C H A P T E R 13 The Presidency

C H A P T E R 13 The Presidency

SECTION 1The President’s Job Description

SECTION 2Presidential Succession and the Vice Presidency

SECTION 3Presidential Selection: The Framers’ Plan

SECTION 5The Election

S E C T I O N 1The President’s Job Description

•What are the President’s many roles?

•What are the formal qualifications necessary to become President?

•What issues have arisen involving the length of the President’s term?

•How is the President compensated?

“The Presidency has made every man who occupied it, no matter how small, bigger than he was, and no matter bow big, not big enough fro its demands.”

-Lyndon B. Johnson (1972)

“Within the first few months I discovered that being a president is like riding a tiger. A man has to keep riding or be swallowed.”

-Harry S. Truman

The responsibilities of the presidency can be overwhelming. The President not only leads the government and the nation, but also heads a political party and serves many other roles.

The President’s RolesChief of State

• The President is chief of state. The ceremonial head of the gov’t of the U.S., the symbol of all the people of the nation. Reigns and rules. (awarding medals, patriotic speeches, congratulating astronauts, greeting visitors to the White House)

Chief Executive

• The Constitution vests the President with “the executive Power” of the United States. Power is immensely broad in domestic and foreign affairs. The “most powerful office in the world.” (appoint cabinet members, pardon criminals, executive orders)

Chief Administrator

• The President is the chief administrator, or director, of the United States government. Manage the 2.7 million employees in branch. (manage the 15 executive departments)

Chief Diplomat

• As the nation’s chief diplomat, the President is the main architect of American foreign policy and chief spokesperson to the rest of the world (meeting with world leaders, treaties).

More Roles of the PresidentCommander in Chief

• The Constitution makes the President the commander in chief, giving him or her complete control of the nation’s armed forces. President is dominant in military powers (using troops during riot, bombing a city in war time)

Chief Legislator

• The President is the chief legislator, the main architect of the nation’s public policies. (signing bills, influencing Congress, speaking to Congress)

Chief of Party

• The President acts as the chief of party, the acknowledged leader of the political party that controls the executive branch. (choosing party members, rallying support for others, following platform)

Chief Citizen

• The President is expected to be “the representative of all the people.” As chief citizen he is expected to work for and represent the public interest against private interest. (Educate public, work for best interest of the people, moral leader)

Failure in Roles

• President Johnson and Nixon were considered relatively effective Presidents during their first years in office.

• Johnson’s actions as commander in chief during the unpopular war in Vietnam seriously damaged his stature and effectiveness in the White House.

• Watergate proved Nixon’s downfall. His role as party leader and chief citizen so destroyed his presidency that he was forced to leave office in disgrace in 1974.

Constitutional Qualifications for President

Article II, Section 1, Clause 5, of the Constitution says that the President must:

Meaning has yet to be challenged. Can a person born outside of the United States become President?

JFK the youngest at 43. Reagan oldest at 69.

Could be at any time in life.

The President’s Term

•Until 1951, the Constitution placed no limit on the number of terms a President might serve.

•Traditionally, Presidents limited the number of terms served to two. This tradition was broken by Franklin D. Roosevelt – served 4 terms.

•The 22nd Amendment placed limits on presidential terms. A President now may not be elected more than twice – and no longer than 10 years.

Roosevelt served 4 terms before 22nd Amendment

Many people and Presidents, including Ronald Reagan have supported a repeal of the 22nd Amendment saying that it limits the power of the people.

Pay and Benefits

•Currently, the President is paid $400,000 a year.

•Besides monetary benefits, the President gets to live in the 132-room mansion that we call the White House.

•The President is also granted other benefits, including a large suite of offices, a staff, the use of Air Force One, and many other fringe benefits.

Congress determines the President’s salary, and this salary cannot be changed during a presidential term.

Section 1 Review

1. As commander in chief, the President

(a) is the leader of all the nation’s armed forces.

(b) initiates legislation.

(c) is the director of the government.

(d) represents the citizens of the United States abroad.

2. In order to become President, a citizen needs to be at least

(a) 25 years old.

(b) 35 years old.

(c) 45 years old.

(d) 30 years old.

S E C T I O N 2Presidential Succession and the Vice Presidency

•How does the Constitution provide for presidential succession?

•What are the constitutional provisions for presidential disability?

•What is the role of the Vice President?

Conceptions of The Vice Presidency

“The Vice Presidency isn’t worth a warm pitcher of spit.”-John Nance Garner, VP under FDR

Albert Barkley, who served as VP for Harry Truman often told the story of a woman who had two sons. One went away to sea, the other became the Vice President, “and neither of them was ever heard from again.”

Vice President

Teddy Roosevelt was once annoyed by the tinkling of the prisms of a chandelier in the presidential study. He ordered it removed saying “take it to the office of the Vice-President. He doesn’t have anything to do and it will keep him awake.” The fixture has remained ever since.

Charles Fairbanks was Teddy Roosevelt’s VP

A Heartbeat Away

Despite the negative comments, the Vice President holds a very important position. He is only “a heartbeat away” from becoming president.

“I am Vice President. In this I am nothing, but I may be everything.”

-John Adams, the nations first Vice President

Chapter 13, Section 2

3 4 5

The Constitution and Succession•Presidential succession is the plan by which a presidential vacancy is filled.

•The 25th Amendment, ratified in 1967, made it clear that the Vice President will become President if the President is removed from office.

•The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 set the order of succession following the Vice President in order of creation.

Nancy Pelosi was the first female Speaker of the House

Presidential Disability

•Sections 3 and 4 of the 25th Amendment provide procedures to follow when the President is disabled.

•The Vice President is to become acting President if

(1) the President informs Congress, in writing, “that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” or

(2) the Vice President and a majority of the members of the Cabinet inform Congress, in writing, that the President is thus incapacitated.

Vice Presidential Vacancy

“Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.”

- 25th Amendment

- In 1973, Richard Nixon nominated Gerald R. Ford succeeded Spiro Agnew (tax evasion) as VP. When Nixon resigned, President Ford named Nelson Rockefeller as VP.

The Vice Presidency

•The Constitution only gives the Vice President two duties besides becoming President if the President is removed from office:

1) to preside over the Senate, and

2) to help decide the question of presidential disability.

•If the office of Vice President becomes vacant, the President nominates a new Vice President subject to the approval of Congress (Ford).

•Today, the Vice President often performs diplomatic and political chores for the President.

Into the Oval Office

Chapter 13, Section 2

3 41 5

Balance the Ticket

Usually the President picks someone who will “balance the ticket.” That means the presidential candidate will pick someone who will strengthen the chances of winning based on ideological, geographic, ethnic, gender, or other characteristics.

Section 2 Review

1. Who is in line for presidential succession following the Vice President?

(a) the First Lady

(b) the Speaker of the House

(c) the president of the Senate

(d) the Secretary of State

2. Which constitutional amendment provides for presidential succession?

(a) the 25th Amendment

(b) the 26th Amendment

(c) the 22nd Amendment

(d) the 21st Amendment

S E C T I O N 3

Presidential Selection: The Framers’ Plan

•What were the Framers’ original provisions for

choosing the President?

•How did the rise of political parties change the

original provisions set out in the Constitution?

Original Provisions

Very few framers favored popular election of the President. Most agreed that it would lead to “tumult and disorder” because they were “not enlightened enough to make wise and informed choices.”

The Pres. and VP were to be chosen by a special body of presidential electors. These electors would each cast two electoral votes, each for a different candidate. The one with the most votes would be President and the one with the second most would become Vice President.

The framers intended the electors to be “the most enlightened and respectable citizens” and that they would have “free reign” in choosing.

The original plan was put forth by Hamilton

Rise of Parties Cause Problems

In the election of 1796, Thomas Jefferson, an arch-rival and Democratic-Republican, lost to John Adams, a Federalist by just 3 electoral votes.

Jefferson became Adams Vice President. The emergence of parties created a problem that the framers did not intend.

The problems worsened by 1800 when electors were chosen to use their two votes for the intended party President and the other for the intended party Vice President.

The Rise of Parties

•The electoral college is the group of people (electors) chosen from each State and the District of Columbia that formally selects the President and Vice President. •The system broke down in 1800. By then there were two defined parties. Burr, who was intended to be Jefferson's VP, tied with him in the electoral college.

Problems Arise is 1800

• Originally, the Constitution said that each elector would get two votes, both of which were intended to be for the President.

• Even though the people, the party, and the electors wanted Burr as VP, they ended up with a tie. The House had to pick Jefferson.

• The 12th Amendment fixed this problem by having electors distinctly cast votes for Prez. and VP as two separate elections to avoid same party ties.

Section 3 Review

1. Which year’s election paved the way for changes in the electoral college?

(a) 1800

(b) 1792

(c) 1804

(d) 1812

2. Which amendment to the Constitution modified the electoral college to avoid electoral ties for the office of President?

(a) the 11th Amendment

(b) the 5th Amendment

(c) the 9th Amendment

(d) the 12th Amendment

S E C T I O N 5The Election

•What is the function of the electoral college today?

•What are the flaws in the electoral college?

•What are the advantages and disadvantages of proposed reforms in the electoral college?

The Electoral College Today

•Voters do not vote directly for the President. Instead, they vote for electors in the electoral college.

•On January 6, the electoral votes

cast are counted by the president of

the Senate, and the President and

Vice President are formally elected.

• States select electors based on the

winner of the popular vote in that

State.

• Electors then meet in the State

capitals on the Monday after the

second Wednesday in December

and cast their votes for President

and Vice President.

Flaws in the Electoral College

•There are three major defects in the electoral college:

(2) Nothing in the Constitution, nor in any federal statute, requires the electors to vote for the candidate favored by the popular vote in their State (though they usually do).

(3) If 269/269 tie, the election goes to Congress. The 12 th Amendment states, “the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President” and “the Senate shall choose the Vice-

President.” In the House, each State is given one vote, meaning that States with smaller populations wield the same power as those with larger populations. The Senate must choose by direct ballot.

(1) It is possible to win the popular vote in the presidential election, but lose the electoral college vote. (2000 election).

2000 Election

• Popular vote

•• Gore    48.38%

• Bush    47.87%

• Nader    2.74%

• Buchanan   0.43%

• Browne   0.36%

• Others    0.22%

• Electoral vote

•• Bush    50.37%

• Gore    49.44%

• Others    0.19%1 chose not to vote

Kahn Academy

• Electoral College Explained

• http://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/american-civics-subject/american-civics/v/electoral-college

Arguments for and Against Popular Election

•Many suggest that the electoral college be done away with altogether in favor of direct popular election. At the polls, voters would vote directly for the President and Vice President instead of electors.

Criticisms of direct popular election

•Unpopular in the smaller States who have greater representation in the current electoral system.

•In a national popular vote, candidates would spend time and resources in densely populated urban areas ignoring the rest of the nation.

Direct Popular Election is Unlikely

• Going to a direct popular election would require an amendment to the Constitution. The smaller States would most likely oppose such a change.

Electoral College Supporters

•It is a known process. Each of the proposed, but untried, reforms may very well have defects that could not be known until they appeared in practice.

•In most election years, the electoral college defines the winner of the presidential election quickly and certainly.

There are two major strengths of the electoral college that its supporters like:

Section 5 Review

1. Which of the following is a possible flaw of the electoral college system?

(a) Electors are not bound to cast their electoral vote for the party they represent.

(b) A candidate can fail to win a majority of electoral votes

(c) A candidate can win the popular vote but lose the electoral vote.

(d) All of the above.