1. The Presidency Chapter 8 American Government: Continuity and Change
9th Edition
(to accompany Comprehensive, Alternate, Texas, and Essentials Editions)
O’Connor and Sabato
Pearson Education, Inc. © 2008

2. The Origins and Rules Governing the Office of President of the United States
Royal Governor
Earliest example of executive power in the colonies
Appointees of the King
“Powers of appointment, military command, expenditure, and — within limitations — pardon as well as with large powers in connection with the powers of lawmaking”
Disdained and distrusted by colonists
After the American Revolution, state constitutions limited the powers of governors.
Those who were directly elected, as in NY, were given greater powers.

3. Origins and Rules of the Presidency
Under the Articles
No executive branch
18 different men served as president of the Continental Congress in name only
Had no actual authority
Delegates to the Constitutional Convention believed an executive was needed.
Difficulty determining how to select the president
Created the Electoral College
Other areas less difficult to resolve

4. Presidential Qualifications and Terms of Office
Must be a natural-born citizen
At least 35 years of age
Resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years
Serves a four-year term with eligibility for reelection
First president, Washington, sought reelection once - set tradition/precedent
Franklin D. Roosevelt elected four times
Twenty-Second Amendment (ratified in 1951) limits presidents to two four-year terms

6. Office of Vice President
Orderly transfer of power if official, immediate stand in for the president required
Death or emergency
Also made vice president the preceding officer of the Senate (except in cases of impeachment)
Did not want any state short their senator
VP could break ties

7. Impeachment Impeachment First step in the process
The power delegated to the House of Representatives in the Constitution to charge the president, vice president, or other “civil officers” with “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors”
First step in the process
Check on the president by Congress
Only two presidents impeached
Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton
Nixon resigned before he could be impeached.

8. Rules of Succession Eight presidents have died in office.
William Henry Harrison the first- caught cold at his inauguration in 1841 and died one month later
Abraham Lincoln first president to be assassinated in 1865
1947 Congress passed the Presidential Succession Act
Lists in order those in line after the vice president to succeed the president
Speaker of the House of Representatives
President pro tempore of the Senate
Secretaries of state, treasury, and defense, and other Cabinet heads in order of the creation of their department
Secretary of Homeland Security may get to move to the 8th position, after the Attorney General, if the law is changed
Never used
There has always been a VP

10. Twenty-Fifth Amendment
Adopted 1967 to set procedures for:
filling vacancies in the office of president and vice president.
procedures to deal with the disability of a president.
President may appoint a new VP, subject to the approval of a simple majority of Congress
Used twice
Nixon to replace Agnew with Ford
Ford to select new VP
Also contains a section that allows the VP and a majority of the Cabinet (or some other body determined by Congress) to deem a president unable to fulfill his duties
President can also voluntarily relinquish duties
1985, Reagan made G.H.W. Bush acting president during Reagan’s eight-hour surgery
VP Cheney acting president in 2002 while Pres. Bush underwent a colonoscopy

11. Constitutional Powers of the President
Appointment Power
Power to convene Congress
Power to make treaties
Executive agreements
Formal government agreement entered into by the president that does not require the advice and consent of the Senate
Veto Power
Formal constitutional authority of the president to reject bills passed by both houses of Congress, thus preventing their becoming law without further congressional action
Line-item veto
Commander in Chief
War Powers Act 1973
Pardoning Power
Pardon: An executive grant providing restoration of all rights and privileges of citizenship to a specific individual charged or convicted of a crime

15. The Development and Expansion of Presidential Power
President’s authority is limited by the formal powers found in Article II of the Constitution
Crises may trigger expansions of presidential power
Presidents face limitations as well as opportunities as the nature of the times may dictate.

17. Establishing the President’s Authority: The First Presidents
President Washington’s precedents
Established the primacy of the national government
Held regular meetings with his advisers (establishing the Cabinet system)
Asserted the prominence of the chief executive’s role in foreign affairs
Claimed inherent power of the presidency
Powers that can be derived or inferred from what is formally described in the Constitution
John Adams
Emergence of political parties
Thomas Jefferson
Role of president in the legislative process

18. Incremental Expansion of Presidential Powers: 1809-1933
Most presidents from Madison to Hoover failed to exercise the powers of the presidency in any significant manner
Andrew Jackson was the first president to act as strong national leader.
Made extensive use of veto power
Reasserted the supremacy of the national government (and the presidency) by facing down South Carolina’s nullification of a federal tariff law

19. Incremental Expansion of Presidential Powers: 1809-1933
Lincoln argued that the inherent powers of his office allowed him to circumvent the constitution in a time of war or national crisis in order to make sure the laws of the U.S. were faithfully executed
Suspended the write of habeas corpus
Expanded the size of U.S. army above Congress’s mandates
Ordered a blockade of southern ports (initiating war without congressional approval)
Closed the U.S. mails to treasonable mailings

20. The Growth of the Modern Presidency
Today Congress often is just too slow to respond to fast-changing events (esp. in foreign affairs).
In the 20th and 21st centuries, the trend has been for presidential decision making to be more important.
Trend began with the four-term presidency of F.D.R.
New Deal brought new bureaucracy
F.D.R. personalized the presidency
Picture from National Gallery/national archives.

21. The Presidential Establishment
Vice President
The Cabinet
No basis in the Constitution
Informal institution
Major function: advisory
The First Lady
Abigail Adams
Edith Bolling Gait Wilson
Eleanor Roosevelt
Hillary R. Clinton
Laura Bush
Picture from the National Archives

23. The Executive Office of the President
EOP
Establishment created in 1939 to help the president oversee the executive branch bureaucracy
Most important members:
National Security Council
Council of Economic Advisors
Office of Management and Budget
Office of the Vice President
U.S. Trade Representative

24. The White House Staff
Personal assistants to the president, including senior aides, their deputies, assistants with professional duties, and clerical and administrative aides
Chief of Staff
Size increased over time
Bill Clinton cut staff by 15%
Current White House has 435 staffers

25. President as Policy Maker
FDR sent a legislative package to Congress and broke tradition.
He said, “It is the duty of the President to propose and it is the privilege of the Congress to dispose.”
Shifted the presidency into a law- and policy-maker role
National Archives

26. President’s Role in Proposing and Facilitating Legislation
Today the public expects the president to formulate legislative plans to propose to Congress.
Presidents must construct coalitions within Congress that will work for passage of his legislation.
Difficult task, particularly when president presides over divided government
More likely to win on bills central to their announced agenda
Better to initiate early in term (honeymoon)
Can use patronage and personal rewards to gain support
Use political party as a support

27. The Budgetary Process and Legislative Implementation
Congress had primary responsibility for the budget process until 1930
1921- Creation of the Bureau of the Budget
Bureau of Budget moved to EOP
Nixon changed its name to Office of Management and Budget
OMB prepares the president’s annual budget proposal, reviews the budget and programs of the executive departments, supplies economic forecasts, and conducts detailed analyses of proposed bills and agency rules.

28. Policy Making Through Regulation
Executive Order:
A rule or regulation issued by the president that has the effect of law
All executive orders must be published in the Federal Register
Truman ordered an end to segregation in the military via an executive order
Affirmative action was institutionalized as national policy through Executive Order by L.B. Johnson in 1966
G.W. Bush executive orders
Stem cell research
Military tribunals
1978 Presidential Records Act

29. Presidential Leadership
Often the difference between great and mediocre presidents centers on their ability to grasp the importance of leadership style.
Seat of power from which decisions could flow to shape the national destiny
Neustadt - presidential power is the power to persuade

30. The Power to Persuade Going Public
Mobilizing public opinion by going directly to the public
Going over the heads of Congress to gain support from the people who can then put pressure on their elected officials in Washington
Picture from White House web page/public use/educational purposes

31. Public’s Perception of Presidential Performance
President has the best chances of convincing Congress to follow his policy lead when his public opinion ratings are high
Presidential popularity, however, follows a cyclical pattern
Highest level of approval at the beginning of their terms
Each action the president takes is divisive (some will approve, others will not)
Disapproval tends to have a cumulative effect so in general approval wanes over time
Since Lyndon Johnson’s presidency, only four presidents have left office with approval ratings of more than 50%