The Presidency

how did the founding fathers envisage the presidency through the constitution?

they created a president who would be both head of state and head og gov, created a singluar executive, created an indirectly elected president, created a limited president as they feared tyranny

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what are some of the formal powers of the president?

propose legislation, submit the annual budget, sign legislation, veto legislation, act as chief executive, nominate executive branch officials, nominate all federal judges, act as commander in chief, negotiate treaties, pardon and head of state

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how can the president propose legislation?

this can be done through the state of the union address, calling a press conference or making an announcement at a public event

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what is an example of a president who proposed legislation through the State of the Union Address?

in 2013 Obama used this to promote his policy proposal on gun control, job creation and federal minimum wage

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what gov body draws up the anual federal budget?

the Office of Management and Budget

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what is an example of a president taking credit for a bill he signed off on?

Obama took credit for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010

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between Washington and Geogre W.Bush how many regular vetoes have been used?

1,500

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how many pocket vetoes did Geogre W.Bush use?

15

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how successful was Obama with his presidential vetoes?

very successful- he only failed with his last veto (which was his twelfth) on the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act in 2016

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although the presdident is the chief executive, who is in charge of much of the day-to-day running of the executive branch?

to those who run the federal gov's principal departments and agencies

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what are the most important nominations that the president makes to the executive branch?

the heads of the 15 executive departments such as the Treasury (these must be confirmed by the Senate)

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what courts does the presdident fill vacancies for?

the federal Supreme Court, the federal trial (distrcit) and appeal (circus) courts

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why was having the commander in chief role particularly important to the president during the 1940s to 1980s?

becuas there were many wars being fought during the time period eg Franklin Roosevelt during WW2

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when did the president commander in chief role begin to decline?

after the cold war

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when did that all change?

after 9/11

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what are some examples of treaties that have been negotiated?

the Chemical Weapons Ban (George H.W.Bsuh) and the nuclear arms treaty with Russia (Obama)

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what is an example of the Seante rejecting a treaty?

in 1999 when Bill Clinton failed to gain even a simple majority for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

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what is an imfamous example of the abuse of the presidential pardon?

Bill Blinton pardoning 140 people on his last day in office inclusing fugitive Mark Rich

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how many pardons did George W.Bush use in his 8 years as president?

189

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when is the president's head of state role most clear?

during times of tradegedy, eg Bush after 9/11 and Trump after Americas' most deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017

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what is an example of a president calling a congressmen to persuade them in their vote?

Clinton rang Marjorie Mezvinsky to get her to convince her to vote in favour of the budget in 1993

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how is a vice president chosen?

through a joint ticket system

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how can a president 'balance' his ticket?

can balance it with experience, ideology, age, religion, race and gender

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what is an example of a VP becoming president?

under the 25th amendment Chainey was president for 2 hrs while Bush was sedated for an operation

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what is direct authority?

refers to actions that require no congressional approval and yet can achieve some of the political goals that the president seek

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what is an executive order?

an official document issued by the executive branch with the effect of law, through which the president directs federal officials to take certain actions

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do executive orders require congressional approval?

no

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how many executive orders did FDR issue in just over 12 yrs?

3,000

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what is an example that illustrates just how easy executive orders are to issue and revoke?

Reagan signed an executive order that prohibited family planning clinics that received federal funds from informing their clients about abortion options. Clinton revoked this, Bush reinstated it, revoked again by Obama

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why did Obama use so many executive orders in his second term?

he was frustrated with Congress for blocking legislation he was trying to push through so he used executive orders to bypass congress

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what is an example of Obama using executive orders for policy?

used executive orders to allow those with HIV to enter the country and health insurance companies were prevented from discriminating against gay people

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how many executive orders did trump sign in his first week and what is an example of one of them?

signed 12 which included the Muslim travel ban

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what is an example of a recent executive order?

Protecting America through Lawful Detention of Terrorists (2018)

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what is the cabinet?

the advisory group selected by the president to aid him in making decisions and coordinating the work of the federal gov

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what is an example of a president awarding a cabinet rank to other administrative officials than the heads of the executive departments?

in 2012 when Obama announced that he was elevating the administrator of the Small Business Administration, Karren Mills, to cabinet status

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when and how did cabinet meetings first originate?

in 1789, President Washington thought it would be helpful to have a meeting with the secretaries of War the Treasury and State, plus the attorney general

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what are the 4 main pools of recruitment that a president has for cabinet members?

congress, serving or former state governors, big city mayors and academia

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why is it difficult to recruit members of Congress?

because serving members must give up their seats to join the cabinet- where both prestige and job security are often in short supply

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who is an example of a Congressmen that Trump convinced to join his cabinet?

persuaded 3 incumbent members including senator Jeff Sessions

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who is an example of a former state governor in Trump's cabinet?

Rick Perry of Texas as secretary on energy

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who is an example of a big city mayor in a president's cabinet?

Obama's second term cabinet included 2 former mayors such as Anthony Foxx of Charlotte, North Carolina, as secretary of transportation

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who is an example of an individual with an exceptional academic profile in a president's cabinet?

in 2013 Obama nominated physics professor Ernest Moniz of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as secretary of energy

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when was the last time the Senate rejected a president's nominee for the cabinet?

in 1989 when the Senate rejected H.W Bush's nomination of John Tower as secretary of defense

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what are some of the factors that make a balanced cabinet?

gender, race, region, age and ideology

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how many women did Obama have in his first cabinet?

4

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how many ethnic minorities did Obama have in his cabinet and who is an example of an ethnic minority?

six such as Eric Holder at the department of justice

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why is it important that a president picks cabinet members from different regions?

reinforces a picture that they intend to govern for the whole country, not just segments where their support is strongest

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what is the general rule of thumb with the average age of a cabinet?

the cabinet usually reflects the age of the president

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what are some examples that prove this general rule of thumb?

eg the youngest ever cabinet was appointed by the youngest ever president JFK which had an average age of 47 wheras an older president like Trump had his cabinet with an average age of 63

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what is an example of a president picking a cabinet member with a different ideology?

Obama appointed former Republican Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense

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how many cabinet meetings did Reagan have in his first year?

36

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how many cabinet meetings did Clinton have in his first year?

6

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there is a trend that the number of cabinet meetings decreases the longer a president is in office, what is an example of this?

Reagan had 36 first year, 21 second year and then just 12 in both his third and fourth year

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what is the main problem with cabinet meetings?

although so many people sitting round the table are policy specialists, they have little or nothing to contribute to discussions in other policy areas

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what are some of the functions of cabinet meetings for the president?

team spirit, collegiality, exchanging info, policy debate, presenting 'big picture' items, monitoring congress, prompting action and personal contact

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what are some of the functions of cabinet meetings for cabinet officers?

getting to know eachother, resolving disputes, speaking to cabinet colleagues, speaking to the president, increased status for cabinet officers

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what are some of the arguments that support the idea that the president's cabinet isn't important?

constitution states that 'all executive power' vests in the president, no collective responsibility, members are neither equals nor rivals, president often views members with some suspicion due to divided loyalties and EXOP is main source of advice

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what are some of the arguments that support the idea that the president's cabinet is important?

contains the most important people in the executive branch, all heads of 15 depts are automatically members, president always chairs meetings, meetings can fulfill a number of important functions and some presidents (eg Reagan) hold frequent meetings

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what is the electoral college?

an institution established by the FFs to indirectly elect the president and VP

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what happened in the last presidential election?

in 2016, Hilary Clinton won 48.2% of the popular vote but only achieved 227 electoral college votes whereas Trump only achieved 48.1% of the popular vote but won 304 electoral college votes

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how are the electoral college votes allocated to each state?

the number of votes for each state is equal to the states' representation in Congress which is the number of Senators plus the number of Representatives

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what is an example of a state with many electoral college votes?

California- 55

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what is an example of a state with only a few electoral college votes?

Wisconsin- 3

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how many electoral college votes are there in total and what number of votes does a president need to achieve to win?

there are 538 electoral college votes in total and a president must achieve 270 to win

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in what circumstances is it possible for a president not to achieve 270 votes?

if there is a 269-269 split or if more than two candidates gain electoral college votes

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when did a 269-269 split almost occur?

in 2000 when Bush defeated Al Gore by 271 to 266 votes

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when did a third party gain a substantial amount of electoral college votes?

in 1968 third party candidate George Wallace won 45 electoral college votes

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when was the last time Congress had to choose the president and VP?

in 1824

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what are some of the strengths of the electoral college?

preserves the voice of small population states such as Wyoming and it tends to promote a 2 horse race as no party wants to split their vote

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what are some of the weaknesses of the electoral college?

small states are over represented, winner-takes-all system distorts the vote, unfair to national third parties and rogue elections

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what is an example of over representation by the electoral college?

Wyoming receives one electoral college vote for every 195,000 people whereas California receives one for every 713,000 people

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what is an example of the winner-takes-all system distorting the result?

Bill Clinton won 49% of the popular vote but 70% of the electoral college votes

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what is an example of a rogue election?

in 2016 five Clinton electors and two Trump electors didn't vote for their designated candidates

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what is an example of the electoral college being unfair to third parties?

in 2000, Green party candidate Ralph Nader won over 3 million votes but not a single electoral college vote

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what is an example of the Supreme Court checking the president's power?

in 2014 when it declared Obama's use of recess appointments unconstitutional

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what is an example of an interest group/interest groups mobilising public opinion for or against a president?

Obama experienced this when the NRA mobilised public opinion to oppose his gun control proposals following a number of mass shootings

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what are some other potential checks on the president outside of the judicial and legislative branches?

the federal bureaucracy, state governments- especially state governors and the media

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what is an example of state governors opposing a president?

the opposition Obama experienced in the states' implementation of health-care reforms

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what are some of the factors that affect presidential success?

electoral mandate, public approval, first/second term, unified/divided gov and crisises

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who is an example of a president who won a large % of the electoral college?

Ronald Reagan achieved 59% of the vote in 1984

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what was Bush's approval rating in the immediate aftermath of 9/11?

90%

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what was the lowest approval rating that Bush achieved in 2008?

25%

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what probably saved Clinton from being impeached?

his high approval rating- the Democrats didn't want to get rid of a president that was that popular

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what is the average first-year presidential support score for presidents from Reagan to Obama?

83%

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what is the average last-year presidential support score for presidents from Reagan to Obama?

48%

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what was the average presidential support score for years of unified gov for presidents from Clinton to Obama?

83%

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what was the average presidential support score for years of divided gov for presidents from Clinton to Obama?

53%

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what are the 4 powers given to the VP in the constitution?

presiding officer of the Senate, is granted power to break a tie in the Senate, given the task of counting and then announcing the result of the electoral college votes and the VP becomes president if he dies, resigns or is impeached

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what is an example of a VP placing a tie-breaking vote?

Mike Pence cast a tie breaking vote to confirm Russell Vought, Trump's nominee for deputy director of the OMB

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what is the more recent 5th power that the VP has acquired?

to become acting president if the president is declared, or declares himself, disabled

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what is an example of this 5th power being used?

in 2007 when Bush required sedation in order to undergo a colonoscopy, VP Richard Cheney became president for just over 2 hrs

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since which president has the VP grown in importance?

Jimmy Carter

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since Jimmy Carter has the VP served as a general adviser and trouble shooter for the president?

yes

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what is an example that illustrates the Vp's growth in importance?

Obama's VP Joe Biden negotiated various budget deals with Republican leaders and managed the economic recovery plan and the Iraq disengagement

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what are some examples of VPs who devoted much of their second terms to running for president?

Bush and Gore

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what are some examples of a VP who ruled out running for president before even entering office?

Cheney

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what are some of the additional roles of the VP?

represents the nation abroad, oversee indepartmental projects and handle high level assignments

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what are the 4 groups of people that the president can use if he is to be a successful persuader?

the VP, members of the Office of Legislative Affairs, Cabinet Officers and party leadership in Congress

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what is an example of a VP who was important for the president by persuading Congress?

Joe Biden was critical for Obama on big-ticket issues as the economic stimulus package, tax relief and negotiations to end the debt ceiling crisis in 2011

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what are members of the Office of Legislative Affairs?

these are members of the WHO who work as full-time lobbyists for the president on Capitol Hill

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what is an example of a president deploying a cabinet officer to talk with members of Congress in their own policy areas?

George W Bush used education secretary Rod Paige to sell his education reform package to Congress in 2001

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what are some examples of areas of the party leadership in Congress that the President can use to persuade?

the House Speaker, majority and minority leaders of both houses, the party whips, the com chairs and ranking minority numbers

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what are some examples of gregarious presidents who easily developed good relationships with members of Congress?

Reagan and Clinton

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what are some of the methods a president can use to appeal to a particular Congressmen?

offering help with legislation that benefits that member's state or district, look more favourably on a judicial or executive branch appointment of interest to the members or may offer to campaign for them in the next election

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what is an example of a president calling a congressmen to try and secure their vote?

Clinton called House member Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky to help ensure the passage of his budget

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what does EXOP stand for?

Executive Office of the President

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what is the EXOP?

the umbrella term for the top staff agencies in the WH that assist the president in carrying out the major responsibilities of office

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what are some examples of offices that are part of Trump's EXOP?

Council of Economic Advisers, Office of Administration and National Security Council

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what is the White House Office (WHO)?

the personal office of the president, containing the staff who facilitate his communication with Congress, department and agency heads, the press and public

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who is in charge of running the WHO and what is their principal function?

the WH chief of staff and their principal function is to provide advice and administrative support for the president on a daily basis

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what body 'screens' letters, emails and phone calls that a President receives and organises his schedule?

the WHO

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what are some of the other functions of the WHO?

ensures that decisions are arrived at in an orderly fashion, they deal with crisis management and act as 'lightning conductors' when things go wrong

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who is an example of a WH chief of Staff that was too obtrusive and powerful?

John Sununu- who Bush eventually fired

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who is an example of a WH chief of staff that executed their role very well?

Rahm Emmanuel under Obama

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what is the OMB?

the office within EXOP that reviews budget requests, legislative initiatives, and proposed rules and regulations from executive departments and agencies

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what are the 3 principal functions of the OMB?

to advise the president on the allocation of federal funds in the annual budget, to oversee the spending of federal funds in the annual budget and analyse all legislation and regulations for their budgetary implications

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what is the job of the OMB director?

it is both to run the Office and to give advice and speak on behalf of the president on budgetary matters

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what is the National Security Council?

the NSC is the president's official forum for deliberating about national security and foreign policy, it is part of EXOP

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what was the NSC originally?

it began as an in-house think tank for the president which would coordinate info coming to the WH from various departments, the CIA and American ambassadors around the world

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what is the term used to describe how the NSC should act?

should act as a 'honest broker'- presenting carefully argued options for presidential decision making

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what is an imperial presidency?

a presidency characterised by the misuse of presidential powers, especially excessive secrecy, foreign policuy and high-handedness in dealing with Congress

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where does imperial presidency originate from?

the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941- a crisis that allowed FDR to break free from Congress' conventional tied on the executive

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what is an example of an act indicating imperial presidency?

President Eisenhower sent 14,000 troops to Lebanon in 1958 with no congressional authoisation

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what has been argued as a case that there has never been imperial presidency?

Nixon's resignation after Watergate- he stated that "I no longer have a strong enough political base in Congress"

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what is an imperiled presidency?

a term coined by President Gerald Ford to refer to a presidency characterised by ineffectiveness and weakness, resulting from congressional over-assertivness

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what is an example of a piece of legislation that Congress passed in retaliation to an imperial presidency?

the Case Act (1972) forced presidents to inform Congress of all Executive agreements made with foreign states

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which president is said to have started post-imperial presidency after Nixon?

Reagan

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what are some examples that indicate that Reagan was imperial?

declared that the Soviet Union was the 'evil empire' before it eventually fell and declared 'Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall' in reference to the Berlin which also eventually fell and at the time the US was the world's only superpower

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who is the current Secretary of State?

Michael Pompeo

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who is the current Secretary of Defense?

James Mattis

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who is the current Director of the OMB?

Mick Mulvaney

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who is the current Press Secretary?

Sarah Sanders

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who is the current Secretary of the Treasury?

Steven Mnuchin

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who is the current Attorney General?

Matthew Whitaker

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who is the current WH chief of staff?

John Kelly

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who is the current Ambassador to the UN?

Nikki Haley

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what is the Office of Legislative Affairs?

the OLA serves as a primary liason of Members of Congress and their congressional staff. It responds to equiries from Congress, notifies Congressa about Department initiative policies and keeps the Department's senior leaders informed about Congress

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what is a lame duck president?

a president whose successor has already been elected

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what is a State of the Union?

an annual message presented by the president to a joint session of Congress, except in the first year

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what is the iron triangle?

compromises the policy making relationship among the congressional coms, the bureaucracy and interest groups

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what is political polarisation?

refers to the divergence of political attributes to ideological extremes, moderate voices often lose power and influence

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what is a 'joint-ticket'?

refers to a single election choice which fills more than one political office or seat ie the VP and the president

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what is a bully pulpit?

a conspicuous position that provides an opportunity to speak out and be listened to

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The Presidency

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