1. The Presidency
Chapter 13

2. Chief of State Rules and reigns Chief Executive
The President’s Roles
Chief of State
Rules and reigns
Chief Executive
Vested with immensely broad powers in both domestic and foreign affairs

3. Chief Administrator
Head of one of the largest government machines in the world
Chief Diplomat
Speaks for the nation around the world

4. Commander-in-Chief
Head of the American military
Chief Legislator
Main architect of public policies
Chief of Party
Leader of his respective party

5. Chief Citizen
Representative of the people
Each role is played simultaneously and is inseparable from the others

6. Formal Qualifications
The President must be:
Article II, Section 1, Clause 5
35 years of age
Has lived in the United States for at least 14 years
Is a natural-born citizen, or a citizen at the time of the adoption of the US Constitution

7. The President’s Term of Office
The President is elected for a four-year term
Article II, Section 1, Clause 1
Originally could serve as long as the Electoral College would elect him
Today, can only be elected to two full terms
Twenty-Second Amendment

8. The pay of the President $400,000 per year Fixed by Congress
Pay and Benefits
The pay of the President
$400,000 per year
Fixed by Congress
Washington paid $25,000 per year
$50,000 taxable expense account
Pension of $181,100 per year
Many other perks.

9. Presidential Succession

10. The Constitution and Succession
If the President dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the Vice President succeeds to the office

11. The Constitution and Succession
The Constitution states: “In case of the removal of the president from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve upon the Vice President.”
Article II, Section 1, Clause 6

12. Presidential Disability

13. The Constitution made no provision for the disability of the President
Dwight David Eisenhower had three serious illnesses
James Garfield
Woodrow Wilson

14. 25th Amendment meets this problem
Disability
25th Amendment meets this problem
Vice President will become acting President
If the President informs Congress in writing that he cannot discharge the powers
The Vice President and a majority of Cabinet inform Congress that the President is incapacitated

15. The Vice Presidency

16. The Importance of the Office
The Constitution pays little attention to the office itself
Vice President has only two formal duties
Preside over the US Senate
Article I, Section 3, Clause 4
Help decide presidential disability
25th Amendment, Section 3 & 4

17. The Importance of the Office
The Vice President is only a heartbeat away from the Presidency
Eight presidents have died in office
One president resigned
Vice Presidency has been vacant 18 times
9 times by succession to President
2 by resignation, 7 by death

18. The Importance of the Office
25th Amendment changes this
When a vacancy occurs, the President will nominate someone who will take the office upon a majority confirmation vote of both houses of Congress
1973 – Gerald Ford
1974 – Nelson Rockefeller

19. The Importance of the Office
President has made the Vice President more important of late
Sits in on Cabinet meetings
Head of NASA
National Security Council
Special Ambassador of President
Still not an assistant President

20. The Importance of the Office
Basic bottom line is that the President of the United States cannot fire the Vice President

21. The Electoral College

22. Apportionment of Delegates
The national committee issues a call for the convention
Tells each state’s party organization how many delegates it is allowed to send.
1996
Republicans – 1,990 delegates
Democrats – 4,320 delegates

23. The Electoral College Today
One of the least understood parts of the American political process
Constitution provides for the election of the President by the Electoral College
Each State has the same number of electors that it has members of Congress
Founders expected the electors would use their own judgment

24. The Electoral College Today
Today, the electors are really just a rubber stamp of the popular vote.
They are expected to vote for their party’s candidates.
They go through the form
It is a far cry from the original intent

25. The Electoral College Today
Electors are chosen by popular vote in every State on the same day
Electors are chosen at large except for Maine and Nebraska (district)
Electors are chosen on a winner-take-all basis
Names of the electors are found on less than one-fourth of the ballots in the US

26. The Electoral College Today
The electors meet in their respective State capitals on the Monday following the second Wednesday in December
They cast their ballots for President and Vice President
The ballots are signed, sealed, and sent to the President of the Senate

27. The Electoral College Today
Formal election of the President does not take place until January 6th
Ballots are opened by the President of the Senate and counted before a joint session of Congress
The candidate who receives a majority of Electoral College votes will be the President

28. The Electoral College Today
The candidate who receives a majority of the Electoral College votes in the vice presidential race will be the vice president.
If no one receives a majority of votes (270 out of 538), the election is thrown into the House of Representatives
House chooses from the top three candidates

29. Flaws in the Electoral College

30. The winner of the popular vote does not become President
The First Major Defect
The winner of the popular vote does not become President
Winner-take-all in the voting
1992 – Clinton won 50% of the vote in New York and all 33 electoral votes
Bush won 2.2 million votes
Perot won 1.1 million votes

31. Way that electoral votes are distributed
The First Major Defect
Way that electoral votes are distributed
California – 55 electoral votes
1 for every 652,614.5 persons
Alaska – 3 electoral votes
1 for every 218,478 persons

32. Popular vote winner has failed to win the presidency four times 1824
The First Major Defect
Popular vote winner has failed to win the presidency four times
1824
1876
1888
2000

33. The Second Major Defect
Nothing in any federal statute or the Constitution requires an elector to vote for the person who wins the state popular vote
States can and do require this
Not sure of the constitutionality of states laws
Virginia and Tennessee do require this