exam 1

what arguments were made at the constitutional convention against having a single executive?

single executive would too closely resemble a monarchy

what methods for selecting president did the framers consider but not adopt?

cut and dry popular vote

what are the shared presidential powers?

• president and congress can veto a bill

who said that the president should act with energy, dispatch, and responsibility?

james wilson, delegate from PA, in favor of single executive

what is the essential difference bewyeen formal and informal presidential powers?

formal pres powers are laid out in the constitution, informal powers are not

what are the formal presidential powers?

• being commander in chief

• making treaties

• making executive + judicial appointments

• pardon people

• sign/veto legislation

• convene + adjourn special sessions of congress

• SOTUA

what are some informal presidential powers?

• executive order

• executive privilege

• executive agreement/unofficial treaties

• declare national emergencies

• suspension of writ of habeas corpus

• recognize other ocuntries

• sign statements

• diplomatic relations

• nuclear launch codes

what are the different approaches of a president?

• legal approach- concerned mainly with the legal, formal powers

• institutional approach- focuses on the presidents as an institution, the structure and functions and operations of the president

• political power approach- focuses on the people within the institution of the presidency and how they interact with each other

• psychological approach- the psychological profile of the president, based on activity and affect

what are some positive effects on the presidency associated with allowing the president to serve an unlimited number of terms?

• can keep stability during wartime

• can keep presidents in check since they have to worry about reelection every single term

according to the 25th amendment, what must happen to allow a vp to become acting president?

president must submit a written declaration to the president pro tempore of the senate + speaker of the house that they are unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office

which house of congress holds the power of impeachment?

house with a simple majority

which house of congress determines whether a president is convicted?

senate with a 2/3 majority

what are the strengths of using a survey of historians/political scientists to evaluate the performance of past presidents?

• based on experts/knowledgeable people

what explains the order in which offices are listed in the presidential line of succession?

presidential succession act of 1947

1. vp

2. speaker of the house

3. pro tempore

4. sec state

5. sec treasury

6. sec defense

7. attorney general

8. sec interior

9. all the other sec offices

what are the weaknesses of using a survey of historians/political scientists to evaluate the performance of past presidents?

• these people are biased usually towards the left

• surveys can be very unclear and surface level

• tend to favor strong over limited presidents

• is only relevant to the modern presidency

• surveys cannot account for circumstance (president during peace or war)

what criteria did james david barber use to evaluate the performance of past presidents?

1. activity- level of energy brought to the job

2. affect- satisfaction obtained from the job

what criteria did fred greenstein use to evaluate the performance of past presidents?

1. public communication- energizing, informing, placating, and calling to the public

2. organizational capacity- ability to delegate, extend influence, and design/explain/implement public policy

3. political skill- get people to follow their lead

4. vision- broad policy goals and know how to achieve them

5. cognitive style- how do they think about and handle a problem

6. emotional intelligence- can they separate their feelings from public policy and issues

what criteria did stanley renshon use to evaluate the performance of past presidents?

1. ambition

2. integrity

3. relatedness

what do presidents want to achieve in their relationship with the news media?

1. control of the news agenda

2. positive tone of coverage

3. use influence to shape congress and public opinion

why does the news media provide more coverage of the president in the 20th and 21st centuries than they did in the 19th century?

1. our technological capabilities have expanded

2. theodore roosevelt brought the press into the white house in late 1890s

3. the prominencey of the presidency has increased

4. public interest increased

how do presidents try to shape news coverage?

via who they let into the press corps, what information they give the press secretary, making statements, taking 1-1 interviews

from the presidents perspective, what is the purpose of the daily briefing and who typically conducts it?

press secretary answers questions and gives information, purpose is to try and control the agenda

how can the news coverage of the president be superficial?

reporters are more interested in presidents personal lives/random crap rather than actual politics, writers and editors do not want to confuse or bore their readers so they have to keep it all surface level

why is news coverage of the presidency not systematically biased toward one person, party, or ideology?

the president changes every 4-8 years, everyone just wants a scandal and to be the first one to cover it, and those who do take extreme sides cancel each other out with their radicalness

how can news coverage of the president be distorted?

people overreport on the bad and underreport on the good

what is an example of a theme the media imposes in the coverage of the president?

sleepy joe

what are some of the effects that news coverage can have on public opinion?

it sets the publics agenda and can often reinforce beliefs due to media priming

what were the major points of debate at the constitutional convention?

• presidential selection by the people or something else

• single or plural executive

• what are the powers and responsibilities of the three branches

what did james wilson mean by energy, dispatch, and responsibility?

• energy- AII appointments

• dispatch- treaties, war making

• responsibility- short term, eligible for reelection

what are the constraints on presidential powers?

• can make appointments, but the senate has to confirm

• can contribute to wars, but only sentate can declare war

• can write and sign treaties but senate has to ratify them w 2/3rds

• can sign legislation only after congress has approved it

traditional presidency 1788→1933

congress is the most important branch of government, president is largely ceremonial, president did not develop policy proposals or make appeals for public support or try to persuade congress

modern presidency 1933→present

president surpasses congress in importance, presidents propose legislation, persuades congress to adopt legislation, makes appeals to the public for support

what are some of the challenges of being a modern president?

• your constituency is much bigger

• news coverage is overall more negative

• the publics expectations are much higher, and they blame everything on the president

strong presidential model

theodore roosevelt

• uses formal and informal powers to advance the administrations goals (legal)

• uses strong personal skills to persuade outside actors to advance administration goals (political power)

• uses prior experiences to shape their term in a positive way (psychological)

limited presidential model

william taft

• unable to use, or refuses to use formal and informal legal powers to advance the administrations goals (legal)

• either does not have the personal skills or chooses not to use them (political power)

• allows prior experience to affect their term in a negative way and fails to advance the administrations goals (psychological)

why did the founders not impose a term limit an dmake it four years?

they wanted a short term but they would be eligible for reelection = good behavior

what established the two term limit?

22nd amendment in 1951

• can cause presidents to give up at the end

• the last two years of the first term is basically just for running their reelection campaign

• can promote a lame duck presidency where after midterms they know theyre sunk so they do not try anymore

what are impeachable offenses according to the constitution?

treason, bribery, other high crimes and misdemeanors

who is eligible for impeachment?

president, vp, all civil offices in the US

how does the process of impeachment work?

1. charges are brought to and approved by the house judiciary committee

2. impeachment passes on the house by a simple majority

3. trial takes place in the senate and convicts with a 2/3rd majority

what presidents have been impeached from office?

trump x2

andrew johnson

bill clinton

how can a vacany in the presidency occur?

if the president dies, they resign, are impeached and convicted, temporarily out of commission due to illness/surgery, if the vp and majoirty of cabinet feels the pres is not fit to lead they can appeal to congress to make them take a break

how can a president be temporarily removed from power by congress?

vp and majoirty of cabinet decides the president is not fit to lead, they send a letter to congress and with a total 2/3 approval, the vp becomes acting president until congress feels confident in the presidents ability and change the vote

what are the qualifications to be president?

natural born citizen 35 or older who has resided within the US for 14 years

how do the president and the media most regularly interact?

the press secretary and the press corps

how do press secretarys keep their job?

by limiting the truths they tell and the access they have

what are the white house daily briefings?

daily briefings given to the media via the press sec

backgrounders

gives info on the background (on the record, on background, deep background, off the record)

superficial coverage

conflict, short and sweet, human interest based

bias coverage

trad news, columnists, commentators

media activism

conduit (easy to manipulate) and filter (fact checks, correct false statements)

how is news coverage during the first 100 days different than the rest?

media coverage is increasingly more negative

dunning-kruger effect

ignorant to start (low knowledge, high confidence), then cultured (knowledge increases, confidence decreases), and we end at expert (knowledge is very high, confidence in between ignorant and cultured)

who influences who more: president or the media/news coverage?

more often than not, the news coverage influences the president

what is an exanpkeexample of the medias overall influence ebing limited?

trump 2 2025 SOTUA had about 11% of the whole American population watching, but because of selective exposure, nobodys mind was really changed

what does the psychological approach of the presidency include?

encourages us to understand presidents in order to understand the presidency

what are the three methods of psychological surveying the presidency?

1. survey of historians/political scientists

2. barber - the presidential character

3. greenstein - the presidential difference

what are the pros and cons of barbers approach/presidential character?

pros- dimensions of leadership

cons- placement is subjective, typically favors democratic presidents, doesnt take into account the issues, no reasoning for activity and domain

what are the pros and cons of greensteins approach/presidential difference?

pros- multiple dimensions covered

cons- assessment is subjective