US Gov: The Presidency

Month typically of presidential campaign nomination ?

August

Electors needed to become president?

270 out of 538

Inauguration date?

January 20th - made by the 20th Amendment

Elections where the popular vote failed to win the presidency?

Al Gore v. Bush and Clinton v. Trump

Legislative powers of the president?

veto and persuasion power

Vote needed for overriding presidential veto?

2/3

Presidential use of line-item veto?

Strike out specific parts of the law, the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional

Veto power and modern presidents?

presidents use signing statements

FDR and the veto?

made 12% of all vetos, using it even with small pieces of legislation that he disagreed with

Signing statements?

A written statement by a president upon signing something into law that directs policy

Chair of the Federal Reserve Board?

presidential appointment of this crucial role allows oversight of economic performance

Obama’s Fed chair?

Janet Yellen - worked to reduce unemployment and stabilize the economy

Party roles performed by the president.

the president acts as the party leader and asserts influence in parties operations through selection of party chair and acting as a symbolic leader

Executive agreements?

based on presidents constitutional authority, don’t require congressional approval but are are not binding for future presidents

Presidential role as chief diplomat?

the president acts as leader of diplomatic corps, hosts state dinners, and formally receives international ambassadors

Powers vested in the president by the Constitution?

commander in chief, power over troop deployments, supreme military commander in times of war

Presidential functions and roles that overlap?

chief executive and chief of state

Presidential role that is mostly ceremonial?

Chief of State

Traditional role of the vice president?

first in line of succession, ceremonial role, legislative liaison

Vice presidents who were elected president?

H. W. Bush, Lyndon B. Johnson

Reasons for choosing a vice president

Balancing the ticket

Number of cabinet departments?

15

Cabinet as an advisory body begins with whom?

George Washington

Most recent Cabinet?

Department of Homeland Security

Janet Reno?

First women in big four cabinet position, Clinton appointee secretary of state

Colin Powell?

Bush appointee, first black secretary of state

Executive Office of the President?

office, councils, and boards that help the president carry out day to day responsibilities

Positions within the White House Office?

chief of staff, press secretary, white house council

Chair of the National Security Council?

President

Office of Management and Budget?

creates presidents annual budget, outlines government revenues and expenditures in the fiscal year

Twenty-Fifth Amendment?

determines presidential line of succession, says that a vice president is always needed, and makes plan for when president is unable to function

Line of Succession?

Vice President, Speaker of the House, President Pro Tem, Cabinet Secretaries

Wilson’s illness?

Edith Wilson, his wife, ended up running the white house behind the scenes

Kennedy’s assassination?

prompted the 25th Amendment to be passed

Presidential powers granted by the Constitution?

expressed powers and inherent powers

Presidential powers granted by Congress?

Statutory powers

Emergency powers?

granted to the president by the supreme court

Enumerated Powers in Article 2?

Convene congress, appointment, pardon, commander in chief, treaty, veto

The ‘take care clause’?

cited for the basis of inherent powers

Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase?

Usage of inherent powers, authorized the purchase without congressional approval

Characterize Executive Orders?

special presidential power to issue orders that carry the force of law

Lincoln’s actions during the Civil War?

claimed presidential right to emergency powers through suspending civil liberties for political dissidents

Characterize Emergency Powers?

broadest in international crisis

Characterize Executive Privilege?

authority of president to refuse to disclose confidential information to congress or the Judiciary. Judicial branch has successfully challenged executive privilege in US v. Nixon

Presidential use of the ‘bully pulpit’?

exploitation of the power of the office to persuade the people and communication of stances on important issues

George W. Bush’s approval ratings?

Bush had record high approval ratings after 9/11, going up to 90%

Characterize public approval ratings?

ebb and flow a lot, honeymoon period

‘Rally around the flag’ effect?

the peaks in presidential approval ratings during short term military action

Doctrine of populism?

a political philosophy that emphasizes the needs of the common person

Watergate?

really decreased American trust in the presidency and government, and created a deep cynicism that continues on today

Impeachment Process in Congress?

House of Representatives can accuse the president, then if they vote for impeachment they send the articles of impeachment to the Senate who will vote on wether to officially remove the president

Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton

House impeached Johnson for not being radical enough against slavery, House impeached Clinton for lying to a grand jury about cheating on his wife

First Ladies and their roles?

some have acted behind the scenes, become heads of presidential task forces such as Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama, many have stayed out of the spotlight

The public and a female presidential candidate?

since the 1930s, the percentage of the public who would vote for a female president went up from 33% to 92%