Chapter 11: The Presidency Flashcards
The Constitution requires
1) Must be a natural-born citizen
2) Be at least 35-years-old
3) A resident of the U.S for at least 14 years
The 22nd Amendment limits the U.S President to a
Lifetime of two full four year terms of office terms of office and ratified in 1951
The 25th Amendment allows the president to nominate a new
Vice president when that office becomes vacant and ratified in February 10th, 1967
Additionally, 25th Amendment allows the
Vice president and a majority of the cabinet members to remove the president if they believe he is unable to perform the duties of his office
The Power to persuade: President must be able to
Persuade the “Washingtonians”
People the president needs support from
To be successful, but has not formal power over
The Reputation of Power
This is a source of power itself
Presidents must maintain the image of
Power in order to be effective
Presidential Popularity: Popularity with the American people is
A source of political power
Access to the media
Presidents regularly use their access to the media to advance their programs and priorities
Constitutional power
1) Executive power
2) Nomination and Appointment Power
3) Veto Power
4) Commander-in-Chief of the Army & Navy
5) Make treaties
Article 2 of the U.S Constitution is
The source of presidential power
The executive power shall be vested in
The president and this is vague, allowing different presidents to interpret in different ways
Taft narrowly interpreted it:
“The president can exercise no power which cannot be fairly and reasonably traced to some specific grant of power or justly implied…”
Theodore Roosevelt interpreted executive power broadly:
It is the president’s right and duty to do anything that the needs of the nation demanded unless such action was forbidden by the Constitution or by the laws
The president is the
Chief executive to the nation’s largest bureaucracy
The president and the bureaucracy make up the
Executive branch
The president does not command the federal bureaucracy but stands at its center
Persuading, bargaining, negotiating, and compromising to achieve goals
The Constitution gives the president the power to
Oversee operation of the executive departments and instructs the president to faithfully execute law
Executive orders
Formal regulations governing executive branch operations issued by the president
Appointments
1) Presidential power over the executive branch comes in part from the president’s authority to appoint and remove top officials
2) Cabinet secretaries and heads of independent regulatory agencies require senate confirmation
3) Presidents have limited authority to remove heads of independent regulatory agencies
The Cabinet consists of
Secretaries of the 15 executive departments together with other top officials given cabinet rank by the president
The Cabinet leaders are called
Secretaries
The Cabinet is powerful because
They head giant administrative organizations
The Cabinet secretary must be confirmed by
The Senate and by a simple majority vote
The National Security Council, and this is the president, what?
Inner cabinet
The National Security Council its purpose is to
Advise the president and coordinate foreign, defense, and intelligence activities
The president is the chair, and the vice president, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of Treasury are
Participating members
Presidents exercise their power chiefly through their
White House staff and including the president’s closest aides and advisers
White House staff consists of
Trusted political advisers, often personal friends and long-time associates of the president
Chief Executive: White House staff appointed
Without Senate confirmation and are loyal to the president alone
White House staff provides the president with
Advice on national security, congressional affairs, policy development, and electoral politics
The president initiates national policy by
Proposing bills to Congress
About 80% of the bills considered by Congress originate
In the executive branch
How successful a president is in getting his legislation passed by Congress is determined by
Which party controls Congress
The Veto Power
The veto is the president’s rejection of a legislative act
The veto is the president’s most
Powerful weapon in dealing with Congress
Two-thirds of the House and the Senate must vote to
Override the veto
Global leadership is based on
The president’s power to persuade
A president will be more persuasive when the
The American economy is strong, its military is perceived as ready and capable, and when the president is seen as having the support of the American people and Congress
The president has the principal responsibility of formulating
U.S foreign policy
The power of being Commander-in-Chief allows the
President the ability to use military force, which is the ultimate diplomatic power
Treaties: The president makes with a foreign leader, once
Ratified by 2/3 rd of the Senate, are legally binding upon the U.S
Executive agreement
An agreement signed by the president with the leader of another nation which has a similar effect as a treaty but does not require Senate ratification
Intelligence
The president is responsible for the intelligence activities of the U.S
The National Intelligence Director is appointed by
The president, subject to Senate confirmation, and reports directly to him
The NID of 2001 coordinates the activities of
The Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the Defense Intelligence Agency
The CIA (Central Intelligence) provides intelligence on
National security to the president and conducts convert operations
Since 1974, the president must
Inform members of the House and the Senate Intelligence Committees of all convert actions
The president does not have to obtain congressional approval for
Convert actions, but Congress can halt such actions
Commander-in-Chief
A president’s global power derives from his role as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces
Although Congress has the power to
Declare war, and modern wars are seldom declared. Wars start with direct military action ordered by the president
In 1973, Congress passed the
War Powers Resolution, designed to restrict presidential war-making power
In the absence of a Congressional declaration of war, it allows the president to use
The military in specific circumstances, report to Congress as to the use of such forces, and allows Congress to end such action without presidential approval
The War Powers Resolution raises constitutional issues as
Limiting the president’s powers as Commander-in-Chief and Congress giving itself powers in this area that are not granted to it by the Constitution
Presidents routinely violate this
The resolution, however, getting congressional approval before using military force strengthens the president
