4. Executive Flashcards

Question

The cabinet - functions of the VP - advise the president

Answer 1

Significant - President Bush and Dick Cheney: Bush was inexperienced in foreign policy but Cheney, had been Secretary of Defence, so made frequent media appearances to build support for Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. Not significant - Cheney was able to advise Bush on foreign policy due to his strength of character and experience in foreign policy but would struggle in other areas like the economy

Answer 2

Effective - In an important budget vote in the House in August 1993, Clinton phoned Democrat House member Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky in a hallway just off the chamber of the HofR. She cast the crucial 218th vote to ensure passage of his budget by 218 votes to 216.

Answer 3

Ineffective - In 2011 Obama was frustrated by the slow recovery in the nation’s economy and wanted to go on the record to show his support for a major new stimulus package currently in Congress, The American Jobs Act. The Republican speaker refused Obama to talk no the 7th of Septmeber when the Republicans were announcing their 2012 candidates which had scheldued televised debate

Answer 4

Presidency characterised by the misuse of presidential powers and high handedness in dealing with Congress For President George W. Bush, Congress was more docile in it’s scrutiny due to external threats in the wake of 9/11 e.g. During the 108th Congress, a Republican trifecta over the legislature and executive meant, there were only 37 oversight hearings held

Answer 5

A term referring to a presidency characterised by ineffectiveness and weakness, resulting from Congressional over-assertiveness. President Obama after the 2014 midterms (in the second half of his second term), Republicans controlled both Houses of Congress e.g. March 2016, Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. The Republican controlled Senate refused to hold hearings on Garland’s nomination

Answer 6

It can be argued that the presidency is almost like two separate roles, with different levels of power in Foreign policy where they have almost unchecked power and Domestic policy where they have hugely constrained by Congress President Clinton is often seen as an example of a bifurcated President as He was easily able to send troops to Bosnia and Kosovo, whilst he couldn’t pass his healthcare bill

Answer 7

Overturning veto Rejecting nominations Impeachment Power of the purse

Answer 8

Yes - Congressional oversight of the executive is only really effective when Congress is not controlled by the President's party. seen During Republican President George W. Bush' eight-year term, his first six years saw the Republicans control both house of Congress and in 2003-2004 the Republican-controlled Congress held only 37 oversight hearings. That all changed following the Republicans loss of control in both houses of Congress in the 2006 midterm elections. George W. Bush then found himself facing feisty committee chairs No - During these years (2001-2006) Congressional oversight was extremely light, even by the standards of other times the executive and legislature were united under one party. In 1993 and 1994 when Democrats controlled Congress during Democrat Bill Clinton's first 2 years there were 135 oversight hearing held

Answer 9

Yes - Voters often see midterms as a chance to express their disapproval with the president e.g. In 2006 voters expressed their disapproval with W. Bush’s failure to conclude the military operation in Iraq when the Democrats took majority in the House and took 49-49 in the Senate, thus placing Bush's administration and legislation under far more scrutiny No - If a certain event has galvanized the country and united the country behind the president, his administration, and his party, then it is possible to continue with a majority e.g. In 2002, this was the only midterm in 40 years which the president’s party gained seats in both chambers, mostly due to 9/11

Answer 10

Yes - If the supreme court has an overall judicial makeup that does not align with presidents overall views then the president is far more likely to have his action struck down such as Obama's administration losing 13 cases out of 21 cases which it was directly involved in, a failure rate of over 60% No - The president can nominate judges to the Supreme Court when the opportunity presents itself, potentially influencing the court into having an overall view that is more similar to the president's. President Trump nominating Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett from 2017-2020, swinging the court from a 5-4 conservative majority to a 6-3 majority. However, does depend on whether replacing judge of a different view or not

Answer 11

Yes - The presidents approval ratings will affect his ability to get things done and will affect his political clout to a large extent e.g. It was likely Bill Clinton's high approval ratings during 1999 that saved him from conviction in his impeachment as Democrat senators were reluctant to remove a president of their own party who was still popular with the electorate No - In the current era of partisanship, public approval ratings mean increasingly less as their has been a widening of the gap in Americans approval of the presidents according to party e.g. Obama had an average of an 80% approval rating among Democrat voters but only a 14% approval rating among Republican voters

Answer 12

Yes - If a president is elected without a majority of the popular vote then it is more open to criticism from members of the other party and they are likely to find it more difficult to get members of Congress on board with their proposals e.g. Trump lost the popular vote in 2016 meaning despite having a clear majority of Electoral College votes, his election mandate was weak No - The vast majority of the time, the presidents election mandate has little impact firstly as in the early 21st century's era of hyper-partisanship no president has come close to getting 55% of the popular vote, and losing the popular vote is extremely rare and has only happened 5 times in history although it has happened twice in the 21st century already

Answer 13

Yes - Obama in 2009 had a 96.7% approval rating with both houses being Democrat. However, by 2015 the approval rating was 45.7% with the Republicans having a majoirty in both houses. This limited Obama's ability to persuade

Answer 14

Positive - Hurricane Sandy 2012 affected 24 states in total with the worst hit being New Jersey and New York. This allowed Obama to use this event to make media headlines. At the time, he was in the middle of the 2012 presidential race but this dominated media coverage, allowing Obama to gain headlines atnthe expense of his rival Negative - Hurricane Katrina in 2005 hit New Orleans killing nearly 2,000 people. Bush's percieved slow response to this and support of FEMA made embarrassing national headlines.