THE PRESIDENCYOR, WHO REALLY RUNS THE SHOW???

CONSTITUTIONAL POWERS

• Delegates to the Constitutional Convention wary of unchecked power-needed national leadership without tyranny• Balance fear of powerful presidency with

desire for strong leadership• Articles of Confederation did not provide

for national leader• Governors of colonies weak-had few

formal powers

POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT

• Article II• Natural born US citizen• At least 35 yrs. old• Lived in US for minimum of 14 yrs.• Description of presidential duties

purposely vague•Framers already had Washington in

mind as first president-knew he would not abuse powers

PRESIDENTIAL DUTIES

• Administrative head of nation• Supervise and offer leadership to various

departments, agencies and programs created by Congress• Spends more time making policy decisions for

Cabinet departments and agencies than enforcing existing policies

• Commander in Chief of Military• Pres.= highest ranking officer in armed

forces, but Congress has power to declare war (check and balance)

PRESIDENTIAL DUTIES

• Convene Congress• Can call Congress into “special session” on

“extraordinary Occasions”-rarely done• “He shall from time to time…deliver to Congress

a State of the Union”• Has evolved into annual speech to joint session

of Congress that is televised• Veto Legislation

• Can veto any bill or resolution enacted by Congress-except joint resolutions that propose Constitutional amendments

• Congress can override Presidential veto with 2/3 vote in each house

PRESIDENTIAL DUTIES

• Appoint various officials• Federal court judges• Ambassadors• Cabinet members

• Subject to Senate approval

• Make treaties• With “Advise and Consent” of 2/3 of

Senate• Receive ambassadors-evolved into right to

recognize other nations formally

PRESIDENTIAL DUTIES

• Grant pardons• Can pardon persons who have committed

“Offenses against the United States, except in cases of Impeachment”

EXPANSION OF PRESIDENTIAL POWER

• Formal powers• Vetoes have become much more frequent

• Most often when Congress dominated by opposing party

• 1st 16 Presidents (Washington to Lincoln) issued total of 59 vetoes

• Ike issued 181• Reagan 78 vetoes• Bush-not one veto in first term

• Veto threats shape legislation b/c Congress anticipates them and modifies legislation

EXPANSION OF PRESIDENTIAL POWER

• Commander-in-Chief• Enter into foreign conflicts w/o appealing

to Congress for formal declaration of war• Vietnam “conflict” fought w/o declaration• Clinton put troops in Bosnia w/o declaration• Bush ordered retaliatory military strikes and

bombing in Afghanistan though Congress never declared war

INHERENT POWERS

• Authority claimed by Presidents that is not clearly specified in Constitution BUT are typically inferred from Constitution• When a power is claimed, Pres. forces Congress

and the courts to allow or restrict it• If allowed, Pres. leaves legacy of permanent

expansion of Presidential power• Lincoln said urgent nature of South’s challenge to

Union forced him to act w/o waiting for Congress-circumvented Constitution to save nation

• Congress and SC approved of Lincoln’s actions gave legitimacy to theory of inherent powers which has transformed Presidency

INHERENT POWERS

• Executive orders• Presidential directives that carry the force of law• Allow Pres. to act quickly and decisively

• Sometimes used to ensure laws are “faithfully executed”

• IKE ordered Arkansas National Guard into service in Little Rock to enforce court orders to desegregate schools

• FDR used EO to centralize budget-making authority in Exec. Branch and control the growing federal bureaucracy

• Truman issued EO to desegregate armed forces• JFK created Peace Corps• Clinton-”Don’t ask, don’t tell”

INHERENT POWERS

• Executive agreements• Used in foreign policy instead of treaty…

WHY???• Carry force of law

CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION OF POWERS

• Congress gives to Executive branch more responsibility to address various problems• Great Depression-FDR given wide latitude

to solve nation’s economic problems• Bush and Obama-stimulus plans???• Nixon given discretionary power to impose

freeze on prices and wages to combat escalating inflation

EXECUTIVE BRANCH ESTABLISHMENT

• Who else helps?• White House staff helps Pres. formulate

policy• VP can help as much as Pres. allows

•Biden “negotiated” input when he agreed to be VP

• Cabinet Secretaries

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

• All the departments, advisors, etc. that advise the President• Exec. Office employs close to 1600 with an

annual budget close to $375 million

• Chief of Staff• May be first among equals or

unquestioned leader of the staff• Under Nixon, H.R. Haldeman felt his role was to

take heat for President• “Every president needs a son of a bitch, and

I’m Nixon’s”

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

• National Security Advisor• Provide daily briefings on foreign and military

affairs

• Council of Economic Advisors• Report on state of economy• Advise President on best way to promote

economic growth

• Office of Management and Budget (OMB)• Analyzes budget requests, involved in policy-

making, examines agency mgmt. practices

Figure 12.1: Growth of the White House Office, 1935-1985

Figure 14.1: Growth of the White House Staff, 1945-2002

Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics, 2003-2004 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2003), 254-255.

White House Office

• Rule of propinquity: power is wielded by people who are in the room when a decision is made

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

• Three major styles1. Competitive management (Circular

structure)•FDR organized staff so his advisors had

overlapping authority and differing points of view

•Ensured he would get best info., hear all sides, and still be the final decision maker

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)

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

2. Hierarchical management (Pyramid structure)• Staff arranged with clear lines of authority

• IKE-former general-placed fewer demands on his time and energy

3. Collegial management (Ad hoc structure)• Loose structure that gives top staffers direct

access• Clinton-fully immersed in details of policy-

making, brainstorming sessions• Less likely to delegate authority to others

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

• The Vice President• Most important job is to take over if the

president dies, is disabled, impeached or resigns• Traditionally not an advisor• Before 25th Amendment, if VP became Pres., a

new VP was not selected• Traditionally carried out political chores

• Campaigning, fundraising, “stroking” party faithful

• VP chosen to appeal/carry regions or coalitions• Think JFK needing South=LBJ• McCain needing NW and female vote=Palin

PRESIDENTIAL CABINET

• Composed of heads of departments of executive branch and other key officials• Greatly expanded since Washington-had

attorney general and Secretaries of State, Treasury and War

• Today there are 15 Cabinet departments-most recently Homeland Security

PRESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP

• Leadership=function of character and skill coupled with political environment

• Character• Biographers argue LBJ had trouble getting

US out of Vietnam b/c of issues w/masculinity--- “did not want to be seen as a coward, running away form Vietnam”

• Nixon had exaggerated fear of his enemies• Created a climate in WH that nurtured

Watergate break-in and cover-up

PRESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP

• Clinton-Monica Lewinsky• Consensual sex with woman half his age

who was an intern in the White House• Reckless and (possibly) immoral-not qualities

that speak to good character• While public was disgusted and angry, many

unconvinced it was an impeachable offense• Great economy, general satisfaction w/Clinton

leadership

• House voted to impeach, but Senate did not have required 2/3 to convict

PRESIDENT’S POWER TO PERSUADE

• Character comes through when faced with dilemma where alternatives carry risk• 1953-IKE-how to deal w/Joe McCarthy (a

Republican like IKE)• IKE chose to work behind the scenes to weaken

McCarthy • Chose not to deal w/him directly b/c IKE was

worried about his own popularity• If he had dealt w/him-witch hunt may have

ended sooner

PRESIDENT’S POWER TO PERSUADE

• LBJ=master persuader• Presidents move at “the margin”

• Get several Congressmen to agree as opposed to large group• Let small group persuade the rest of the group

• Risk big, gain big-may also fail big• Vietnam• Iraq War• Obama’s stimulus/budget, health care

PRESIDENT AND THE PUBLIC

• Popular president has more power to persuade because of public support

• Use TV addresses, remarks to reporters, and public address to speak directly to American people= “going public”

• Closely monitor their standing in the polls• Approval rating highest during first year in office

• “Honeymoon period” = good opportunity to get public support to get bills through Congress

• First term Presidents who got into office with low popularity ratings tend not to win re-election-Ford, Carter

PRESIDENT AND THE PUBLIC

• Public approval affected by 1. economic conditions, such as unemployment

and inflation2. Major events that occur3. Typically lose popularity when involved in a war

with heavy casualties• Not easy to sway public opinion

• Should not be used as leverage when dealing w/Congress

• Responsiveness to public’s views = bedrock of democracy• Need to respond as well as lead public opinion

POLITICAL CONTEXT

• President has greatest success when their party has a majority

• Divided government• One party controls the WH and the other controls

at least one house of Congress• Political schizophrenia?

• Nope-Americans like it this way best, but probably don’t intentionally vote this way

• President elected for stand on national issues and competence in dealing w/national problems• Congress elected for more local matters

POLITICAL CONTEXT

• President will work court of public opinion if he doesn’t have a strong base of Sen. and Reps who feel their election was tied to his (coattails)• Political scientists don’t believe divided

govt. produces gridlock=govt. incapable of acting on important policy issues

• Strong tradition of bipartisan policy-making that facilitates cooperation when govt. is divided

ELECTIONS

• Carter: "The President is the only elected official charged with representing all the people.”• Lashed out against interest groups- “not always

the sum of all single or special interests”• Majoritarianism vs. pluralism

• The very nature of running for office means a candidate has aligned him/herself with specific segments of the population

• Vagueness of some allows voters to interpret meaning

• Nixon promised to end war in Vietnam-no plan

• Obama promised change…in what, how?

ELECTIONS

• Mandate-endorsement by voters to carry out the party platform on which he campaigned• 2000 election, Bush entered office w/o

even illusion of mandate• Emphasized national unity and bipartisanship

instead of popular support• 2004 election won by narrow electoral college

victory• Interpreted reelection as positive referendum on first

term and vote of confidence on foreign policy

POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEMS

• Presidents who come to power right after critical elections have most favorable environment for exerting strong presidential leadership• FDR right after Hoover and Rep. failed to

offer solutions to economic crisis•Weak Presidents are constrained by

affiliation w/political party that is perceived to have old, worn out ideas

POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEMS

• Weak Presidents are constrained by affiliation w/political party that is perceived to have old, worn out ideas•Truman and LBJ well positioned b/c

they were affiliated w/New Deal coalition

• IKE and Nixon needed to get support of voters and leg. in both parties to achieve successful leg. program

• Obama-backlash against Bush/Rep. party

POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEMS

• 1980 turning point for Rep. party• Reagan-anti-New Deal philosophy:

“government is not the solution but the problem”

• Carter-unable to offer new and creative solutions to economic and social problems

• Bush in a position to have built on and strengthen party base-defender of party faith

• Obama-Majority party in Senate helpful when he has appointments to make-esp. Supreme Court

Characteristics of presidents

• Eisenhower – orderly, military style

• Kennedy – bold, articulate, improviser

• Johnson – master legislative strategist, micromanager

• Nixon – expert foreign policy, hated personal confrontation

Characteristics of presidents

• Ford – discussion oriented, genial

• Carter – Washington outsider, micromanager

• Reagan – set priorities let staff work, leader of public opinion

• Bush the Elder – Washington

insider, hands-on manager

Characteristics of presidents

•Clinton – good communicator, followed liberal/center agenda

• Bush II – tightly controlled White House, foreign affairs dominated after 9/11

• Obama…?

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 • President does not hold line-item veto

power=ability to remove specific dollars from bills

Table 12.5: Presidential Vetoes, 1789-2000

Other powers to remember

• Executive privilege – need for advice but not absolute power

(US v Nixon)

• Impoundment of funds – president can choose not to spend money appropriated by Congress

Presidential transition

• Only 15 of 44 presidents have completed 2 terms – 8 have died in office (4 assassinated)

• Vice president’s job – President of Senate• only 5 have been elected President

(Adams, Jefferson, Van Buren, Bush the Elder and later, Nixon)

• Succession determined by 25th Amendment now

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

# Office Officer1 Vice President and President of the Senate Joe Biden2 Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner3 President pro tempore of the Senate Daniel Inouye4 Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton5 Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner6 Secretary of Defense Robert Gates7 Attorney General Eric Holder8 Secretary of the Interior Kenneth Salazar9 Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack10 Secretary of Commerce Gary F. Locke11 Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis12 Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius13 Secretary of Housing and Urban Dev. Shaun Donovan14 Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood15 Secretary of Energy Steven Chu16 Secretary of Education Arne Duncan17 Secretary of Veterans Affairs Erik Shinseki18 Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano

Presidential transition

• President ill?? VP in charge but who decides?

• A new president after a death must choose a new VP and he or she must be confirmed by a majority of BOTH houses

Impeachment

• More judges than presidents get impeached• Only Andrew Johnson, Nixon and Clinton could

have been impeached• Nixon resigned but would have been• Johnson and Clinton indicted by House but not

convicted in Senate

How powerful is the President?

• Less now than before – many constraints on the job

• Complex issues• Constant watch by the media• More interest groups with more power

• Responses to constraints include:• Get things done during honeymoon• Just a few priorities on agenda• Give power to White House staff and

supervise closely