Chapter 14: The Presidency

Objectives:

1. Explain how presidents differ from prime ministers and the rise of divided government in the United States

   1. Presidents are elected by the people, whereas prime ministers are elected by the legislator. Presidents do not have a guaranteed majority in the legislature, where the prime minister does, because as long as their majority party is in power, the prime minister will remain in power.  Divided government, where one party controls the executive branch where another controls the legislative branch, has become more prevalent. However it is hard to tell whether divided governments are more or less effective then united governments. Divided government is kind of a myth, as Just because one party controls everything doesn’t mean the President and Congressmen will see things the same way.

2. Summarize how the constitutional and political powers of the presidency have evolved from the founding of the United States to the present

   1. There are many constitutional powers that the president has today that were in the Constitution from the time of our founding, such as power to veto legislation, be commander in chief of the army and navy, give pardons and reprieves, and appoint officials, to name a few. In today's day and age however, the power of the president has grown. The president has had more control over policy decisions than ever before and has also been granted additional legislative powers through executive orders and other measures. Additionally, many of the President's policies can now be implemented much faster due to advances in technology and the media.

3. Explain the importance of persuasion for presidential policy making

   1. Persuasion is important for presidential policy making because it convinces stakeholders, such as officials in Washington DC, party activists, and the public, to get onboard with the same positions. In today's day and age, the president uses the media to help reach wider audiences. The president’s usage of his prestige for the public is known as the bully pulpit, and it is used commonly.

4. Discuss why presidential character and organization matter for policy making

   1. Presidential character is important because it can display the distinct personality of the president, which in turn may positively or negatively affect the president. There are various structures that the president can utilize for organization: the pyramid, circular, and ad hoc structure. The pyramid is a rigid line of command in which the chief of staff directly delivers messages to the president, the circular structure is where several assistants report to the president, and the ad hoc structure is where several task forces and committees report to the president. Each of these structures has their own advantages and disadvantages.

5. Describe presidential transitions and their consequences for presidential power

   1. The founding fathers and Constitution did not originally have term limits, but today we have two, four year, term limits on the president, ruling on when the vice president takes over, and the process of impeachment.

President vs. Prime Minister:

• Prime minister is chief executive and is chosen by the legislator
  • Remains in power as long as their party is the majority in the legislature
  • Voters choose members of parliament
• Presidents are often outsiders to show voters they are not part of “the mess in Washington”
  • Prime ministers are selected from parliament members, so they are always insiders
• Presidents choose cabinet members, and they cannot be apart of Congress
  • Prime minister chooses cabinet members, but they are almost always in parliament
• Presidents have no guaranteed majority in the legislature.

Does Gridlock Matter?

• Can’t tell whether divided governments produce fewer or worse policies than unified ones.
• Unified governments are a myth. Just because one party controls everything doesn’t mean the President and Congressmen will see things the same way.
• Unified government is most effective when it’s not just the same party, but the same ideological wing.
• Gridlock is a necessary consequence of representative democracy

Constitutional Powers of the President:

• Article II lists powers the President has
• Powers of the President alone:
  • Commander in chief
  • Commission officers of the armed forces
  • Grant reprieves and pardons
  • Convene in Congress
  • Receive ambassadors
  • Take care that the laws be faithfully executed
  • Wield the “executive power”
  • Appoint officials to lesser offices
• Powers the President shares with the Senate:
  • Make treaties
  • Appoint ambassadors, judges, and high officials
• Powers the President shares with Congress
  • Approve legislation

Concerns of the Founders:

• Presidential elections would be decided mainly by the House due to not winning the electoral college
  • Only happened once
• Abuse of power over the militia
  • Has little significance. Most sources of power come from influencing public opinion and being head of the executive branch.

Electoral College:

• Each state selects electors. Electors vote for the President. One electoral vote is cast for each congressional seat in each state.
• Framers expected the President wouldn’t get enough electoral votes, so the House would make the final decision.
• Large states have their say, and small states are protected.

First Presidents:

• Washington was strongly against political parties
  • Unrealistic. Parties are natural to democracy.
• Establishing legitimacy was easy in the early years, as the national government had little to do.

Jacksonians:

• Broad changes in American politics were happening at the time of Andrew Jackson’s presidency.
• Jackson vetoed 12 acts of Congress. None were overridden. Did not initiate many new policies, but struck out ones he didn’t like.
  • Tension between the two branches was intensified.
• With the end of his presidency, Congress reestablished power. Intensely partisan era.

Popularity and the Power to Persuade:

• Needs to persuade three audiences: Washington DC, party activists, and the public
• Presidential public communication has become more important in this century due to the media.
• Important for Congress members because when a popular president is at the top of a ballot, more of his party’s candidates win their races for Congress.
• Presidents popularity increases after election/reelection

Impoundment of Funds:

• Presidents have refused to spend money appropriated by Congress
• Constitution is silent on whether the president must spend the money Congress appropriates

The White House Office:

• The President's personal staff do not have to be confirmed by the Senate.

• The President can organize his staff through different methods.

  • Pyramid: subordinates report to him through a hierarchy to a chief of staff
  • Orderly flow of information, but at the risk of isolating the president
  • Circular: Several assistants report directly to him
  • Gives president great deal of information, but at the prices of confusion and conflict
  • Ad hoc: several subordinates and committees report directly to him
  • Great flexibility, risks cutting president off from officials

• Common to mix staffing methods.

  

Executive Office:

• Top positions are filled by presidential appointment, so they must be confirmed by the Senate
• One of the most important agencies is the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
• Analyzes figures that go into the national budget, studies organization and operations of the executive branch, devises plans for reorganizing departments, and more.

Cabinet:

• Not mentioned in the Constitution
• Abundance of political appointments does not give the president ample power over the departments

Presidential Program:

• To make a program, the president will draw on several sources:

  • Interest groups.
  • Will have specific plans, but will have a narrow view of public interest
  • Aides and campaign advisors
  • Will test new ideas, but will not have many ideas to test
  • Federal bureaus and agencies
  • Will know what is feasible, but will propose plans to promote their own agencies
  • Outside experts
  • Will have many general ideas, but will not know the details of policy

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