The President IV

2/21/2012

Clearly Stated Learning Objectives

• Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:– understand and interpret the United States

Constitution and apply it to the present (the sections on the presidency and Electoral College).

– assess the 2008 & 2012 Presidential Elections without resorting to partisan bickering.

– identify and explain the role of formal and informal institutions and their effect on policy.

Office Hours and Readings

• Readings- Chapter 10 on the Bureaucracy

• Office Hours– Today 12-2– Wednesday 8-11

USING OTHER POWERSPresidential Success

Executive Stuff

Executive Orders• Carry the weight of law

• Must be on a single issue

• Cannot require new revenues

• Die when the president leaves

Executive Agreements• Bilateral agreements with

other nations

• Carry the weight of a treaty

• Not that great of a power

• The Senate hates these

The Veto

• The “Smart Bomb” in the legislative process

• Most vetoes are sustained

• Can be overused

• Threats work better

INFORMAL POWERSPolitics by other Means

The Power to Persuade

• Richard Neustadt

• Presidential Power is the Power To Persuade

Persuasion

• What is Persuasion

• You have to convince them by what ever means necessary

• Getting Decision makers to do what you want– The Johnson Treatment

Getting things Done: Trading Favors

• Prestige of the office

• Granting New Favors

• Calling in Past Favors

Getting Things Done: Reprisals

• Monetary Threats

• Campaign Threats

• Policy Threats

Why Persuasion Fails

• Threats are Not Credible

• Favors are not worth it

• Electoral Security and temporal forces

Why President Obama is Currently having difficulty persuading

• Republicans do not want to compromise

• Democrats are already on board

• The Election is getting close

Everything is inside

GOING PUBLICSamuel Kernell

Going Public

• Using presidential popularity to by-pass Congress and take the message to the people.

• A Two Step Model

Requirements

• High reliance on the media

• Use the same tools as the campaign

Who is good at “Going Public”

• Political Outsiders

• Popular Presidents

• Presidents who are good communicators

• Presidents facing divided government

How it Can fail: No Coverage

How it Can Fail: Missteps • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HOBTUCv4o0

How it can Fail: Disinterest

How it Can Fail: Getting off Message

How it can fail: A guy throws a shoe at you

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM3Z_Kskl_U

Going Public is Risky

• You must have public support on the issue

• You cannot do it too much

• Unpopular presidents will not be able to do it

WHY DOES EVERYONE HATE THE PRESIDENT?

The Media hate the President

• They punish failure

• They do not reward success

• Bad news is better for ratings

Congress hates the president

• Different Goals

• Different Time frames

• Divided Government

The People Turn on the President

• Term Limits

• We Grow tired of the president

• The realities of the office

IS THE PRESIDENT DOOMED TO FAIL?

Keeping your head above water

Presidential Approval

The Key’s To Presidential Popularity

• Strong Economy

• Staying away from Scandal

• Rally around the Flag events

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7TTBL6WXAY

How to Lose it

President Obama: On the Ledge

Bureaucracy

What is a Bureaucracy

The Bureaucracy• are the organizations that

administer programs and policies in both government and the private sector

• Where we see it– SEU– Business– The Government

Bureaucrats• the individuals in these

organizations.

Why A Bureaucracy?: The Tasks of Government

• The Constitution sets up a need for bureaucrats

• You have to have people to administer these tasks

Why a Bureaucracy: The Public Goods Problem

• What are public goods?

• Business will not touch it

• How do you protect/provide these?

Why a Bureaucracy? Size

Why a Bureaucracy: Human Resources

• 2 million employees

• 1.4 million active duty personnel

• 24% of Total GDP

The Bureaucracy in the Constitution

• No specific mention

• Article II- implies a bureaucracy

• The Founders didn’t expect a large role

The Pendleton Act and The Spoils System

• “To the victor goes the spoils”

• James Garfield (RIP)

• The Pendleton Act (1883)