# Chapter 14 - The Presidency

# Opening Remarks

Article II of the Constitution establishes the powers and requirements of the president.

• Must be a natural born citizen
• Must be at least 35 years old
• In the past almost all presidents were WASPMMS - this has changed with the election of 2008
• We are one of the fre presidential systems that does not have direct election of the president

# Electoral college

• Whichever candidate gets at least 270 electoral college votes wins
• What happens if NO candidate gets at least 270 votes? (maybe the vote is split three ways between three candidates or there is a tie - not likely to happen though)

The House of Representatives vote for which of the top three electoral college candidates should be president - each state get one vote.

# Who becomes president?

• Who campaigns the best, looks best on TV, spends the most money.
• Most presidents were at one time congressmen (usually Senators) or governors

# What does a president look like?

• Male
• Over 6ft tall
• No facial hair
• White
• Athletic build

# How the presidency grew

• Framers of the constitution wanted congress to be the most powerful branch
• The presidency isn't granted many specific powers but is granted inherent powers under Article I, section 8 - the necessary and proper clause
• US is now the #1 superpower in the world and the US president is thus very powerful.
• Over the years the executive branch has grown in size
• Technological inventions of the 20th century (radio, TV, the internet) have enabled the president to influence mass opinion to a high degree, can hold press conferences and appeal to the public. (this is probably an important one)

# Executive Agreements

Executive agreements enable the president to sign a document that has the force of a treaty yet unlike a treaty does not need a congressional approval - problem with exeutive agreements is that it is only in force under the president who signed the executive agreement - succeeding presidents don't have to honor the previous president's executive agreement.

# Executive Orders

The president makes law (without Congress) - ex. Bush ruled that stem cells could not be used for research, ruled that oil drilling could be done in an environmentally sensitive area of Utah, anti-war protesters could be tried as criminals.

Powerful presidents and crises have brought more power to the presidency.

First few presidents Washington, Adams, and Jefferson pretty much let Congress dominate.

First powerful president was Andrew Jackson (7th president).

• First president to use the veto simply because he disagreed with the law.
• First truly popularly elected president because property voting qualifications were eliminated.
• Frequently challenged contress. He would poll the American public rather than Congress for advice on what he should do.

Lincoln is the next powerful president due to the Civil War (1861-1865)

His power grew under Constitution's "implied powers"

Justified power due to an emergency situation

Wilson, powerful because he led the US through WW 1 (1913-1921)

FDR, he ran for office of the presidency and won even though he was paralyzed from the waist down after contracting polio in 1921 while on vacation.

Roosevelt was powerful because he increased government involvement on the local level in a big way with his NEW DEAL policies of the Great Depression. Also he was president for four terms. After he died, the 22nd amendment was added to the Constitution, which limited presidential terms to two terms only.

Once power has been givern to the presidency, it is difficult then to later restrain that power.

George W. Bush's rise to power (2001-2009)

Started the presidency as a very weak president because:

• Lost the popular vote, won the electoral college vote in an election that many people believed was characterized by fraud (especially in Florida).
• Republican party was not very strong either house.
• Didn't have much support from our allies or from American public who wasn't a Republican.

After the terrorist attacks the office of the presidency grew by about 25%-30% in a bit more than a month and Bush became extremely powerful.

Congress united and supported the president gave Bush and the executive branch sweeping power (especially with the Patriot Act and) and however much he needed.

# Examples

# Trump

Trump's executive orders include

• The travel bans
• Federal government hiring freeze
• Renewing the Dakota pipeline
• Freezing all regulations
• Issuing mandate to go after undocumented immigrants

# Lincoln

Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Freeing theslaves during the Civil was an executive order

# Truman

Truman's integration of the armed services after WW2 was an executive order

# FDR

Ordering people of japanese descent all into internment camps after the bombing of pearl harbor.

# Trump

The US has never had a president like Trump before. He is the oldest president the US has had. He is the only president in the last 100 years (or more) with no political experience or a previous elected or appointed position in government.

Fareed Zakaria, a political scientist, has characterized the Trump presidency as being composed of three parts:

# The 3 Trumps

Trump I is the circus - the tweets, the outlandish claims, the reality-TV-like show. Goal is to get as much attention as possible.

Trump II is the dark populism and the gemagogic assaults on all minorities, the press, and the judiciary. Trump II engages in immoral behavior with no apology and encourages violence against his critics! US has never had such an immoral and polarizing president in its entire history.

Trump I and Trump II is what is causing many Republicans, State department officials, and other government workers to quit working for the US government because they do not want to work under Trump. Trump I and Trump II is what is causing increasing tension and fear in the international realm because Trump's lack of diplomacy edges US closer to conflict. Trump I and Trump II are what is causing many Republicans to "silently protest" by refusing to run for re-election.

Trump III is the conventional Republican president, following a fairly standard GOP agenda - tax cuts, deregulation, and a hawkish foreign policy, guided by mainstream advisers such as National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. Trump III acts how a normal, rational Republican president would act.

Unfortunately, Trump I and Trump II are more prevalent than Trump III. We see glimpses of Trump III, but not often and less and less frequently.

# Executive Branch

# The cabinet

(I'm going to have this updated later)

Problems the president has with controlling the cabinet.

If the president feels that his cabinet isn't loyal to him, he can fire them.

# White House Office

Located in the West Wing:

• Composed of close friends who give him informal advice.
• Do not need Senate approval, can be removed at will by the president.
• They are usually not "experts" in any one field.
• Their purpose is to make the president look good.

Some members of the White house Office are

• The President's personal secratary
• Chief of White House Staff
• Press Secretary - Saunders

# Executive Office of the President

Usually not located in the West Wing

Most of these appointments must be confirmed by the senate

Some of the heads of these agencies can be removed at any time by the president - others are for a fixed term.

# Essay Question

What are the different roles of the president? Which roles in your opinion is Trump successful in performing? Which roles in your opinion is Trump not successful in performing?

# Roles of the President

# Chief Executive

• President appoints ambassadors, judges, cabinet leaders.
• Sees that the laws are faithfully executed.
• Oversees running of the executive branch of governmnet.
• Prepare budget.

# Chief Diplomat

• Represents the nation abroad.
• Presidency has full power in foreign affairs.
• President alone negotiates treaties (Congress must approve).
• Executive agreements.
• Can recognize or not recognize other nations (de jure and de facto recognition).

# De jure

Legal recognition, exchanging ambassadors between countries.

# De facto

Unofficial recognition, free travel and trade but not legally and without ambassadors.

Trump not so big on diplomacy - his 2019 budget proposes to cut the State Department's budget by nearly 30%!

# Commander in Chief

• Granted by the Constitution.
• "Police actions" can commit troops without war declaration.
• Head of the armed forces.
• Congress - War Powers Act of 1973 (presidential troop commitment to 60 days, Congress resolution can withdraw troops after 60 days), Congress power to pursue strings (cannot give money to President to fight war - example Reagan and the contras).
• Public opinion limit president's actions. example: Vietnam
• Appoint military officials.
• Initiate war.

# Chief Legislator

Strong presidents get Congress to pass bills that they support. They tell Congress what they view to be important through:

• State of the Union address.
• White House Congressional Liaison office lobbies for propsals.
• President can veto bills he doesn't like.
• President can appeal to the public for them to put pressure on Congress - effective only it president is popular. Trump does not do this
• President gets most bills passed when the majority of Congress is the same party as president. This also doesn't apply to trump lol
• President can order Congress to convene for a special session.

# Party Chief

• Head of his party
• Control national party organization
• Influence state and local parties through prestige
• Coattail influence diminishing now

# Chief Economic Planner

How the president can control the economy

# Budget

Prepares the budget (must be approved by congress - fiscal year starts Oct. 1st so budget must be approved by then) Current mudget that President Obama submitted (and must be approved by Congress) is $4 trillion (largest budget in US history)

Trump's proposed budget - must be approved by both houses of congress

• Medicare
• Social Security
• Defense

# Trump's Budget

HOLY SHIT SHE SCROLLS SO FAST I CAN'T KEEP Up

# Other Powers

• Can exert influence on Federal Reserve Board.
• Can grant loans or bailouts for priate companies (the banking industry, the auto industry, etc.).
• Can try to control inflation, freeze prices (Nixon tried to do this in the 1970's).
• Can control business regulations.

# Characterizing the Presidency

Strong and weak presidents, Roosevelt, Nixon, Johnson viewerd to be strong presidents while Carter and Ford viewed to be weak.

View on presidents are generally based on their ability to get things down and pass policies.

# What makes a president strong?

1. Media support - Fox news vs. everyone else
2. Congressional support - able to pass a lot of his policies through Congress
3. Takes an active role in affairs
4. Popular with the public
5. Popular with other elites
6. *Personality

James Barber (a political psychologists) classification

• Active, passive - how involves president is in affairs? Does he take charge or do his advisors do most of the work?
• Positive, negative - does the president enjoy what he is doing, or does he do it under a sense of obligation.

# Active, Positive

Flexible men of high self esteem-most desirable personality to have. Progressive and dynamic people surround themselves with experts to seek best advice - enjoy being president - Examples: John Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt, Obama(?) Best personality type.

# Active, Negative

Compulsive and aggressive, emphasis on getting and keeping power. Most dangerous personality type. View criticisms as personal and destructive. Strive to surround themselves with yes men. Examples Wilson, Nixon, Johnson, and Donald Trump.

# Passive, Negative

Dutiful but vague, bent on avoiding conflict. Examples: Eisenhower, Washington, Obama.

# Passive, Positive

Compliant, seeks acceptance. Examples: Reagan

# Final Question

Discuss the reasons why there recently seem to be a lack of good presidents. What can be done to remedy this problem?

# Where did all the good presidents go?

In the past the presidents were bigger than life and believed to be all powerful men who could forcefully control the country. Now presidents aren't held in such a high esteem until the election of President Obama - why?

# 3 Reasons

1. Society has changed in such a way that it is almost impossible for a president to have complete control of the country. (this one is important fam)

• President is separated from the workings of govt. in that he is often of a different party than the majorty in the Congress. Hard to influence policy if Congress is not of his party.
• There weren't many parties back in the day, there was less separation (well, other than the south and north).
• The first couple of presidents did not try to influence the politics of the congress.
• Party politics have declined and issue politics are more important.
• Harder for the president to get people to support him or rally people together on the basis of his party.
• Nationalization of politics and society - now the public knows all the news and every move by the president will be scrutinized by the public.
• The relative decline of American Economic and Political power - as the US economy continues to decline, president has less money to play around with and may not pursue all the policies that he wishes to.

2. The way that presidents are chosen is now incorrect - before the best man for the job was selected, now the man who looks the best on TV is selected

• The wrong men are being selected for the job.
• The ideal candidate should have the following characteristics:
  • Be knowledgeable about how government works
  • Have previous experience as governor or some leadership position
  • Be committed to the American Creed
  • Be familiar with the inner workings of Washington DC.
  • Characteristics of the average candidate.
• Characteristics of the average candidatures
  • Has a lot of money
  • Looks good on TV
  • Have plenty of free time to run a campaign
  • He may not possess any of the skills necessary for the office!

3. Different and inappropriate office types have occupied the office of the presidency.

• James Barbers' classification active - negative and positive rather than the best, which is active positive.

# Issue politics

People voting for candidates because of their stances on issues or issues that are with the candidate, most commonly a single issue.

# Quiz Questions

• The powers of the presidency established in: Article 2
• Which of the following is not an area the president power has grown: Power to veto legislation
• Which of the following does the president do in his role as chief diplomat: He makes treaties
• One source for the expansion of the presidential power has been: His role in foreign affairs
• Which of the following departments has a member in the president's cabinet: The department of budget
• According to James Barber's personality classification, the president's most preferred personality type is Active Positive.
• Which of the following is not a duty of the president: Chief of Protocol
• Which of the following is not an attribute of a strong president: has a passive negative personality.

# Final Review

As discussed in the lecture and a bit in the textbook, what are the different roles of the president? In you ropinion, which roles does President Trump do well in? Which roles does he need to improve in?

1. Roles of the president

• Chief Executive
• Chief Diplomate
• Commander In Chief
• Economic Chief
• Party Chief
• Chief Legislator

2. Discuss what functions the president must do in each of these roles

3. Discuss in your opinion which roles Trump does well in and which roles he does not do well in

As discussed in lecture and a bit in the book, discuss the reasons whu, until very recently, there seemed to be a lack of good presidents.

1. Society has changed in such a way that it is almost impossible for a president to have complete control of the country - discuss all the ways that society has changed - please refer to lecture - this should be the largest part of your answer.

2. The way that presidents are chosen is now incorrect - before the best man for the job was selected, now the man who looks the best on TV is selected.

3. Different and inappropriate office types have occupied the office of the presidency recently.

Talk about James Barber's characteristics thing