1. The Presidency on Trial
Assessing the Limits of Presidential Power

2. President Bush delivering the State of the Union Address, 2003
"Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas." ~Natalie Maines, lead singer of the Dixie Chicks, at a concert in London (March 10, 2003)
The Dixie Chicks in concert, 2003
President Bush delivering the State of the Union Address, 2003

3. Not Ready to Make Nice Recorded by the Dixie Chicks, 2006
Forgive, sounds good.
Forget, I'm not sure I could.
They say time heals everything,
But I'm still waiting
I'm through, with doubt,
There's nothing left for me to figure out,
I've paid a price, and I'll keep paying
I'm not ready to make nice,
I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as ****
And I don't have time
To go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as ****
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should

4. that she ought to hate a perfect stranger.
And how in the world
Can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they'd write me a letter
Saying that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over
I know you said
Why can't you just get over it,
It turned my whole world around
and I kind of like it
I made my bed, and I sleep like a baby,
With no regrets and I don't mind saying,
It's a sad sad story
That a mother will teach her daughter

5. I'm not ready to
make nice,
I'm not ready to back down,
I'm still mad as ****
And I don't have time
To go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
Cause I'm mad as ****
Can't bring myself to do what it is
You think I should
(Repeat)

6. Forget, I'm not sure I could. They say time heals everything,
Forgive, sounds good.
Forget, I'm not sure I could.
They say time heals everything,
But I'm still waiting

7. The Dixie Chicks & George W. Bush Questions for Discussion
What do you think this song is about i.e. what’s going on?
What do you think is the overall message of the songwriter?

8. The Dixie Chicks & George W. Bush Questions for Discussion
In your opinion, did the Dixie Chicks have a right to criticize the president in a time of war?
Do country music stations and fans have a right to boycott Dixie Chicks’ music?
How does this song, as well as other actions taken by entertainers and the media, serve as a check on presidential power?

9. Formal Checks on
Presidential Power

10. Congressional Checks on the President (Article I)
Make laws (ex: War Powers Resolution)
Override presidential vetoes
Power to declare war
Power of the purse (taxes and funding)
Regulation of the land and naval forces

11. Congressional Checks (cont.)
Impeachment Power (House)
Impeachment Trial (Senate)
President Clinton’s impeachment trial, January, 1999

12. Limits on Presidential Power (Article II)
President elected indirectly by the people through the Electoral College
Selection of president (House) in case of no majority of electoral vote
President must deliver State of the Union address
Senate approves treaties and ambassadors

13. Limits on Presidential Power (Article II)
Senate approves department appointments
“Advice and consent” of federal judge appointments (Senate)
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testifies at her Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing, January, 2005.
Nominee for Chief Justice, John Roberts is sworn in at his Senate Judiciary committee confirmation hearing, September, 2005.

14. Judicial Checks on the President
Judicial review (Marbury v. Madison)
Chief Justice presides over presidential impeachment trial (Article I)

15. Constitutional Amendments
12th – Choosing president & vice president on separate ballots
20th – Presidential succession
22nd – Presidential term limits (2 terms; years total)
25th – Presidential disability and succession

16. Limits on Presidential Power: Informal Checks

17. Public Opinion
In a televised address in March, 1968, President Johnson announced he would not seek the Democratic nomination for president due to sagging public support for his administration and the war in Vietnam.
Though he enjoyed record public support during the
Persian Gulf War, President George H. W. Bush saw
his numbers dip dramatically in the polls and he lost
his re-election bid to democrat Bill Clinton in 1992.

18. The Media

19. Partisan Politics
Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee and vigorous critic of the Bush administration, May, 2005
Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R) battles
President Bill Clinton (D) over the national
budget resulting in the shutdown of the federal
government in 1995

20. Congressional Investigations
Senate Banking Committee begins its
investigative hearings on the Whitewater
scandal during the Clinton administration
(1994)
Oliver North testifies before Congress at the Iran-Contra hearings during the Reagan administration (1987)
Former FEMA director Michael Brown testifies before the House Select Committee on Hurricane Katrina, Sept., 2002

21. Interest Groups & NGO’s
The National Right to Life Committee and other pro-life interest groups spoke out against President Clinton’s veto of the ban on partial birth abortion, 1996
The National Organization of Women, Cindy Sheehan, and others protest the war in Iraq, April, 2006

22. Title: "Bill Clinton's Christmas present from the U.S. House."
Artist: John Pritchett
Date: unknown
Source:

23. Title: “The Madness of King George"
Artist: Drew Sheneman, The Newark Star Ledger Date: December, 2005
Source: