unit 2 : roles and powers of the president notes

chief of state

acts as ceremonial leader

chief executive

• most vague

• ability to appoint people to office

• enforces the laws

chief administrator

in charge of people in federal beaucracies

chief diplomat

meets with other foreign leaders

commander in chief

in charge of military and navy

chief legislator

• veto power

• signs bills to make laws

chief of party

• head of their political parrty

• party in power is the party the president is apart of

chief citizen

president in representation of all citizens

chief jurist

• pardon felons

• appointing powers (supreme court - need senate confirmation)

chief economist

president and congress in charge of keeping unemployment and inflation low)

powers - why is the modern presidency (since FDR) more powerful than the past?

• public demands

• laws

• emergencies

• technology

• examples: wars, recessions, and terrorist attacks

formal powers of the president - written in constitution

• veto and pocket veto - check congress

• foreign policy - commander in chief and treaties

• pardons and retrives

• enforce laws, treaties, and court decisions

informal powers of the president - not written in constitution

• can change with each president - depends on who is in charge

• executive agreements (similar to a treaty)

• persuasion and bargaining - enables the president to secure congressional action (depends on popularity with congress)

• executive orders - allows the president to manage the federal government (can be overridden by supreme court)

• signing statements - informs congress and the public of the president’s interpretation of the law

• executive privilege - keeps certain things private from the public

policymaking influence : powers of persuasion

1. Washington d.c. colleagues

2. party activists and officeholders outside d.c.

3. the public - using the bully pulpit

president program (their agenda) - constraints

• public reaction

• congressional reaction

• limited time

• budget