Chapter+13+Notes

Who serves as President
According to the Constitution, the president must be a natural-born citizen at least 35 years old and a resident of theUnited Statesfor at least 14 years. At first glance, the presidents of the U.S. all seem similar, as up until the election of 2008, they have all been White, male, and with the exception of JFK, Protestant. However, as we dig deeper, we find that each president was unique in his abilities and background. For example, presidents after WWII have been a Missouri haberdasher, a war hero, a Boston-Irish politician, a small-town Texan, a California lawyer, a former Rose Bowl player, a former governor who has been a Georgia peanut wholesaler, an actor who was also a former governor of California, a CIA chief and ambassador who was the son of a U.S. senator, an ambitious governor from a small state, and a former managing director of a major league baseball team. As our last election shows, diversity has started to be observed in presidential elections, as the Democratic primary battle was fought between and African-American and a woman, leading to the election of an African-American. Barack Obama, a civil right lawyer, congressman, and professor of constitutional law atUniversityofChicagowas inaugurated as the 44th President of theU.S.on January 20th, 2009. The prominence of minorities in politics is partly due to the diminish of social prejudices. Time has also shown has that a great range of men have occupied the Oval Office. Thomas Jefferson was a scientist and scholar who assembled dinosaur bones when his job did not require his attention. Woodrow Wilson, the only political scientist ever to become president, later became the president of Princeton and helped it become the world class institution it is today. Warren G. Harding, regarded by many as the most ineffectual president, played poker for fun and was revealed to have become president only because of his looks, which his supporters thought were representative of the ideal president figure. Due to this, corruption was rampant in Harding's time.

(Bordieanu Bogdan - 19th January 2012)

Abridged version of above:
 * Constitutional Requirements:
 * Must be a natural-born citizen
 * Must be at least 35 years old
 * Must have lived in the United Sates for at least 14 years
 * Personality Traits: (source: [|http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=118073&page=1#.TydsWVx8AeU] )
 * Be ambitious and charismatic
 * Be an effective communicator and leader
 * Be able to tolerate criticism
 * Be assertive and competent
 * Profession
 * No necessary profession, although many have law degrees and have served as governors

(Kimberly Varadi - January 30, 2012)

Characteristics needed to be an effective president
To truly be effective as president, one must be a leader that is skilled in persuasion. A president is able to accomplish his policy goals if he is able to get support for his ideas. With divided government becoming the norm in US government, presidents must be able to work with a Congress that is composed of a majority of the opposing party. This kind of setting calls for one who can communicate effectively with other lawmakers to compromise and propel legislation. Also, charisma can be an effective tool used by the president, especially to rally public support. If a president is successful at getting a meaningful message across to the American people (who are generally indifferent), then he may be that more successful at getting the attention of Congress to pay attention to his policies that he is trying to push through. Then, they might be able to give the people what they want.

(Fletcher Williams - January 29, 2012)

What do we really want from our president (discrepancy between expectations of the office and presidential power)
Ever since the inception of theU.S.as an independent country, the president is expected to be an efficient and competent leader that has to deal with limited powers. Given that a president deals with numerous difficult tasks, it is amazing to think of his limited powers that have stayed constant over the years. Therefore, it is difficult for American presidents to live up to the expectations of the American people. He is expected to ensure peace, prosperity, and security, while being held responsible for the state of the economy and the inconveniences, or disappointments, or the concerns of the American people. History has shown us that the American people prefer capable and competent presidents that are willing to help the population. These characteristics have been exemplified by Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR, JFK and many others. However, the American people dislike concentration of power in the presidential office, even though presidential tasks and responsibilities have greatly increased over time. Samuel Huntington (1927-2008), an influential political scientist, has argued that "Opposition to power, and suspicion of government as the most dangerous embodiment of power, are the central themes of American political thought." Time after time, we have been shown that the American political culture's tenets of limited government, liberty, individualism, equality, and democracy generate a distrust of strong leadership, authority, and the public sector in general. However, expectations of the president lead us to the consideration of who can and actually becomes president of our country.

(Bogdan Bordieanu - January 19th, 2012)

Presidential Powers
The President's powers are addressed in Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution. The mentality of the founding fathers resulted in an Executive Branch with very little power compared to the Legislative. The President:
 * is Commander in Chief of the Navy, Army, and Militia of the U.S.
 * has the right to ask any member of any Executive Department for a "status report" on their respective duties.
 * can grant pardons (except in cases of Impeachment - Gerald Ford granted a pardon to former President Richard Nixon because Nixon was never impeached).
 * can make Treaties; 2/3 of the Senate must concur for this.
 * may appoint any number of officers including (1) Supreme Court Judges, (2) Ambassadors, (3) other "Public Ministers and Consuls," as well as (4) Senatorial Vacancies.
 * has to give the State of the Union Address "from time to time."

T he **War Powers Act** gave the President the obligation to (1) notify Congress 48 hours prior to any military Action, (2) abide by Congress' decision on whether or not to continue with the military Action after 60 days.

The Executive has a few Checks and Balances (some of these are basically irrelevant today because of various reasons. Those are marked with a *) **Executive powers on the Legislative branch; the Executive:**
 * holds Veto power.
 * has the right to call Congress into emergency sessions.
 * has the right to force adjournment if both Chambers cannot agree on adjournment.*
 * This power is largely irrelevant because it requires (1) both Chambers to desire adjournment and (2) inability to compromise on this fairly simple matter.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">holds Recess Appointment power over the Senate.*
 * <span style="color: #0036ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">This power is largely irrelevant because appointments lose their power once Senate recess is over.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">presides, through the Vice-President, over the Senate.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Executive powers on the Judicial Branch; the Executive:**
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">nominates Supreme court judges.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">can grant pardons to individuals tried by the Supreme Court.

<span style="color: #0036ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">[Diego Farias - January 18th, 2012]

//** National Security Powers **//


 * Serve as commander and cheif of the Armed forces
 * Power to make treaties
 * Nominate ambassadors
 * Receive ambassadors of other nations, thereby conferring diplomatic recognition on other governments

//** Legislative Powers **//


 * Present info on the state of the union to Congress
 * Recommend legislation to Congress
 * Convene both houses of Congress on extroadinary sessions
 * Adjourn Congress if the House and Senate cannot agree on adjournment
 * Veto legislation (Congress can overrule w/ 2/3 vote of each house)

//** Administrative Powers **//


 * Make sure laws are "faithfully executed"
 * Nominate officials as provided for by Congress and with the agreement of a majority of the Senate
 * Request written opinions of administrative officials
 * Fill administrative vacancies during congressional recesses

//** Judicial Powers **//


 * Grant reprieves and pardons for federal offenses (except impeachment)
 * Nominate federal judges,who are confirmed by a majority of the Senate

(Done by Chelsea Frasier- January 20, 2012)

Vice President: Is he really important?
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">** Duties: What does the Vice-President do? How are they elected? ** <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">The office of Vice-President did not exist in the Articles of Confederation. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">In the original Constitution, the VP is designated as the person who gets the second greatest amount of Electoral Votes during the Presidential Election (at a time when Electors cast two votes, one for each of two Presidential Candidates). Their responsibilities are:
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Replacing the President in case of impeachment, resignation, death, etc.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Presiding over the Senate - voting only in case of a tie.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">When nearing an Election, the VP must receive and count, in front of Congress, the Electoral Votes. (Through this Al Gore had to count the votes that would allow George Bush to beat him in the Election of 2000)

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">The system broke down when, in the Election of 1800, Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson tied for first place and the House had to vote. This lead to the proposal and ratification of the 12th Amendment. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">***12th Amendment (June 1804): Election of the President and Vice-President.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Candidates now had to choose between running for the Presidency or the Vice-Presidency.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Electors cast different votes for each.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">** Vice-Presidential Succession: Should the VP become President, who becomes VP? ** <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Legislation passed in 1792 stated that either the President Pro Tempore and the Speaker of the House would be next in line, in that order. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">No constitutional amendments were made for a long time, and not because the office was always occupied.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Two Vice-Presidents have resigned from office: John C. Calhoun in 1832, and Spiro Agnew in 1973.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">John Tyler (1841-1845), Chester Arthur (1881-1885), Grover Cleveland (1st term, 1885-1889), Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1905), Calvin Coolidge (1923-1925) and Harry S Truman (1945-1949) all completed most of at least one term in office without a Vice-President.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">The Government takes action: When John F. Kennedy was shot in 1963 and Lyndon B. Johnson became President, both the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore were over 75 years old. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">***25th Amendment ( February 1967 ): Vice-presidential Vacancies.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">VP-vacancies are to be filled by Presidential appointment.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">VP may take on temporary Presidential powers should the President become temporarily unable to work.


 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Evolution of the Role: Is he really important? **

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Dick Cheney - George W. Bush's VP - dealt with most of the minutia, as well as some major tasks such as participating in the National Security Council, of President Bush.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Al Gore - Bill Clinton's VP - is also said to have acted as if he was a Cabinet member. He also pushed for Environmental reforms, and initiated a government effort to get more in touch with modern-day technology, among other things.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">In the 2008 Election, however, candidates rejected this new Vice-Presidential role.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">[Diego Farias - January 18, 2012]

Executive Office of the President (Who serves in it and what do they do)
The Executive Office of the President, located in theEisenhowerExecutiveOfficeBuilding, is made up of a collection of offices and organizations created with the goal to help the President and government with its affairs. Established in 1939, the Executive Office has grown over time and is partly composed of three policymaking bodies, the National Security Council, the Council of Economic Advisors, and Office of Management and Budget. The **National Security Council(NSC)** is the committee that brings together the president's key foreign and military policy advisors. Its members include the president, vice president, and secretaries of state and defense. The president's special assistant for national security affairs plays a major role in the NSC, as he has the responsibility for running the council's staff. Together with the staff, he provides the president with information and policy recommendations on national security, aids the president in national security crisis management coordinates agency and departmental activities bearing on national security and monitors the implementation of national security policy. The current National Security Advisor is Tom Donilon. The **Council of Economic Advisors(CEA)** is composed of only three people that advise the president on economic policy. They prepare the annual //Economic Report of the President,// which includes data and analysis on the current state and future trends of the economy, and help the president make policy on inflation, unemployment, and other economic interests. The current members of CEA are Alan Krueger, Katharine Abraham, and Carl Shapiro. Finally, the **Office of Management and Budget(OMB)** grew out of the Bureau of the Budget(BOB). The OMB is made up of just over 600 skilled professional and they're responsibility is to prepare the president's budget. The OMB has been used by presidents to review legislative proposals from the cabinet and other executive agencies so that they can determine whether they want an agency to propose these initiatives to Congress. The OMB takes into consideration the proposal's budgetary implications when making decisions. The OMB also plays an important role in reviewing regulations proposed by departments and agencies.

(Bogdan Bordieanu - January 19th, 2012)

Presidential roles

 * **Chief Executive:** faithfully executing the law by deciding how the laws of the United States are to be enforced and choosing officials and advisers to help run the Executive Branch.
 * **Head of State:** role that allows the president to promote/convey/represent American values and acknowledge others who do the same.
 * ** Chief Administrator: ** president is in charge of the executive branch of the federal government.
 * **Commander-in-chief:** decides where troops shall be stationed, where ships shall be sent, and how weapons shall be used.
 * **Chief legislator**: influencing Congress in its lawmaking. Presidents may urge Congress to pass new laws or veto bills that they do not favor.
 * **Chief Diplomat:** decides what American diplomats and ambassadors shall say to foreign governments. With the help of advisers, the president makes the foreign policy of the United States.
 * ** Chief Citizen: ** sets the example for American people.
 * ** Crisis Manager: ** president is the one Americans look to in times of crisis. they are expected to bring the country together in these times.
 * **Moral Persuader:** trying to convince the American people to support a decision or a piece of legislation.
 * **Political Party Leader:** helps members of his political party get elected or appointed to office. The president campaigns for those members who have supported his policies.

(Alyssa Holden- January 30, 2012)

Examples of the President acting according to the above roles: (source: [])
 * ** Chief Executive: **
 * Appointing someone to serve as head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
 * Reading reports about problems of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
 * ** Head of State: **
 * Awarding medals to the winners of college scholarships
 * Greeting visitors to the White House
 * ** Chief Administrator: **
 * Any situation in which the President acts as the "boss" of the bureaucracy, such as when the President is dealing with the Cabinet
 * ** Commander-in-chief: **
 * Deciding, in wartime, whether to bomb a foreign city
 * Calling out troops to stop a riot
 * ** Chief Legislator: **
 * Signing a bill of Congress
 * Making a speech in Congress
 * ** Chief Diplomat: **
 * Entertaining Japanese diplomats in the White House
 * Writing a message or letter to the leaders of the Soviet Union
 * ** Chief Citizen: **
 * Partaking in "American" activities, such as tossing the first baseball of the season, lighting the White House Christmas tree, or meeting an extraordinary Boy or Girl Scout
 * ** Crisis Manager: **
 * George W. Bush's handling of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001
 * ** Moral Persuader: **
 * Making a speech to the American people and using the White House as a platform to advocate his/her agenda
 * ** Political Party Leader: **
 * Choosing leading party members to serve in the Cabinet
 * Traveling to California to speak at a rally for a party nominee to the U.S. Senate

(Kimberly Varadi - January 31, 2012)

Compare the president as head of state and head of government
__**Head of State VS Head of Government:**__ __ **Presidential** **S****ystem in the United States:** __
 * Head of State
 * The figurative representative of a nation as a whole. The Head of state would be the one who negotiates and signs treaties, represents the nation abroad and bears the national symbols.
 * In monarchies, the King or Queen is considered the head of state.
 * Head of Government
 * This person is exactly what the title claims: "Head of the Government." He/She is the functional leader of the nation's government and is responsible for managing the affairs of State. In parliamentary systems of government, the "government" is the cabinet of ministers, chosen by the ruling party in the Parliament, who carry out the implementation of laws and advance a legislative agenda. The prime minister is the head of the government.
 * Where do the terms "Head of State" and "Head of Government" fit in the U.S.?
 * Power is distributed differently than in parliamentary systems of government in that the President is both the head of state and the head of government, which is why he/she is often called the "Chief Executive" and his/her office is referred to as "the Administration." Having both of these titles means that the President serves as the chief executive, supervising the bureaucracy, and is also the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

(Kimberly Varadi - January 30, 2012)

Bully pulpit
The term "bully pulpit" was originally coined by Teddy Roosevelt during his presidency. This refers to a president's use of his position of power and visibility to persuade and mobilize the public to support their policies. Roosevelt often used the bully pulpit to get across his policies to the American people for things such as his campaigning against trusts to the point where he became known as the "Trust-Buster." As the media has expanded, especially through the introduction of television into politics, presidents are able to take advantage of more readily available modes of communication to the public. For example, in 1981 Ronald Reagan was able to successfully mobilize the public by asking the American people on television to let Congress hear their voices. Enough people made an effort to get their message across that the tax cut bills were put into law.

(Fletcher Williams - January 29, 2012)

President's relationship with the media:
<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Mutually Cautious Relationship.** <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">The President and the Press tend to be in conflict - this is caused by a conflict of interests. The President wants a degree of privacy in his decision and the information he manages, while the Press wants all of the information.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">**The Media deals with the President:** Negative stories sell, so the press may be constantly looking for negative stories to tell. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">The Media watches the President's activities closely seeking information that then may be useful to get ratings.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">"**body watch:**" Simplistic view/analysis on what the President will do. "Where he is going?", "what suit he is wearing?", "who he talked to?", etc, are more emphasized than "why is he there?"
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Sound Bites**: measured in seconds, leave little time for thoughtful analysis. Politicians and journalists know this, and that affects the kind exchange these two have.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Bias (?)**: the media has been shown to be not biased systematically, but biased.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Distortion:** The media can distort a President's image easily because they only show short bits of information.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">President Gerald Ford was labeled a "stumbler" by the Media. From that point, the clips the Media chose to air would emphasize this fabricated trait.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">President George H.W. Bush was blamed for the country's failing Economy in 1992 - and this may have costed him his re-election. In reality, the Economy was booming. The media distorted this.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">**The President deals with the Media:** President usually portrayed with aura of dignity. That, however, doesn't stop the Media from digging for the worst or questioning him.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Monitoring:** The President monitors the Media closely. Lyndon B. Johnson, had Televisions installed so that he may look at all channels at once.
 * The media can be a tool to maintain good poll results.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Manipulation:** The White house encourages the Media to help foster a positive image.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">About 1/3 of the Executive Staff deals with the Media in one way or another.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Press Secretary:** a conduit of information between the White house and the press. This official:
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Arranges private interviews with White House Staff.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Helps the President be prepared. Helps him rehearse answering possible questions.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Other: For example, Ronald Reagan's Press Secretary set up Reagan's commute so that there would be noise.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Televised Press Conference**: First done by President Eisenhower in 1955. Allows for a the President to explain policy among other things. These have lasted because:
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Presidents can explain policy with relative safety. Press Secretary helps rehearse on probable questions that will be asked.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">The Media gets plenty of information - which is what they want. These used to be a lot longer and more often, however, as Presidents have began using other methods.
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">The people consider these a legitimate source of information. After all, its the President who is speaking - as opposed to a political commentator or pundit.\
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Alternate Methods: in recent years, Presidents have began using other methods. These include
 * George H.W. Bush's Conferences with International Leaders to shorten the sessions.
 * Bill Clinton's conferences with fewer journalists. This makes the session more personal.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">[Diego Farias - January 18th, 2012]