Unit IV - The President notes

Constitutional Origins

Constitutional Origins: writings of Montesquieu and Locke were used.

  • Montesquieu believed in Checks and Balances (the President should be checked and limited by the Legislative and Judicial branches).

What influenced the way the president was created?

  • the Americans did not want a monarchy for a government.

Formal Qualifications: strictly listed in the Constitution, requirements to be a President are; you have to be a natural born citizen, 35 years or older, and must be a resident of the US for 14 years.

Informal Qualifications: not listed in the Constitution (usually just expectations, informal requirements to be a President are; political or military experience, political acceptability, married, white male (not anymore), protestant (or just religious), N. European ancestry.

Term and Tenure

How long can a President serve?

  • a President can serve for a four year term; elected by the Electoral College.

22nd Amendment: Usually 2 term limits, more term limits are added after F.D.R. with the 22nd Amendment (the total years a President can serve for is 8 years.)

Longest serving president?

Succession and Disability

Who fills in for the president?

  • the Vice President fills in when the President can no longer serve (25th Amendment).
  • the President would nominate a Vice President with approval of House and Senate.
  • The Speaker of the House would fill in the role for both Vice President and President.

Who was the first president to die in office?

  • William Henry Harrison was the first President to die in office. \n

What can be done if the president cannot do his job?

  • if the President cannot do his job, they can inform Congress; Vice President is called in temporarily to take place and the President is removed from their position in the meantime.
  • President can resume their duty after informing Congress. If the Vice President and Cabinet disagree; Congress has 21 days to decide by 2/3rds vote for the return of the President.
  • the President cannot be voted out of office by the House of Representatives.

Impeachment and Removal

Impeachment: initiated by the House of Representatives (calls out high crimes and misdemeanors done by the President.)

Removal: second step of Impeachment; Senate holds trial for Impeachment, determines guilt/innocence and punishment by a 2/3rds vote.

What three presidents have been impeached?

  • Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump are all of the current Presidents who have been impeached.

The Vice Presidency

Jobs of the VP: break ties in the Senate and fill in for the President.

  • the qualifications to be a Vice President is the same as the President.
  • the Vice President has no term limit.
  • the Vice President is selected to balance the ticket.

Balancing the ticket: the practice of selecting candidates from different backgrounds, ideologies, or genders to create a more diverse and representative ticket.

  • Different factions
  • Geographic regions
  • Qualifications

In Cabinet, National Security Council acts as President on diplomatic missions.

  • When selecting a Vice President, presidential candidates are looking for someone to "balance the ticket" having qualities different from their own.

Presidential Powers

Executive: enforces laws, executive orders, appoints of officials, presidents over cabinet. (The President can say whatever law they want to be made without Congressional approval.)

  • the Legislative can prevent the President from overdoing creating laws without Congressional approval.
  • the Executive branch is responsible for executing laws that are written and passed by Congress.

Legislative: gives State of Union addresses, issues budget, signs or vetoes bills, proposes legislation, signing statements (presidential interpretation of laws).

  • signing statements are not part of the Constitution.
  • ^^When a president attempts to direct the way in which the bureaucracy enforces a law, this is known as a signing statement.^^

Judicial: appoints members of the federal judiciary, grants reprieves, pardons, commutations, and amnesty (all given to prisoners).

  • ^^pardon: given legal forgiveness of a crime.^^
  • reprieve: you don’t have to serve your sentence; usually given when someone has the death penalty.
  • commutations: decreases the amount of time sentences.
  • amnesty: when a group of prisoners are given pardon / legal forgiveness.
  • ^^the President appoints justices to the Supreme Court.^^

Diplomatic: appoints ambassadors, negotiates treaties and executive agreements, gives diplomatic recognition to foreign governments, and receives foreign dignitaries.

Party: leader of party, chooses VP, helps during elections in Congressional races, influences the party platform.

Military: Commander-in-chief, final decisions on national and foreign defense, provides domestic order

What are some limits on the president's powers?

  • limitations of presidential power consists of overriding presidential vetoes, ^^budget must be approved by Congress,^^ Congress impeachments, senate approves all appointments, ^^War Powers Act (90 days in total, 60 in action;30 removal of troops)^^, Judicial Branch use of Judicial Review, public opinion impacts president’s power, medial will bring more attention to issues, popularity will allow a president more or less power.

  • the President is the commander and chief of the armed forces; they cannot declare war.

Nine Roles of the President:

Chief of State: head of the government (all three federal, local and state levels; entire state).

Chief Diplomat: Head of U.S. Foreign Policy. (Speak on the behalf of the United States in a foreign country.)

Chief of Party: Highest ranking member of party (leads parties to new ideas and concepts).

Chief Executive: has executive powers (responsible for passing and signing / vetoing laws).

Commander-in-Chief: Head of U.S. Armed Forces (cannot declare war but can make final decisions.)

Chief Citizen: representative of all citizens (listens to what the people want and need).

Chief Administrator: Head of Executive Branch and its employees.

Chief Legislator: major influences on policy making (based on what he had said before in conversations.)

Chief Economist: guide of the country’s economy.

Presidential Character

  • Political Scientist James David Barber studied and observed how Presidents tackle their responsibilities by character.

Active-positive: takes pleasure in work of the office, easily adjusts to new situations and is confident in himself. (examples of Active-positive presidents: FDR, Truman, Kennedy, Ford, Carter, Bush).

Active-negative: hard workers but doesn’t always enjoy the work; insecure in position, possibly obsessive or antagonistic. (examples of Active-negative presidents: Wilson, Hoover, LBJ, Nixon).

Passive-positive: easygoing, wanting agreement from others with no dissent, may be overly confident. (examples of Passive-positive presidents: Taft, Harding, Reagan.)

Passive-negative: dislikes politics; tends to withdraw from close relationships (examples of Passive-negative presidents: Coolidge and Eisenhower.)

The Cabinet:

  • Secretaries from the executive departments (15 in total) and attorney general. Usually assists and give advice to the President. ^^Cabinet positions were not originally called for in the Constitution.^^
  • many of these department heads are closer to influence the president than others.
  • department heads can advocate for things they need and serve the president’s needs.

Examples of Departments: State, Treasury, Defense, Justice.