The Presidency

The Presidency

• Elected for 4 year terms• 22nd Amendment- 2 terms (10 year MAX)• Qualifications– Natural Born Citizen– 35 years– Live in US for 14 years

Roles of the President

Chief of State

• Description- symbolic leader of the country– “the personal embodiment and representative of

their dignity and majesty” President Taft– Ceremonial – Remember constitutional monarchy?

• Example-

Easter Egg Roll• On Monday, March 24,

President and Mrs. Bush hosted the annual White House Easter Egg Roll from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on the South Lawn of the White House. Activities on the Ellipse began at 7:30 a.m. with food and entertainment for all children. Children age seven and under participated in the official White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn.

Christmas Choir• President George W. Bush

welcomes members of the musical group Sweet Heaven Kings to the White House, Monday, Dec. 8, 2008, where the musical group performed at the Children's Holiday Reception and Performance.

• White House photo Eric Draper White House photo by Eric Draper

• http://www.whitehouse.gov/holiday/2008/index.html

First Pitch • When President George W. Bush threw out

the first pitch at the 2001 World Series, the moment not only continued a Presidential tradition, but it symbolized America's desire to continue life undeterred after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

• From throwing to catching and fielding to batting, America's Presidents have long enjoyed playing or watching a good game of baseball. A soldier's diary reveals that George Washington and his men played an early version of baseball called "rounders" on the fields of Valley Forge. History records that John Adams played bat and ball and Andrew Jackson played a similar game of baseball called one old cat. Abraham Lincoln's love of the game was so well known that an 1860 political cartoon showed Lincoln and his opponents on a baseball diamond.

• http://www.whitehouse.gov/baseball/

Chief Executive

• Description- the “boss” of people in the executive branch– Who else is in the executive branch?• CIA, FBI, The Cabinet, Advisors, Police force,

• Example-

Name by name, Obama's Cabinet taking shape

• NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED:• TREASURY SECRETARY: Timothy

Geithner, president of Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

• SECRETARY OF STATE: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.

• ATTORNEY GENERAL: Eric Holder, former deputy attorney general.

• DEFENSE SECRETARY: Robert Gates, a holdover from Bush administration.

• HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Gov. Janet Napolitano, D-Ariz.

• NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Retired Marine Gen. James Jones.

• COMMERCE SECRETARY: Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M.

• NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: Lawrence Summers, former treasury secretary.

• OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET DIRECTOR: Peter Orszag, director of Congressional Budget Office.

• VETERANS AFFAIRS SECRETARY: Retired Gen. Eric K. Shinsekihttp://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Dec08/0,4670,ObamaAppointees,00.html

President Attends Intelligence Briefing at FBI Headquarters

• On Friday, President Bush and several other top government officials visited FBI Headquarters for a high-level intelligence community briefing hosted by the Bureau on national security issues.

• The topics of discussion ran the national security gamut: terrorism threat updates, countermeasures, student visas, homeland security, intelligence reform progress, and cyber initiatives. During the visit, the President also met with the press, talking about the need to “close intelligence gaps” and saying that everyone “around the table” understood there was “no higher duty than protecting the American people.”

• At the briefing, representatives from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, CIA, National Security Agency, Department of Defense, and Department of State shared the actions their agencies are taking to protect the nation.

Bush's new CIA chief 'will focus on spies'

• President George W Bush yesterday nominated Porter Goss, a former spy-turned-Republican member of Congress, to be the new CIA chief.

• "Porter Goss is a leader with strong experience in intelligence and in fighting against terrorism," said Mr Bush. "He is the right man to lead this important agency at this critical moment in our nation's history."

• Mr Goss said he was honored to have been chosen. "What many Americans don't realize is we've got a lot of people around the globe doing very, very hard work - long hours in dangerous situations," he said.

Chief Diplomat

• Description- make the foreign policy of the United States, decides how we interact with other countries

• Example-

President Bush Participates in Roundtable with Israeli Youth

• President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush participate in a roundtable discussion with a group of youths at the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem Friday, May 16, 2008. Young leaders interested in fostering peace in their country, the youths represented cross cultures, including Jews, Israel Arabs, Palestinians and an immigrant from Ethiopia.

• White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian

• http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/05/20080516-11.html

President Bush to Travel to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt

• President George W. Bush speaks before the World Economic Forum on the Middle East Sunday, May 18, 2008, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The President told his audience, "I know these are trying times, but the future is in your hands –- and freedom and peace are within your grasp."

• White House photo by Chris Greenberg

• http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/mideast/may-trip2008/index.html

Commander in Chief

• Description- in charge of the US armed forces– Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, etc.– Unique because president is a civilian– decides where troops shall be stationed, where

ships shall be sent, and how weapons shall be used…

• Example-

Defend America• Lt. Col. William P. Miller, battalion

commander of the United Nations Command Security Battalion, Joint Security Area at Camp Bonifas (left), briefs U.S. President George W. Bush and Gen. Thomas A. Schwartz, Commander in Chief, Republic of Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, during a Feb. 20 visit to Observation Point Ouellette, inside the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. President Bush stopped in the country as part of his talks with the leaders of Japan, South Korea and China. Photo by Jeremy Kirk, U.S. Department of Defense

Situation Room

http://americanhistory.si.edu/presidency/2b1.html

President Bill Clinton in the White House situation room, being briefed by members of the National Security Council (NSC) in 1998. Established in 1947, the NSC is the president's principal forum for considering and coordinating security policy. With any military decision, the president must balance strategic and operational issues with diplomatic, economic, and even environmental concerns. The Clinton-era NSC included the vice president, secretary of defense, secretary of state, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, secretary of the treasury, United Nations representative, assistant to the president for national security, assistant to the president for economic policy, and president's chief of staff.

getting a chest-thumping from the president

• Theodore Shiveley of Plano, Texas, bumping chests with the commander in chief at the United States Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado Springs, Colo., Wednesday. (AP Photos by Charles Dharapak)

Chief Legislator

• Description- pass/veto bills, influence Congress to create bills, – If the president wants to make a law, can he?

• Examples-

President Addresses Congress

• President George W. Bush delivers his Budget speech to a joint session of the U. S. Congress. At rear are Vice President Dick Cheney(left) and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

Internet Tax Freedom Act Signed Into Law

• The Internet Tax Fairness Act of 1998 created a temporary moratorium on state and local Internet access taxes. As a result of this moratorium, the Internet has remained relatively free from the burdens of new taxes. The moratorium has been extended on numerous occasions but is set to expire in November, subjecting the Internet to possible taxation from more than 7,500 taxing jurisdictions.

Bush to veto defense authorization bill

• President George W. Bush plans to veto a defense authorization bill passed by Congress because it would freeze Iraqi assets while victims of Saddam Hussein sue.

Chief of Party

• Description- help members of the president’s party get elected into office

• Examples-

Bush Pumps up California governor

• President Bush with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican

Obama and Clinton Work Together, Democrats Present United Front

• http://media.washingtontimes.com/media/img/photos/2008/07/01/OBAMA_CLINTON_UNI_53.jpg

Guardian of the Economy

• Description- monitor unemployment, taxes, business profits, and the general prosperity of the country – The president does not control the economy, but

is expected to help it run smoothly.• Examples-

Bull and Bear: Bush Economy Speech Misses the Mark

• President Bush’s economic cheerleading today, alongside his administration’s non-solutions to the housing crisis, make it clear that he doesn't really understand the causes of the crisis or the details of his administration’s own proposed solutions. Perhaps we should applaud that he acknowledged that the root cause of the current economic problems is the housing market crisis, though he should have also noted his administration’s mishandling of the federal budget, the trade deficit and regulatory oversight.