta ever be legitimate?
What factors have precluded vice presidents from succeeding “their” presidents in office? Recent vice presidents who have failed in this effort include Nixon 1960, Humphrey 1968, Ford 1976, Gore The two who have recently succeeded are LBJ 1964 and Bush Sr
Unless a president resigns, the chief executive can be politcally removed only through impeachment proceedings. These proceedings are extremely involved and are undertaken only in extraordinary circumstances. Is it a strength or a weakness of the presidential system that its chief executive is so difficult to remove? Does this provide the system with greater stability or does it increase the likelihood of corruption in the executive branch? In other words, does this practice contribute to or detract from the legitimacy of government? Answer your question in light of the Clinton impeachment proceedings and President Bush’s conduct of the Iraq War.
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33. Wrap Up for the Presidency
31W--What are the three most important lessons you learned in this chapter? Which is the most important? Why?
Questions from Chapter 11 worksheet?
Key ideas from supplemental readings:
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