American Government Unit 5

The growth of the Presidency most common myth

The growth of the Presidency most common myth

(Perceived as) all powerful

How many Constitutional Requirements are there for the President

3 of them

The 3 constitutional requirements for the President are

1. 35 years old

2. Natural born citizen

3. Lived in the U.S. for 14 years

George Washington

Precedents - Executive Privilege

What is Executive Privilege

This means to withhold information from congress

Andrew Jackson was the President elected by the

People

Andrew Jacksons big thing was

Popularity

Andrew Jackson and Popularity

(based on) strength of presidency based on popular support

Theodore Roosevelt

bully pulpit and "stewardship theory"

FDR

Savior model

Johnson and Nixon

imperial concept

Ford and Carter

Tethered

Reagan - present

a new model?

Reagan

promised to restore public confidence

a new model?

the new model is hard to tell

What are the 5 Presidential Roles

1. Chief of State

2. Chief Executive

3. Chief Diplomat

4. Commander in Chief

5. Chief Legislator

The Presidents role as Chief of state means to

Symbolized American government

The Presidents role Chief Executive means to

• Power to appoint and remove (agency heads)

• Power to grant pardon & reprieve (for federal convictions)

• Executive privilege

The Presidents role as Chief Diplomat means

• To make treaties - senate

• Executive agreements

• Power of recognition

Even though the President can make treaties they have to be ratified by the ______ , and these do not expire

Senate

The President can make an executive agreement, and this does not need the _________ _________, but they expire when the President leaves office

senates ratification

The Power of recognition (aka formal recognition) means that the President

can decide what countries can befriend America

The Presidents role as Commander in Chief

• Congress has the power to declare war

• War Powers Resolution (1973)

If the President is acting as the Commander and Chief it means that he is in charge of the

armed forces (military)

Does the President have the power to declare war

No

The _________ _______ is what led to the War Powers Resolution (1973)

Vietnam War

The Presidents role as Chief legislator

• Recommend legislation

• Veto Power

  • Rider

• Impoundment Power

The President is not a law maker, but they can

Recommend legislation

The power to Veto means that the President can

Reject a Bill (However this is not final, but is used often)

What percentage from both chambers of congress can overturn the Presidents veto?

2/3rds

What is a Rider?

Something lawmakers know that the President doesn't like but they attach it onto something that the President does like

What is Impoundment power?

Confiscating what they didn't want (signing the bill but not spending the money)

If the president does not want to go on record for supporting a bill but thinks that it should be passed or does not care, then he can...

Do nothing, or let the bill sit for 10 days (then the bill automatically becomes a law)

What are the 3 things that the President can do with a bill?

1. Recommend legislation

2. Veto Power

3. Do nothing

What are the 3 parts of The Institutional Presidency

1. The cabinet

2. The Executive Office of the President

3. White House Management Styles

The cabinet is the

Head of different departments (Helps the president perform their role as the CEO)

The Executive Office of the President

• 10 different organizations 3 Examples are

1. Office of Management and Budget

2. Council of Economic Advisors

3. National Security Council

What does the Office of Management and Budget do?

Help prepare and control the budget (Congress controls the budget)

What does the Council of Economic Advisors do?

Give economy advice

What does the National Security Council do?

• Provide help with the Presidents 3rd and 4th function (Dealing with Foreign policy and Commander and Chief)

White House Management Styles - 2 Structures

1. Loose Structure

2. Tight Structure

The Loose Structure approach is the ________ approach

Wheel

What does the Wheel approach do?

• Makes the president more accessible

• Keeps the President more in the know

The tight structure approach is the __________ approach

Pyramid

What does the Pyramid approach do?

• Only a handful of people know

• The President is freer for bigger issues

• The downside is that Presidents can be blind sighted because important decisions are made by advisors

The Vice Presidents duties are

vaguely defined

What is the 1 job of the Vice President?

To be in charge of the Senate (and they don't even do this)

Profile of the Federal Bureaucracy Pervasive Myths

Incompetent and unresponsive

Political Appointees

• Patronage

• Spoils System

Patronage is defended by

Jackson

Spoils system led to

the perception of corruption

Merit system is associated with who's assassination in 1881

Garfeild's

What act was created in 1883 because of Garfield's assassination

The Pendleton Act 1883

The Pendleton Act established

Civil Service System

Civil Service System

apart of the merit system

The wage system is made up of ________ ________ workers

white collar

Implementing policies of the National government

• Proxy Administration

• Outsourcing

In a Proxy Administration the government is

indirectly involved

With Outsourcing the government is

not involved, they give it over to a 3rd party

Cabinet Department

head of departments (has the most people)

Executive Office of the President

about 10 agencies which are not a part of the cabinet

Regulatory Commissions

Given sectors of the economy to monitor, they can fire you

Government Corporations

They pay their way to make profit

Where do Bureaucrats work? (4 places)

• Cabinet Departments

• Executive Office of the President

• Regulatory Commissions

• Government Corporations

Overview of Bureaucratic Growth

• Pre-Civil War

• Expansion of U.S.

• Great Depression

• World War 2

• Political leaders

• Public support

What is the Presidents most powerful tool to check Bureaucratic power?

It is to appoint agency heads (leadership)

What are the 3 ways that Congress uses its power of oversight when limiting Bureaucratic power?

1. Funding (Resources) Rewarding or taking away money (appropriation Budget)

2. Investigation into any agency

3. Can pass a bill to say how the operate (Legislation)

In what way do the Courts limit Bureaucratic power?

Due process (no one is above the law)

What is a Whistleblower?

a bureaucrat who reports wrongdoing in their own agency

What does the Bureaucratic pathology Clientelism mean?

Favoritism - they are supposed to be objective and treat everyone equally, not like they are clients

What does the Bureaucratic pathology Incrementalism mean?

The tendency to resist change (in small ways)

What does the Bureaucratic pathology Arbitrariness mean?

Inconsistent application of the law

Presidential reform efforts

Various committees and commissions

The Various approaches to Bureaucratic Reforms

• Privatization

• Ombudsman

Privatization

Outsourcing, to turn those services over to the private sector because sometimes the private sector can do it better

Ombudsman

Listens to the citizens complain and then addresses the company on your behalf

The power of the merit system is

job security (they cannot be fired for political reasons)

The power of the Expertise is

that knowledge is power (people who have a specific knowledge are more powerful)

The power of discretion is

leaving the details to the bureaucrats

Who were the 2 political leaders who saw the most dramatic increase

1. FDR

2. LBJ