The President and Vice President

Chapter 7Section 1

Qualifications for President and Vice President

1. Must be at least 35 years old.

2. A native-born American citizen

3. A resident of the United States for at least 14 years.

Qualifications for President

Could Arnold Be President?

• Arnold Schwarzenegger – Age: 60– Born: Austria– Years in the US: 39– Governor of California

2003-Present

Could I Be President?• Thirty-year old from New Jersey who has

been a Senator for four-years already.

• Seventy-six year old former House of Representatives member.

• Thirty-five year old business woman from North Carolina.

• Forty-nine year old military general stationed in Iraq for the past four years and who was born on a U.S. military base in Germany after WWII.

Background of Presidents

• White

• Male

• Christian

• Most Attended College

• Many lawyers

• Held other State and National Political offices before.

Do you directly elect the President?

Electoral College

• On election day you are actually voting for a list of Presidential electors pledged to that candidate.

• Each state appoints presidential electors who then vote for one of the major candidates.

• “Winner take all system”

Electoral College

• The winning electors meet in their state capitals in December to cast the states electoral votes

• Send those votes to congress, which counts them

• Number of electors are equal to the number of seats you have in both house and senate

• 538 electors• 270 votes needed to win Presidency

2000 Election

• How is this Possible?!?!?!?!?!

• Popular Vote– G.W. Bush: 50,460,110 (47.87%)– Albert Gore: 51,003,926 (48.38%)

• Electoral College– Bush: 271– Gore: 266

Terms of Presidential Office

• 4-years term---Elections every 4 years

• 22nd Amendment (1951)= limited to two 4 year terms or a max of 10 years in office.

-How many terms did FDR serve??

• Salary: $400,000 + money for travel/expenses

• White House

Benefits of the Presidency

Secret Service and Motorcade

Vice President

• Resides over the Senate– Votes in case of a tie

• Salary: $221,100

• President of the Senate and casts the tie breaking vote.

• Serves as President if the president dies or is sick

Presidential Succession

• Presidential Succession Act of 1947– Indicates the line of succession after the vice

president.

• 25th Amendment– If the president dies or leaves office, the vice

president becomes president– The new president then chooses another

vice-president– Vice President also can determine whether a

president is disable or unable to perform.

The President’s JobChapter 7

Section 2

Constitutional Powers

The president’s main job is to carry out the laws passed by Congress.

The Constitution gives the president power to: • Veto bills passed by congress • call Congress into special session• serve as commander in chief of the armed

forces• receive foreign officials • make treaties (with Senate approval) • appoint judges and top government officials • pardon convicted criminals.

State of the Union

• In the State of the Union Address each year, the president informs Congress of important issues facing the nation and proposes new legislative programs.

Roles of the President:Chief Executive

• As Chief Executive, the president is in charge of 15 cabinet departments and more than 3 million government workers.

• The president appoints the heads of cabinet departments and large agencies, with Senate approval.

• The president may not make laws but can issue executive orders–rules or commands that have the force of law.

Chief Executive• The president can

appoint federal judges, including Supreme Court justices.

• This power is important because the way the Supreme Court interprets laws greatly affects life in the United States.

• Most presidents appoint justices who share views similar to their own.

Chief Executive

• The president may grant pardons, or declarations of forgiveness and freedom from punishment.

• The president may issue a reprieve, an order to delay a person’s punishment until a higher court can hear the case.

• The president may also grant amnesty, a pardon toward a group of people.

Chief Diplomat

• The president directs foreign policy, deciding how the United States will act toward other countries.

Commander in Chief• As commander in chief, the president is in

charge of all branches of the armed forces.

• Congress and the president share the power to make war.

• Only Congress can declare war, but only the president can order soldiers into battle.

Commander in Chief

• Congress has declared war only five times, yet presidents have sent troops into action more than 150 times.

• This situation may threaten the system of checks and balances.

Commander in Chief

• After the undeclared Vietnam War, Congress passed the War Powers Act.

• This law requires the president to notify Congress immediately when troops are sent into battle.

• The troops must be brought home after 60 days unless Congress approves a longer stay or declares war.

Legislative Leader

• Only Congress may introduce bills, but the executive branch proposes most legislation.

• All presidents have a legislative program that they want Congress to pass.

• They make speeches and talk to key members of Congress to build support for their programs.

• The president’s staff works on the laws with members of Congress.

Legislative Leader

• The president and Congress often disagree.• One reason is that the president represents the

whole nation. • Congress members represent only their state or

district. • Another reason is that the president can serve

only two terms. • Many Congress members win reelection many

times and remain in office for decades.• As a result, the president often wants to

move faster on programs than members of Congress do.

Head of State

• As head of state, the president hosts visiting foreign leaders and carries out ceremonial functions, such as giving medals to the country’s heroes.

Economic Leader

• As the country’s economic leader, the president must plan the federal budget and try to deal with such problems as unemployment, rising prices, and high taxes.

Party Leader

• The president is the leader of his or her political party.

• The party helps the president get elected.

• In return, the president gives speeches to raise money and help fellow party members win office.

Making Foreign PolicyChapter 7

Section 3

The President and Foreign Policy• Foreign policy is a nation’s overall plan

for dealing with other nations.

• The basic goal of American foreign policy is national security, the ability to keep the country safe from attack or harm.

• International trade is another goal and is vital to economic prosperity.

• Trade can create markets for American products and jobs for American workers.

The President and Foreign Policy

• A third goal is promoting world peace.• Even distant wars can disrupt trade and

endanger U.S. national security. • A fourth goal is to promote democracy and

human rights around the world. • The executive branch includes a large foreign-

policy bureaucracy. • It includes the State Department, Defense

Department, Central Intelligence Agency, and National Security Council.

The President and Foreign Policy

• The president and Congress share the power to conduct foreign affairs.

• The president is the chief diplomat and commander in chief, but Congress has the power to declare war, prohibit certain military actions, and spend–or withhold–money for defense.

Foreign Policy

• The Constitution does not make clear how the executive and legislative branches can use their powers.

• As a result, the branches compete for control of foreign policy.

Tools of Foreign Policy:Creating Treaties

• Treaties are formal agreements between the governments of two or more countries.

• Some, such as NATO, are agreements among nations for mutual defense.

• The Senate must approve a treaty by a two-thirds vote.

Tools of Foreign Policy:Executive Agreements

• However, the president can make an executive agreement with the leader of another country without Senate approval.

Tools of Foreign Policy:Appointing Ambassadors

• An ambassador is an official representative of a country’s government.

• The president appoints ambassadors, with Senate approval.

• Ambassadors are sent only to countries where the United States accepts the government as legally in power.

Tools of Foreign Policy:Foreign Aid

• The United States gives foreign aid in the form of money, food, military assistance, or other supplies to help other countries

Tools of Foreign Policy:International Trade

• The president makes agreements with other nations about what products may be traded and the rules of trade.

• Sometimes the rules include trade sanctions, or efforts to punish another country by imposing trade barriers.

• Another punishing tool is the embargo–an agreement among a group of nations that prohibits them all from trading with the target nation.

Tools of Foreign Policy:International Trade

• Congress takes the lead in imposing tariffs on imported goods and in joining international trade groups.

• One such trade group is the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Tools of Foreign Policy:Military Force

• As commander in chief, presidents may use the military to carry out some foreign-policy decisions that could involve deploying armed forces or launching missile attacks.

• This powerful tool must be used with care.

Military force!

Presidential Advisers and Executive Agencies

Chapter 7

Section 4

Executive Office of the President

• The employees of the Executive Office of the President (EOP) help the president by preparing reports, helping to write bills, and checking the work of various agencies.

White House office

• The people of the White House Office work directly for the president.

• About 10 to 12 of these 500 people are the president’s closest advisers.

• They make up the White House Staff.

• The most powerful is the chief of staff.

White House Staff

• The White House Staff screens the flow of information and people to the president.

• As a result, this group has a lot of power.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

• The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) prepares the federal budget and monitors government spending.

• The federal budget lays out the administration’s plans and goals for the coming year.

National Security Council(NCS)

• The National Security Council helps the president coordinate the military and foreign policy.

• It includes the vice president, the secretaries of state and defense, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a group made up of the top commander of each of the armed services.

• The NSC supervises the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Council of Economic Advisors

• The three members of the Council of Economic Advisers advise the president about complex economic matters, such as employment, tax policy, inflation, and trade.

The Cabinet

• The cabinet is a group of advisers that includes the heads of the 15 top-level executive departments.

• The head of the Department of Justice is called the attorney general.

• The other department heads are called secretaries.

The Cabinet• Cabinet members advise the president on

issues related to their departments.• The president decides when the cabinet

meets and how much to rely on their advice.

Office of Homeland Security

• George W. Bush created the Office of Homeland Security to deal with terrorist activities.

• It includes members of the cabinet and of agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Border Patrol.

Robert GatesSecretary of Defense

Hillary ClintonSecretary of State

Janet NapolitanoSecretary of Homeland Security

Eric HolderAttorney General

The Vice President• Most presidents have

delegated little authority to their vice presidents, though this is changing somewhat.

• Modern vice presidents have served on special advisory boards.

• They often visit foreign countries as representatives of the president.

The First Lady• The Constitution does

not mention the president’s spouse.

• Many First Ladies, though, have served the country in useful ways.

• Today First Ladies have an office and staff in the White House.

The Federal Bureaucracy

• The executive branch is shaped like a pyramid.• Directly below the president are the cabinet

secretaries and their departments. • At the next level are hundreds of agencies. • Together, the agencies and employees of the

executive branch are known as the federal bureaucracy.

• The workers are called bureaucrats, or civil servants.

What does the Federal Bureaucracy Do?

These departments and agencies carry out government programs by performing three basic jobs:

(1) They develop procedures for putting new laws into practice.

(2) They administer day-to-day operations of the government. (deliver mail, collect taxes)

(3) They regulate, or police, various activities.• In doing these jobs they help shape government

policy.

Independent Agencies

• Independent agencies are not part of the cabinet, but they are not independent of the president.

The three types are: executive agencies, regulatory commissions, and government corporations.

Executive Agencies

• Executive agencies deal with certain specialized areas.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is one example.

Government Corporations• Government corporations are like

private businesses, except that the government owns and runs them.

• Like businesses, they charge for their services, but they are not supposed to make a profit.

Regulatory Boards and Commissions

• Unlike other independent agencies, regulatory commissions do not report to the president.

• The president appoints members, but only Congress can remove them through impeachment.

• Regulatory commissions protect the public by making and enforcing rules for certain industries. Federal Drug AdministrationEnvironmental Protection Agency

Government Workers• Top department jobs generally go to

political appointees–people whom the president has chosen because they have ability or were supporters of the president’s election campaign.

• Their employment usually ends when the president leaves office.

Government Workers

• About 90 percent of national government employees are civil service workers.

• Unlike appointees, they usually have permanent employment.

• The civil service system hires government workers on the basis of open, competitive examinations and merit.

Government Workers

• The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directs the civil service system.

• It sets job standards and gives written tests to job seekers.

• The civil service system is a merit system. • Government officials hire new workers from lists

of people who have passed the test or otherwise met civil service standards.

Government Workers

• Before 1883 government jobs went to people as a reward for their political support.

• Abuses of this spoils system led Congress to pass the Pendleton Act, also known as the Civil Service Reform Act of 1883.

• This law limited the number of jobs the president could give to friends and backers.

• It also created the civil service system.

__ 1. a business owned and operated by the federal government__ 2. the collective agencies and employees of the executive branch__ 3. federal board or commission

that is not part of any cabinet department

__ 4. a person appointed to a federal position by the president

A. federal bureaucracyB. independent agencyC. government corporationD. political appointee