POLS Chapter 10: The Presidency

what does article 2 do

defines the office of the president

executive power resides in the president

4 year terms

constitutional qualifications

electoral college process

oath of office

why does article one define the office of the congress

because in the beginning we wanted to give power to congress, and not to one person because we were scared of a monarchy (wanted to get away from a king because we didn't like it when we had a king before)

why was the electoral college created

to appoint a president because the founding fathers didn't believe that people were capable/knowledgeable to decide who the president should be, and only a few people were wise enough to pick a president

the electoral college exists ______ and is ______

today, constitutional

explain how the electoral college works

you take the number of representatives in congress for a state, and assign that many voters to a state

these voters are not representatives in congress, they are normal citizens who are active in government

the candidate who wins the most number of votes in a state, gets all the votes in a state

so california gets 55 votes, if 29 vote for the democratic candidate, then the democratic candidate gets 55 votes

votes in December, and the president is decided in January

how many votes does a candidate need in the electoral college to become president

270 (540/2, but there are around 538 members; 435 members of the House of Representatives and 100 senators, plus the three additional electors from the District of Columbia)

popular vote

when we the people vote, and the president is determined by a simple majority (done in November)

does the electoral college vote have authority over the popular vote

yes

when is the popular vote done

when is the electoral college vote done

november

december

constitutional requirements to be president

1. natural born citizen

2. 35 years old

3. 14 years consecutive residency

non-constitutional requirement to be president

male

educated

white

protestant

wealthy

married

"good family man"

masculine (tough, athletic)

name recognition

no scandals

comes from small town (may be more moral)

can relate to the common american people

name the 3 presidents who have gone through at least a part of the impeachment process

Andrew Johnson

Richard Nixon

Bill Clinton

what does the constitution say about the office of the first lady

nothing

how long is the presidential term

4 years (can have 2 terms)

explain the 22nd amendment

limits a president to 2 terms (or 10 years)

what is the significance of 1789 for this chapter

it was the year George Washington became president, and thus, the year the american presidency was established

explain how a president can be in office for 10 years

if a president dies and the vice president comes in and finishes 2 years of that president's term, he can still run for office and be in office for 2 terms (aka 8 years). Same thing works if the vice president finishes 3 years, he then gets 7 years in his actual presidency

what does the 25th amendment and succession act of 1947 do

ensures that there is a smooth transition of power is a president is unable to serve

sets the order in which the president is succeeded by legislative leaders if the president and the vice president us unable to serve

how can a president be removed

1. death

2. resignation

3. impeachment (indictment, to bring charges; only a process)

4. insanity

5. end of terms

what is the connection between the succession act and the 25th amendment

the 25th amendment ratified the succession act

list the succession act in order after the president

vice president

speaker of the house

president pro tempore (president of senate)

secretary of state

secretary of the treasury

secretary of of defense

attorney general

secretary of the interior

secretary of agriculture

secretary of commerce

secretary of labor

secretary of health and human services

secretary of housing and urban development

secretary of transportation

secretary of energy

secretary of education

secretary of veterans affairs

secretary of homeland security

what was the last cabinet department created and what circumstance led to it's creation

department of homeland security; 9/11 (war on terror)

what is the president's salary

400,000

list benefits of being president

white house

camp david retreat

entitled to a lifetime pension equal to the annual pay of a cabinet secretary (200,000)

health care

air force one

given money for travel (100,000), office, staff, secret service protection

state funeral with military honors

define impeachment

the authority (by the house) to bring formal charges against a president for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes or misdemeanors"

explain the process of impeachment

-house of representatives must bring charges

-senate conducts trail if the charges are enough and the chief justice of the supreme court presides over the trial

-conviction require 2/3 vote of members present in the senate

results in removal of the president

describe Andrew Johnson's impeachment

dispute over reconstruction policies in post civil-war south

only one to be trialed

failed to be convicted by a single vote

describe Bill Clinton's impeachment

impeached on the charges of perjury and obstruction of justice and other charges stemming from a sexual relationship with white house intern Monica Lewinsky

not impeached because of the affair, but because he lied about it

was not actually kicked out of office because the charges were not seen as enough for a trial

describe Richard Nixon's impeachment

obstruction of justice and other charges stemming from water-gate break in and cover up

charges were not brought because he resigned before the process could begin

how does the constitution allow for the replacement of the vice president

the 25th amendment and succession act

what happens when a president is insane or incapacitated

vice president acts as the president until the president notifies congress (in writing) of recovery and congress approves of the president's return

how do presidents achieve their goals

by powers of persuasion

powers of persuasion

ability of the president to convince legislatures that a policy should be passed, and explain why what he wants is in the best interest of the country

which president is credited with the Great Society, and what difficulty did he have

Lyndon B Johnson

he wanted to maintain the great society (civil rights programs) while backing the expansion of american military power and the war in Vietnam; he knew the war could cost him everything he accomplished domestically but he was determined to lead war and peace, didn't want to make compromise

scholars maintain he was responsible for one of the greatest disasters in american history, the vietnam war

compare george washington's staff to today

the staff was much smaller when george washington was president, and he had to pay for his secretary out of his own pocket. Today, there are a lot more people who are a part of the staff, it's very large and they're paid by the government

sources of presidential powers

-the constitution (explicit, implied)

-the media (going public, taking a policy to the masses and letting the media push the agenda) CNN pushed democratic agenda, Fox news pushed republican agenda

-personality (we listen to him based on how he acts/ image)

-punishments (can remove people from office)/rewards

explain rewards from the president

gives out rewards and chooses people to be appointed (ambassadors, agency leaders, judges) but listens to senate on who

shadow government

we decided during the cold war, in the event that every cabinet member dies (is bombed for example) one cabinet member is sent out of Washington and put in hiding, just in case everyone in line for president is killed

what is known as the kitchen cabinet

how do you help people who are not in the government. It's a collection of unofficial advisers brought into the white house to advise the president and tell him what problems citizens experience (during the new deal, there was a lot of suffering. FDR solved problems for blacks by having a kitchen cabinet to know what problems they face)

which first lady contributed to making the office of the first lady take a quantum leap to visibility

Eleanor Roosevelt

what are the constitutional duties of the vice president

1. preside over senate (rarely does, usually done by junior senators)

2. cast tie-breaking vote (he rarely needs to)

3. to succeed the presidency

remunerations of vice president

230,700 salary

owns office and staff

official airplane (air force two)

owns white mansion

line item veto

partial veto, president can reject particular provisions of a bill without vetoing the entire bill

describe the road to the presidency

introspection

family agreement

party endorsement

caucus

primary

national convention

election

inauguration

introspection

look at yourself, can you handle being president, so you have any skeletons in your closet

family agreement

will your family support you, you will be away from them often

party endorsement

do democrats or republicans support you

caucus

a meeting of the members of a legislative body who are members of a particular political party, to select candidates or decide policy, meets in all states

most popular: Iowa

primary

open: allows candidates from other parties to attend

closed: only party members are allowed

not all states have primaries, most important: New Hampshire

national convention

only 2

democratic and republican

things that happen

1. proclaim party agenda

2. endorse party leader

3. have fun and collect memorabilia

no debating happens at the national convention

election

popular vote in November

electoral vote in December -(counts votes in january)

inauguration

president takes office January 20th

what are three things the president should note or include in the state of the union?

1. Notes successes of the past year

2. addresses problems

3. outlines his policy agenda for the coming year

when was the executive office of the president created

in 1939, during FDR's presidency

what is the EOP

executive office of the presidency

the president's personal bureaucracy that monitors the work done in cabinet departments and agencies (group of officials devoted to a specific functional issue)

ex: council of economic advisers, office of administration

difference between an executive order and a proclamation

executive order: a command issued by the president required to take place (doesn't have to be publicly known)

proclamation: a formal public statement or announcement (usually made in front of an audience)

in which branch of government did the power reside in the 19th century

legislative (congress)

what is the difference between a king and a president

a king's position is inherited, they serve for life, and they say they have divine right (i think they have complete authority). A president is an elected executive with authority equal to and independent from a national legislature

why did woodrow wilson characterize the 1880's as a "congressional government"?

the real power at the national level resided in congress

what is meant by imperial presidency

a term used to describe the growing power of the presidency

extends the power of the president to the point of almost a king/dictator

strong presidents

Abraham Lincoln

Theodore Roosevelt

Woodrow Wilson

Franklin D Roosevelt

John F Kennedy

George W. Bush

weak presidents

andrew johnson

jimmy carter

(failure to carry out goals)

what president was the people's president

andrew jackson

first president to veto

george washington

how did this president contribute to the growth of the presidency: Abraham Lincoln

the power of the president was extended because he extended powers to himself, took powers away from people, declared war, united the nation

how did this president contribute to the growth of the presidency: Theodore Roosevelt

if we are negotiating with another country, be nice first, then resort to force ("speak softly, and carry a big stick")

he seized the panama canal-extended power of presidency

how did this president contribute to the growth of the presidency: Woodrow Wilson

got us involved with the "league of nations" (played a role in forming it, even though we never really joined it)

the league of nations was the predecessor to the UN

how did this president contribute to the growth of the presidency: Franklin D Roosevelt

New Deal with social security, welfare, affirmative action, extended policy making in the hands of the president

kitchen cabinet

how did this president contribute to the growth of the presidency: John F Kennedy

during conflict with soviet union

cuban missile crisis, soviet put nuclear weapons in cuba

peace corp-put american everywhere in the world

how did this president contribute to the growth of the presidency: George W. Bush

relationship with iraq was odd when HW Bush was president

scholars believe we went to iraq to get saddam hussein

basically george w. bush got us involved in the iraq war

war powers act

gives president powers to execute/wage war without the consent of the U.S. congress

washingtonians

refers to people who live in washington d.c. and spend their career in Washington d.c. (congress, cabinet members, diplomats)

what is senatorial courtesy

senators in president's party expect to strongly influence judicial nominations to district and circuit courts (without the check of a senate confirmation, a president would become an autocrat with complete power)

puts some power in congress over the executive branch

custom of giving senators of the president's party a virtual veto over appointments to jobs, including judicial appointments in their states

senators can tell the president who to appoint/not appoint

roles of the president

head of state

head of government

chief executive

chief diplomat

commander in chief

party leader

duties of the president

forge alliances

mediate conflicts

negotiate decisions

make a state of the union address

sign bills into law (may also make signing statements)

wage war

carry out legislation

setting foreign policy

negotiating with congress

lobbying congress

budget making

signing statements

interpretations or comments that a president makes on a bill when he signs it

head of state

representative of a country's identity

head of government

leader of a political party w/ a partisan agenda

chief executive

at the top level of all hierarchies in the executive branch (take care that the laws be faithfully and fully executed)

appoints members of the white house staff

chief diplomat

treaties

executive agreements (other than treaties)

nominating and receiving ambassadors

commander in chief

of army and navy (war powers act)

party leader

follow agenda of political party (democratic vs republican)

pardon power

exercises leniency toward persons who have committed federal crimes

veto power

forbids a bill from passing (2/3 of the vote in both houses can vote to override the veto, then the bill becomes law)

executive privilege

allows president to refuse requests to publicly disclose the contents of internal documents and conversations with advisers; ensures president receives full and frank advice from staff

executive orders

unilateral commands issued by the president, they have full force of the law (as long as they don't violate the constitution)

allows president to act when congress is unwilling or unable

president implements policies without legislative involvement

appointment powers

president's power to appoint or nominate executive officials and judges, and this must be confirmed by the senate in high offices. This check from congress on the president is known as senatorial courtesy. The president can also remove nominees from office and remove appointees from purely administrative jobs (not federal judges or policy making positions with fixed terms)

how does the president influence the executive branch

chief executive, commander in chief

how does the president influence the legislative branch

lobbying, veto, signing statements

how does the president influence the judicial branch

pardoning power