President of the United States

Demographic Characteristics of U.S. Presidents

• 69% politicians

• 62% lawyers

• >50% from the top 3% wealth and social class

• 0.5% born into poverty

• 69% elected from large states

Constitutional Qualifications

• Must be at least 35 years old

• Must have lived in the United States for 14 years

• Must be a natural born citizen

Presidential Benefits

• $400,000 tax-free salary

• $50,000/year expense account

• $100,000/year travel expenses

• The White House

• Secret Service protection

• Camp David country estate

• Air Force One personal airplane

• Staff of 400-500

Christmas at the White House, 2004

How is the President compensated?

Air Force One

“The Beast”Secret Service

Marine OneWhite House Camp David

Election and Terms of Office

Presidential Power

“The executive power shall be vested in a

President of the United States of America.”

With these few words, the Framers established

the presidency.

The Constitutional Powers of the Presidency: Article II

The Constitutional Powers of the President

How has presidential power grown over time?

The Modern Presidency

Commander

-in-ChiefAppointment

Power

Pardoning

Power

Legislative

Power

Treaty-making

Power

Veto Power

Chief ExecutiveChief Diplomat

Chief-of-State

Presidential Powers

Development of Presidential Power

Formal Powers

Formal Powers of the President

•Constitutional or expressed powers of the presidency

•Found primarily in Article II of the Constitution (the Executive Article)

• Make treaties

• Make appointments

• Veto power

• Commander in Chief

• Power to pardon

• Recommend

legislation

• Call Congress to

session

• Receive Ambassadors

Enumerated Powers

Powers explicitly identified in the text of the

Constitution- To include:

Article II

The Enumerated Powers of the President

Enumerated Powers (cont.)

Formal Powers: Commander-in-Chief

• Commander in Chief of the Army & Navy

• Making undeclared war

• Limited by War Powers Act 1973

• President can commit troops for 90 days

Formal Powers: Chief Executive

• “Faithfully execute” the laws

• Grant pardons for federal offenses except for cases of impeachment

• Nominate judges of the Supreme Court and all other officers of the U.S. with consent of the Senate

• Fill vacancies that may happen during recess of the Senate (recess appointments)

Formal Powers:Foreign Affairs

• Appoint ambassadors, ministers and consuls

• Make treaties subject to Senate confirmation

• Receive ambassadors

• Diplomatic Recognition – acknowledging the legal existence of a country/state

Formal Powers:Chief Legislator

•Give State of the Union address to Congress

•Recommend “measures” to the Congress

•Upon “extraordinary occasions”convene both houses of Congress

Formal Powers:Chief Legislator (cont.)

• Presidential Veto

• Veto Message within 10 days of passing the House of origin

• Pocket Veto - President does not sign within 10 days

• Congress can override with 2/3 majority from both Houses

• Veto Politics

• Congressional override is difficult (only 4%)

• Threat of veto can cause Congress to make changes in legislation

Informal Powers

Informal Powers

Interpretation of the Enumerated Powers

Expansive Precedents

Expansive Precedents (cont.)

Expansive Precedents (cont.)

Advent of the “Modern” Presidency• Who is most identified with the start of the “modern”

Presidency?

• Impact of FDR:• Preeminent source of national leadership (why?)

• Role of FDR during Great Depression & WWII

• Effect on all of FDR’s successors ever since?

• Key precedent: The First 100 Days

• Institutional Leadership:• What are the various roles played by Presidents?

Executive Orders

Notice for Japanese “relocation,” 1942

Executive Agreements

• GWB announced cuts in

the nuclear arsenal, but

not in a treaty; usually

trade agreements between

US and other nations

Executive Privilege

• United States v. Nixon

(1973) – presidents do

NOT have unqualified

executive privilege (Nixon

Watergate tapes)

Access to Media

Persuasion

Emergency Powers

Presidential Roles

Head of State

Queen Elizabeth and President Reagan, 1983

President Kennedy speaks at Berlin Wall,

1963

The President is chief of state. This

means he is the ceremonial head of the

government of the United States, the

symbol of all the people of the nation.

Chief Executive

President Bush holds cabinet meeting

in October, 2005

President Clinton with Janet Reno,

the first female Attorney General,

February, 1993

The Constitution vests the President

with the executive power of the United

States, making him or her the nation’s

chief executive.

Commander-in-Chief

President Bush aboard U.S.S.

Lincoln, May, 2003

President Johnson decorates a soldier

in Vietnam, October, 1966

The Constitution makes the

President the commander in chief,

giving him or her complete control

of the nation’s armed forces.

Chief Legislator

President Clinton delivers the State

of the Union Address, 1997

President Roosevelt signs into law the

Social Security Act, 1935

The President is the chief

legislator, the main architect

of the nation’s public policies.

Chief Legislator

Political Party Leader

President Reagan & Vice-President Bush accepting their party’s

nomination in 1980

The President acts as the chief

of party, the acknowledged

leader of the political party

that controls the executive

branch.

Chief Administrator

Vice-President Johnson sworn in

aboard Air Force One

after President Kennedy’s

assassination, 1963

President Bush at Ground Zero after 9-11

The President is the chief

administrator, or director, of the

United States government.

Chief Diplomat

President Lincoln during the Civil

War, 1862

President Roosevelt and the “Bully

Pulpit,” 1910

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.

Chief CitizenThe President is expected to be

“the representative of all the

people.”

Economic Leader