Chapter 14 The Presidency n WHO GOVERNS 1

n WHO GOVERNS? 1. Did the Founders expect the presidency to be the most

Presidents and Prime Ministers n n Presidents are Often Outsiders Presidents Choose Cabinet Members

The first cabinet: left to right, Secretary of War Henry Knox, Secretary of State

Divided Government n n Divided government – One party controls the White House and

The Evolution of the Presidency n n n Concerns of the Founders The Electoral

America witnessed peaceful transfers of power not only between leaders of different parties (such

The Powers of the President n n n Mark Wilson/Getty Images News/Getty Images A

The Office of the President n The White House Office • Pyramid structure •

Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2009, table 481. Copyright © 2011 Cengage

Who Gets Appointed n n Prior federal experience “In-and-outers” Political following Expertise/ administrative experience

Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins (left), appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt, was the first

Presidential Character n n n Dwight Eisenhower John Kennedy Lyndon Johnson Richard Nixon Gerald

The Power to Persuade n The Three Audiences • Fellow politicians and leaders •

Sources: Updated from Congressional Quarterly, Guide to U. S. Elections, 928; and Congress and

Figure 14. 2 Presidential Victories on Votes in Congress, 1953– 2006 Note: Percentages indicate

The Power to Say No n Veto • Veto message • Pocket veto •

Source: Norman J. Ornstein, Thomas E. Mann, and Michael J. Malbin, Vital Statistics on

The President’s Program n Putting Together a Program • Interest groups • Aides and

Scherl/SV-Bilderdeinst/The image Works A group of Civilian Conservation Corps workers hired by the government

Presidential Transition n n Michael Evans/The White House The Vice President Problems of Succession

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? MEMORANDUM To: Delegate James Nagle From: Amy Wilson, legal staff

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Arguments for: 1. Today, a president no sooner learns the

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Arguments against: 1. It is the need to win reelection

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Your decision: Favor amendment? Oppose amendment? Copyright © 2011 Cengage

How Powerful is the President? Presidential rules of thumb for dealing with political problems:

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Chapter 14 The Presidency

n WHO GOVERNS? 1. Did the Founders expect the presidency to be the most important political institution? 2. How important is the president’s character in determining how he governs? n TO WHAT ENDS? 1. Should we abolish the electoral college? 2. Is it harder to govern when the presidency and the Congress are controlled by different political parties? Copyright © 2011 Cengage

Presidents and Prime Ministers n n Presidents are Often Outsiders Presidents Choose Cabinet Members from Outside Congress Presidents Have No Guaranteed Majority in Congress Presidents and Prime Ministers at War Copyright © 2011 Cengage

The first cabinet: left to right, Secretary of War Henry Knox, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Attorney General Edmund Randolph, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, and President George Washington. p. 360 Bettmann/Corbis Copyright © 2011 Cengage

Divided Government n n Divided government – One party controls the White House and another party controls one or both houses of Congress Unified government – The same party controls the White House and both houses of Congress Does gridlock matter? Is policy gridlock bad? Copyright © 2011 Cengage

The Evolution of the Presidency n n n Concerns of the Founders The Electoral College The President’s Term of Office The First Presidents The Jacksonians The Re-emergence of Congress Copyright © 2011 Cengage

America witnessed peaceful transfers of power not only between leaders of different parties (such as Woodrow Wilson and William Howard Taft in 1913), but also after a popular leader was assassinated (Lyndon Johnson is sworn in after John F. Kennedy’s death). p. 366 Library of Congress Cecil Stoughton/White House/AP Photo Copyright © 2011 Cengage

The Powers of the President n n n Mark Wilson/Getty Images News/Getty Images A military officer carrying “the football” – the briefcase containing the secret codes the president can use to launch a nuclear attack. p. 370 Powers of the President Alone Powers the President Shares with the Senate Powers the President Shares with Congress as a Whole Copyright © 2011 Cengage

The Office of the President n The White House Office • Pyramid structure • Circular structure • Ad hoc structure n n n The Executive Office of the President The Cabinet Independent Agencies, Commissions, and Judgeships Copyright © 2011 Cengage

Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins (left), appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt, was the first woman cabinet member. Bettmann/CORBIS When Condoleezza Rice was selected by President George W. Bush to be National Security Advisor, she became the first woman to hold that position (and later the first African American woman to be Secretary of State). p. Bob Daemmrich/Photo. Edit 378 Copyright © 2011 Cengage

Presidential Character n n n Dwight Eisenhower John Kennedy Lyndon Johnson Richard Nixon Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter n n n Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton George W. Bush Barack Obama Copyright © 2011 Cengage

The Power to Persuade n The Three Audiences • Fellow politicians and leaders • Partisan grassroots • The public n n Popularity and Influence The Decline in Popularity Copyright © 2011 Cengage Alex Wong/Getty Images President Bush shakes hands with Speaker Nancy Pelosi after his State of the Union address. p. 380

Figure 14. 2 Presidential Victories on Votes in Congress, 1953– 2006 Note: Percentages indicate number of congressional votes supporting the president divided by the total number of votes on which the president has taken a position. Sources: Congressional Quarterly Almanac (Washington, D. C. : Congressional Quarterly, various years); Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report (CQ Weekly) (1992), 3894; (1993), 3473; (1994), 3620; (1996), 3428; (1998), 14; (1999), 76, 2972; (2001) 54; (2002), 142, 3237; (2004), 54– 55, 2947– 2948; (2006), 87; (2007), 50. Copyright © 2011 Cengage

Source: Norman J. Ornstein, Thomas E. Mann, and Michael J. Malbin, Vital Statistics on Congress, 2001– 2002 (Washington, D. C. : Congressional Quarterly Press, 2001), 207 (updated). Copyright © 2011 Cengage

Source: Norman J. Ornstein, Thomas E. Mann, and Michael J. Malbin, Vital Statistics on Congress , 2002– 2003 (Washington, D. C. : Congressional Quarterly Press , 2003), 207 (updated). Copyright © 2011 Cengage

The President’s Program n Putting Together a Program • Interest groups • Aides and campaign advisers • Federal bureaus and agencies • Outside, academic, other specialists and experts n Attempts to Reorganize Copyright © 2011 Cengage

Presidential Transition n n Michael Evans/The White House The Vice President Problems of Succession Impeachment Lame duck President Reagan, moments before he was shot on March 30, 1981, by a would-be assassin. The Twenty-fifth Amendment solves the problem of presidential disability by providing for an orderly transfer of power to the vice president. p. 392 Copyright © 2011 Cengage

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? MEMORANDUM To: Delegate James Nagle From: Amy Wilson, legal staff Subject: Six-year presidential term The proposal to give the president a single six-year term is perhaps the most popular amendment now before the convention. Polls suggest that it is supported by a sizable percentage of the American people. Copyright © 2011 Cengage

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Arguments for: 1. Today, a president no sooner learns the ropes after being elected for the first time than he or she has to start preparing for the next election. A six-year term will give the president a chance to govern for several years after learning how to be president. This will lessen the extent to which political pressures dictate what the president does. 2. Limited to a single term, the president need not cater to special-interest groups or the media in deciding on policy. He or she can concentrate on what is good for the country. 3. Many states have limited their governors to a single term. Copyright © 2011 Cengage

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Arguments against: 1. It is the need to win reelection that keeps the president (like any politician) attentive to what the people want. A president unable to succeed himself or herself will be tempted to ignore public opinion. 2. Limiting a president to a single term will not free him or her from the need to play to the media or special-interest groups, since the formal powers of the presidency are too weak to permit the incumbent to govern without the aid of Congress and the press. 3. There is no evidence that presidents (such as Dwight Eisenhower) who served a second term knowing that they could not run for reelection did a better or less “political” job in the second term than in the first. Copyright © 2011 Cengage

How Powerful is the President? Presidential rules of thumb for dealing with political problems: • Move it or lose it. • Avoid details. • Cabinets don’t get much accomplished; people do. Susan Walsh/AP Photo Copyright © 2011 Cengage Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44 th president. p. 396