1. Chapter 13
The Presidency

2. The President’s Roles Chief of State Chief Executive
Chief Administrator
Chief Diplomat
Commander in Chief
Chief Legislator
Chief of Party
Chief Citizen

3. Qualifications for President
Natural Born Citizen
35 years old
Live in the United States for at least 14 years
Informal qualifications do exist

4. The President’s Term No term limit up to 1951 22nd amendment
FDR broke unwritten rule of running for more than 2 terms
22nd amendment
elected twice or once if they became President due to succession.

5. Pay and Benefits DON’T COPY
Congress determines the President’s salary, and this salary cannot be changed during a presidential term.
The President’s pay was first set at $25,000 a year. Currently, the President is paid $400,000 a year.
Expense allowance currently at $50,000 a year.
Retirement pension plan
Secret service protection for life
Lives in the 132-room mansion that we call the White House.
Large suite of offices, a staff, the use of Air Force One, and many other fringe benefits.

6. Modern Presidency Dominance in policy making Four Main Features
Develop legislative program & get Congress to approve it
Direct policy making through actions
Office is a large bureaucracy
Symbolize nation so much that held responsible & monitors performance through media coverage

7. Examples of Expansion Theodore Roosevelt Franklin Roosevelt
Make world power
“speak softly and carry a big stick”
Antitrust Laws
Popularity of position
Franklin Roosevelt
Reforms during
Great Depression
Fireside chats

8. Examples (con.) Modern Doctrines Partisanship
Truman-containment of Communism
Bush-go on offensive after terrorists
Partisanship
Only vote for your party
Avoid working for your electorate
Growth of executive branch
Ex. FDR had 103 staffers; Nixon had over 5000
Ex. Washington had 4 Cabinet members; Bush has 15 and extra representatives such as Chief of Staff

9. Public Politics
Polling Data-increase or decrease due to performance in domestic or foreign affairs
Use to push legislation through
State of the Union Address
Lay out agenda
Ceremonies
Make visible to public
Reach out for public support
Rally behind cause or legislation
Special speeches
Appearances on Cable News Programs
Supporters on various television programs

10. Section 2
Succession and the Vice Presidency

11. The Constitution and Succession
25th Amendment
ratified in 1967
Vice President will become President if the President is removed from office.
The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 set the order of succession following the Vice President.

12. Presidential Disability
The Vice President is to become acting President if
(1) the President informs Congress, in writing, “that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” or
(2) the Vice President and a majority of the members of the Cabinet inform Congress, in writing, that the President is thus incapacitated.

13. The Vice Presidency 2 Constitutional duties:
1) preside over the Senate
2) help decide the question of presidential disability.

14. Vice Presidency (con.)
If VP becomes vacant, President nominates new VP
Today, the VP often performs diplomatic and political chores for the President.

15. Vice Presidency (con.)
Used to be considered a “most insignificant office”
Balance out the ticket
Biden for Obama
Ryan for Romney
Interesting note: VP cannot be fired by President—no matter the circumstances

16. Into the Oval Office

17. Section 3
Presidential Selection: The Framers’ Plan

18. Original Provisions
The President and Vice President are chosen by presidential electors.
This group is known as the Electoral College
Originally, these electors each cast two electoral votes, each for a different candidate. The candidate with the most votes would become President, and the candidate with the second highest total would become Vice President.

19. The Rise of Parties
With the rise of political parties in 1796, flaws began to be seen in the system.
Adams beat Jefferson by 3 votes
Jefferson became his VP (rival party)

20. Election of 1800 Tie went to the House of Reps
Took 36 ballots to select Jefferson
Led to a Constitutional change-12th Amendment

21. Section 4
Presidential Nominations

22. How to choose convention delegates?
Primary
Vote for your preference for who you want on ballot
Either by parties or completely open vote
Caucus
Roll call in a community setting
Continue eliminating lowest vote total until voter preference is determined
Party leaders meet after every vote to rally support from the people
Lower turnout than primaries

23. Primary/Caucus Season Today
Starts out with Iowa and then New Hampshire
In 2008 FL and MI were penalized for moving their dates to gain importance
Dems- use proportional delegate count
Reps-winner take all in the states
Some states have both primaries and caucuses

24. The National Convention Goals
(1) name the party’s candidates
(2) bring factions and the leading personalities together
(3) adopt the party’s platform—its formal statement of basic principles, stands on major policy matters, and objectives for the campaign and beyond.

26. Who Is Usually Nominated?
Incumbent President
Political experience factors
State governors
U.S. senators
From larger states
California, New York, and Ohio

27. Section 5
The Election

28. The Electoral College Today
Electors selected based on the winner of the popular vote in that State.
Electors meet in the State capitals on the Monday after the second Wednesday in December to cast their votes for President and Vice President.

29. E.C. Today (con.) On January 6, electoral votes cast are counted
If no candidate wins a majority of electoral votes (270), election is decided by the House of Representatives.

30. Flaws in the Electoral College
(1) Win the popular vote but lose the electoral college vote. This has happened four times in U.S. history (1824, 1876, 1888, and 2000).

31. Flaws (con.)
(2) Nothing requires the electors to vote for the candidate favored by the popular vote in their State.

32. Flaws (con.)
(3) If no candidate gains a majority in the E.C., the House decides.
Happened twice before (1800 and 1824).
Each State is given one vote

33. Proposed Reforms District plan Direct popular election
Electors chosen the same way members of Congress are selected
Direct popular election
Proportional plan
Same percentage of electoral vote as he or she received in the State’s popular vote.
National bonus plan
Winner of the popular vote gets 102 extra electoral votes

34. Support for Electoral College
In most election years, the electoral college defines the winner of the presidential election quickly and certainly.