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David Frost with Richard Nixonin 1977

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David Frost Interview with Nixon

• David Frost • Richard Nixon

So what in a sense, you're saying is that there are certain situations, and the Huston Plan or that part of it was one of them, where the president can decide that it's in the best interests of the nation or something, and do something illegal

Well, when the president does it that means that it is not illegal

CONSTITUTIONAL DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT

• Article II– Commander-in-Chief– Appoint offices and fill vacancies– Pardon and grant reprieves– Appoint SC justices– State of the Union– Veto bills

The president ages twice as fast while in office, according to a theory advanced by Dr. Michael Roizen, a chief wellness officer at the Cleveland Clinic. "The typical person who lives one year ages one year," he said. "The typical president ages two years for every year they are in office."

CONSTITUTIONAL DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT

• Article II– Commander-in-Chief– Appoint offices and fill vacancies– Pardon and grant reprieves– Appoint SC justices– State of the Union– Veto bills

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=www.bbc.peachnet.edu/academic_svcs/art_science/chambers/pol101/veto.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.bbc.peachnet.edu/academic_svcs/art_science/chambers/pol101/pol101_top.htm&h=275&w=252&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dveto%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DN

TYPES OF VETOS

• POCKET– Bills within the last ten days of session can

“die”

• LINE-ITEM– President may veto SECTIONS of the bill

rather than the entire bill ITSELF– Ruled unconstitutional– State governors

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/images/20020115_4-crowd-p11906-22jp-515h.html

Diplomatic Power

• Create treaties with foreign nations with Senate permission, 2/3 Senate approval (advice and consent)

• Executive agreement – not permission needed, deal between heads of state, not binding to next administration

• Diplomatic Recognition – power to officially recognize foreign gov as legit– Ex. 1917-1933 – USSR not recognized– Ex. 1949-1970s – China not recognized

# Office Current Officer

1 Vice President Joe Biden

2 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

3 President pro tempore of the Senate Daniel Inouye

4 Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

5 Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner

6 Secretary of Defense Robert Gates[2]

7 Attorney General Eric Holder

8 Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar

9 Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack

10 Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke

11 Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis

12Secretary of Health and Human Services

Kathleen Sebelius

13Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Shaun Donovan

14 Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood

15 Secretary of Energy Steven Chu

16 Secretary of Education Arne Duncan

17 Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki

18 Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano

This role of the President allows him to ensure that the laws of the nation are carried

out fairly.

Appointment Power

• Power to appoint ambassadors, public officers, and Supreme Court Judges with Senate approval (advice and consent)

• Civil Service – most gov jobs under executive filled based on merit system

The Cabinet

• 15 major department heads advising prez

• “Inner cabinet” – Secretary of State, treasury, attorney general, and defense

Hillary Clinton – Secretary of State Robert Gates – Secretary of Defense

The “Kitchen” Cabinet

Executive Orders

• Prez issues executive orders that have force of law

• Ex – power to enforce the Constitution, treaties, laws, etc.– FDR – allowed Japanese internment– Truman – integrate military– Eisenhower – desegregate public schools

Executive privilege

• The right to privacy of conversation between advisors and prez

Why?

1. Separation of powers prevents branches from sharing internal workings

2. Privacy is needed for candid advice from advisors with out political pressure

Executive Privilege

US v. Nixon

- Nixon refused to hand over recorded conversations, claiming Exec. Privilege

- Court ruled in favor of US- EP can’t be used to block the

function of the federal court procedures

• "Elected leaders tend to believe they are responsible for a lot more than they really are. Like the little boy on his first plane trip 'helping' the plane by flapping his arms as the Boeing 747 begins to ascend, legislators often seem to believe that somehow they run the economy and solve lots of problems." -- Curt Leonard, May 13, 2003

•  "In general, presidents and congressmen have very limited power to do good for the economy and awesome power to do bad. The best good thing that politicians can do for the economy is to stop doing bad. In part, this can be achieved through reducing taxes and economic regulation, and staying out of our lives." – Dr. Walter E. Williams, Oct. 30, 2002