The PresidencyChapter 13

THE PRESIDENT’S JOB DESCRIPTION

Section 1

Introduction

• What are the roles and qualifications of the office of the President?• The President’s roles include:

• Chief of state• Chief executive• Chief administrator• Chief diplomat• Commander in chief• Chief legislator • Chief citizen

• Qualifications for President include being 35 years old, a natural born U.S. citizen, and having lived in the United States for 14 years.

Presidential Roles

• The President acts as chief of state, the ceremonial head of the U.S. government and the symbol of the American people.

• The President is the chief executive, holding the nation’s executive power in domestic and foreign affairs.

• The President is the chief administrator, directing the more than 2.7 million civilian employees of the executive branch.

Presidential Roles

• The President is the nation’s chief diplomat, the main architect of American foreign policy and the nation’s chief spokesman to the rest of the world.

Presidential Roles

• The President is the commander in chief of the 1.4 million men and women of the nation’s armed forces.

Presidential Roles

• The President is the chief legislator, proposing laws that set the congressional legislative agenda.

• The President is the unofficial head of the political party that controls the executive branch.

• The President is the unofficial chief citizen, expected to champion the public interest and be the representative of all the people.

Formal Qualifications

• The President must be a natural born citizen of the United States.

• The President must be at least 35 years of age.

• The President must have been a U.S. resident for at least 14 years.

Terms in Office

• The Constitution sets no term limits for the presidency.

• George Washington set the custom of serving two terms.

• Franklin Roosevelt broke this custom by being elected to four terms from 1932 to 1944.

Terms in Office

• The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1944, limits Presidents to no more than two full elected terms in office.

• If a President succeeds to the office after the middle of a term, he or she can still seek two full terms.

• No President can serve more than 10 years in office.

Views on Term Limits

• Many people, including some Presidents, have argued that the two-term rule unfairly limits the right of the people to choose their President.

• Some say it also weakens a President’s influence at the end of the second term in office.

• Supporters say the amendment protects against abuse of executive power.

• Some have argued for a single six-year term, which would free the President from worrying about reelection.

Pay and Benefits

• Congress decides the President’s annual salary.• This salary cannot be changed while a President

is in office.

• The current salary, set in 2001, is $400,000 a year plus $50,000 a year for expenses.

• The Constitution forbids the President from receiving any other pay from the government or the States while in office.

Pay and Benefits

• The President also receives many benefits, including the White House, Air Force One, Camp David, a fleet of cars, a large staff, a suite of offices, excellent healthcare, and many other fringe benefits.

PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION & THE VICE PRESIDENCY

Section 2

Introduction

• What occurs when the President is unable to perform the duties of the office?

• If a President dies, resigns, or is removed by impeachment, the Vice President succeeds to the presidency.

• If the President is temporarily incapacitated, the Vice President becomes Acting President until the President can resume office.

Presidential Succession

• The Vice President succeeded the President nine times in U.S. history, beginning with John Tyler replacing William Harrison in 1841.

• At first, the Vice President technically assumed only the powers and duties of the presidency.

Presidential Succession

• However, the custom was that the Vice President took the presidential office as well.

• Under the 25th Amendment, adopted in 1967, the Vice President now formally assumes the office of President.

Order of Succession

• The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 sets the order of succession after the Vice President.

• The presiding officers of Congress are followed by the heads of the cabinet departments in the order that they were created.

Presidential Disability

• For many years, there were no provisions for deciding if a President was too disabled to continue in office.• Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke in 1919 and

was too ill to meet with his cabinet for seven months.

• President Eisenhower had three serious but temporary illnesses while in office.

• In 1981, President Reagan was badly wounded in an assassination attempt.

Presidential Disability

• The 25th Amendment addressed the disability issue. The Vice President becomes Acting President if:• The President informs Congress, in writing,

that he or she cannot carry out the powers and duties of the office, OR

• The Vice President and a majority of the members of the Cabinet inform Congress, in writing, that the President is incapacitated.

The Vice Presidency

• The Constitution gives the Vice President two formal duties: to preside over the Senate, and to help decide if the President is disabled (under the 25th Amendment).

• Otherwise, the Vice President must be ready to assume the duties of the presidency if necessary.

The Vice Presidency

• Historically, the office of Vice President has had low status.

• Often the vice presidential candidate is chosen because he or she can balance the ticket, helping the president get elected due to personal characteristics such as ideology, geographic background, race, ethnicity, or gender.

• This puts little emphasis on the presidential qualities possessed by a vice presidential candidate.

The Vice Presidency Today

• Recent Vice Presidents have had more political experience and influence.

• Dick Cheney is widely viewed as the most influential vice president in history.

• Joe Biden, right, brought years of foreign policy experience to his office.

The Vice Presidency Today

• No Vice President has been given as much power as the President, in part because the President cannot remove the Vice President.• What does this

cartoon imply about the growth of the power of the Vice President?

Vice Presidential Vacancies

• The vice presidency has been left vacant nine times by succession, seven times by death, and twice by resignation.

• Under the 25th Amendment, the President can fill a vice presidential vacancy by nominating a Vice President, who must be confirmed by both houses of Congress.• In 1973, Gerald Ford became the first Vice

President appointed in this fashion.

THE FRAMERS’ PLANSection 3

Introduction

• How did the process of choosing a President change over time?• At first electors cast two votes for president, each

for a different candidate. The winner became President and the runner-up became Vice President.

• The 12th Amendment added separate electoral votes for President and Vice President.

• Electors also pledged to vote for their party’s candidates.

The Constitutional Debate

• The Framers of the Constitution debated whether to have the President chosen by Congress or by the popular vote of the people.• Opponents of congressional selection felt it

would upset the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches.

• Opponents of popular election felt that the people would not know enough about the candidates to make wise choices.

The Electoral College

• The Framers agreed on a plan put forth by Alexander Hamilton.

• They created the electoral college, a special body of presidential electors representing each state.• Each state would have as many electors as it had

senators and representatives in Congress.

• The state legislatures would decide how presidential electors would be chosen in each state.

The Electoral College

• Each elector would cast two electoral votes, each for a different candidate. • The candidate with the most electoral votes

would become President.

• The candidate with the second-most votes would become Vice President.

• The Framers did not anticipate the rise of political parties competing for the presidency.

The Election of 1796

• In 1796, the Democratic-Republican candidate Thomas Jefferson finished a close second to Federalist John Adams.

• Jefferson then became Adams’s Vice President, even though they were political rivals.

The Election of 1800

• In 1800, the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans faced each other again.

• For the first time, each party nominated two candidates, one for President and one for Vice President.• John Adams and Alexander Hamilton formed the

Federalist ticket, while Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr were the Democratic-Republican candidates.

The Election of 1800

• Each party also nominated electors who, if chosen, swore to vote for their party’s presidential and vice-presidential nominees.

• In the map at right, the orange areas voted for Adams, the green for Jefferson.

The Election of 1800

• As per the electoral college rules, each Democratic-Republican elector cast two presidential votes, one for Jefferson and one for Burr.

• As a result, Burr and Jefferson tied.

The Election of 1800

• Popular opinion favored Jefferson, who had run as the party’s formal presidential candidate. But there was no rule stating that he should win the electoral tie.

• Instead, it took the House of Representatives 36 separate votes to break the tie and elect Jefferson as President, making Burr the Vice President.

The Election of 1800

• The 12th Amendment, ratified in 1804, separates the vice presidential and presidential elections.

• Each presidential elector now casts one vote for President and one vote for Vice President.

PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONSSection 3

Introduction

• Does the nominating system allow Americans to choose the best candidates for President?• The widely used presidential primary system does

force candidates to prove their political abilities before moving on in the nominating process.

• Whether the current system produces the most skilled candidates remains a matter of debate.

Nominating the President

• The system of nominating the President is not mentioned in the Constitution and has been created by the two major parties.

• Each party’s national committee sets the time and place of its national convention.

• The committees also assign each State party a certain number of convention delegates. In 2008, the Republican convention had 2,380 delegates and the Democrats had 4,233 delegates.

Selecting the Delegates

• The Republican Party leaves the process of picking delegates largely up to State laws.

• The Democratic Party also enforces some national party rules to promote participation by minorities, women, and grass-roots organizations.

Presidential Primaries

• The details of delegate-selection vary from State to State.

• In some States, the presidential primary chooses party delegates to the national convention.

• In others it expresses a preference among presidential contenders.

• In some States it does both.• Many States choose early dates for their

primaries.

Primaries Today

• State primaries were once winner-take-all affairs.

• The Democratic Party’s rules now ban this method, forcing many States to change their primary laws and abandon it.

Primaries Today

• Most States now use the proportional representation method.

• More than half the primary States now hold a preference primary, with the delegates being chosen at a State party convention, usually based on the preference vote.

Evaluation of the Primary

• They force potential nominees to test their political strength and prove their worthiness as main contenders.

• Primaries also make the nomination process more democratic.

• Primaries are less important to the party in power, which typically will either nominate the sitting President or the candidate endorsed by the President.

Primary Reform Proposals

• Critics have suggested that a series of regional primaries or a single national primary would be more efficient than the long, costly State-by-State primary system.

Caucuses

• In States that do not hold primaries, caucuses choose the delegates to the national convention.• Party voters attend local caucuses where they

vote for delegates to attend district conventions.

• The district conventions choose delegates to the State convention, which then selects the State delegates who will represent the party at the national convention.

The National Conventions

• Today a party’s nominee is usually decided before the convention.

• Conventions have three key goals:

• Naming the party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates

• Uniting the party’s factions and leaders in one place for a common purpose

• Adopting the party platform, stating its basic principles, policy goals, and objectives for the campaign and beyond.

• Conventions also draw media attention for the party and its candidate.

The National Conventions

• Conventions meet for 3-4 days, organized around many speeches by party leaders, adoption of the party platform, and the keynote address celebrating the party and its candidates.

• The convention closes with the State delegations voting for the presidential nominee and the nominee’s acceptance speech.

Race for the Presidency

• The race for the presidency begins long before the election.• One to four years before the election, potential

candidates begin to explore their chances, organize, and raise funds.

• From January to June of the election year, primaries and caucuses help decide the party’s frontrunner.

• In August and September, major parties hold conventions, adopt platforms, and nominate their presidential candidate.

Race for the Presidency

• From September to November, the presidential candidates hold debates and give speeches.

• On the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, the voters cast their ballots and choose the president-elect.

Who is Nominated?

• Sitting presidents eligible for another term are usually nominated.

• Nominees have almost always held elected office, with governors being the most common nominees.

• A long public record is common but not a necessity.

Who is Nominated?

• The overwhelming majority of nominees have been white, male, Protestant, and married.

• Women and minorities had not been serious major party candidates until 2008, with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama vying for the Democratic nomination and Obama winning the presidency.

• Republican nominee John McCain was the oldest major party presidential candidate in history.

THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONSection 4

Introduction

• Does the election process serve the goals of American democracy today?• This question is still widely debated.

• Critics note that the current electoral process does not always elect the winner of the popular vote.

• Supporters note that the winner of the popular vote usually wins the presidency and that the current process preserves the influence of the individual States.

Presidential Campaigns

• Presidential campaigns now begin long before the party conventions.

• Candidates focus their time and money on battleground States and swing voters, trying to persuade uncommitted voters to support vote for them.

Presidential Campaigns• Voters are bombarded

with ads, interviews, speeches, and press releases.

• Since the 1960s, candidates also routinely debate each other in nationally televised events.

• The people vote for presidential electors, rather than directly for a candidate.

Choosing Electors

• Presidential electors cast the actual votes for President and Vice President. Electors are chosen by the results of the State popular vote on election day.

• Electors meet at their State capital after the election and cast one electoral vote for President and one for Vice President. The results are sent to Washington and tallied.

• The Framers expected electors to use their own judgment, but now electors are expected to vote for their party’s candidates.

Counting Electoral Votes

• Each State has as many electors as it has members of Congress.

• Each State receives at least three electors, two for its Senate seats and one for the House.

Counting Electoral Votes

• The winner-take-all system gives all a State’s electoral votes to the candidate who wins the State popular vote.• How does this graphic

show the impact of the winner-take-all system?

Defects in the Electoral College

• The winner-take-all system and the unequal distribution of State electoral votes means that the winner of the electoral vote might lose the popular vote.

• This has happened four times. Fifteen Presidents have won with less than a majority of the popular vote.

Bush v. Gore

• In 2000, Al Gore narrowly won the popular vote, but George W. Bush won the electoral college by one vote.

• Florida’s popular vote was disputed, leading to a recount stopped by a 5-4 decision of the Supreme Court, giving Bush Florida’s 25 electoral votes.

The House

• Electors are not required by the Constitution to pick the winner of the popular vote in their State.

• It is possible that a presidential election will need to be decided in the House.• House votes are by State, not individual

members, which gives small States undue influence.

• If a majority of State representatives cannot agree on a choice, the State loses its vote.

The House

• The House vote also requires a majority of 26 States, which could be difficult to achieve. A minority party could also control a majority of state delegations.• What does this cartoon

imply about the electoral college?

Proposed Reforms

• The district plan lets every State congressional district select its own electors by popular vote.

• The proportional plan gives each candidate a share of the State electoral vote equal to their share of the State popular vote.

• These plans require no constitutional amendment but do not guarantee that the winner of the national popular vote will win the election. More elections might have to be decided by the House.

Direct Popular Election

• The direct popular election plan abolishes the electoral college. Voters would vote directly for President and Vice President.

• The plan has popular support but faces several obstacles:• It would take a constitutional amendment to get

rid of the electoral college.• It would make individual States less important.• It would force candidates to campaign

everywhere, at great expense.

National Popular Vote Plan

• The national popular vote plan calls on States to reform the electoral college and has wide support.• All State electoral votes would be given to the winner

of the national popular vote.

• All States would enter into a compact that would make this change effective only if approved by States totaling at least 270 electoral votes.

• So far only 4 States have successfully changed their electoral laws. But 20 other States have tried.

Defending the Electoral College

• It is a known process. Reforms may have unknown flaws.

• The present system usually identifies the president-elect quickly and clearly.

• The electoral college promotes the nation’s two-party system.

• Only two presidential elections have ever gone to the House of Representatives.