Presidency Flashcards
Define presidency
Chief office of USA
Powers set out in Article II
What are the powers of the president?
Power to sign/veto Commander in Chief Ask for written opinion of cabinet Convene/adjourn Congress Grant pardons Receive Ambassadors Make treaties Appoint officers and judges
Who created the Imperial Presidency thesis?
Arthur Schlessinger
Year of ‘Imperial Presidency’
`1971
Areas of ‘Imperial Presidency’
Impoundment Selective use of laws and agencies Executive privilege Address to the Nation Gatekeepers
Define impoundment
Act of withholding federal funds from a certain policy or department
Evidence of impoundment
Thomas Jefferson- $50,000 for gunboats
Nixon- environmental agencies
Line-item veto- Bill Clinton
Why’s impoundment imperial?
Means that president rules on what is spent- which is meant to be a power of the Congress (Power of the Purse)
What worked to control impoundment?
Impoundment Control Act (1974)
Evidence of selective use of laws
Nixon- regs on certain groups
Obama- IRS scandal
Why’s selective use of laws bad?
Goes against pluralism- not all equal
What stops selective use of laws?
Increased scrutiny
Independent departments
How has scrutiny increase?
1963=8.2% of meeting were scrutiny
1983=25.2%
Define gatekeepers
People who allow access to and from POTUS
Evidence of gatekeepers
Nixon- HR Haldeman
George W Bush- Dick Cheney
Obama- William Daley
Weakened presidents
Carter
Ford
What style of govt did both Carter and Ford have?
Collegiate
More meetings with cabinet- 3 times every two months
Campaign promise of Carter
Which piece of legislation set of an independent committee to scrutinise POTUS?
Ethics and Government Act of 1978
Why is address to the nation bad
Bypasses the Congress
Why isn’t criticising address to the nation that effective
Chief legislator
Only allowed to veto or sign though
Define executive privilege
View that the presidency should have some sort of privileged position, because he is the presidency
Evidence of executive privilege
Nixon- smoking gun tapes
Clinton- Lewinsky
Normally ends up finding truth
Is the term Imperial Presidency overused?
Yes
What did Neustadt say about the presidency?
Fragmented, compromised and dispersed
Where does the presidency have power
Foreign affairs
Congress
Bureaucracy
How does president influence foreign affairs
Commander-In-Chief
Signs treaties
Uses of American military
Grenada 1983 Libya 1986 Bay of Pigs Invasion Korean War Gulf of Tonkin Incident ==> Vietnam
Treaties
Versailles (1920)
Nuclear Test Ban (1990s-ignored Congress)
Constraints on presidential power in foreign affiars
Case Zablocki Act (1972) forces the president to let Congress know the commitments of the USA
War Power Act (1973) forces president to get declaration of war from Congress to send in troops
Define veto
Refusal to sign bill so it won’t become law
Define pocket veto
Veto at the end of Congressional session
Define line-item veto
Certain parts of bill are vetoed
No made into law in 2006 BUT used by Clinton
Methods of persuasion by president
BBQs Bully pulpit Offer support Telephone calls Air Force 1 Meetings Cinema
What dis David Mayhew say about the composition of Congress and the presidency?
‘Doesn’t make that much of a difference’
Which acts give president power in the bureaucracy
Reorganisation Act (1949) Civil Service Act (1978)
In 1971 what did Nixon attempt to do to the bureaucracy
Shrink from 8 to 4 mega departments
Define the ‘spoils system’
President appoints people so loyalists will get positions
How many people does the president appoint?
5,200
What is the overall percentage of bureaucracy appointed by President?
1%
How many people are employed in ExOP
1,600
What did the 1936 Brownlee Committee say?
The ‘President needs help’
4 reasons to use ExOP
Close
Presidents people
Personal loyalty
Cabinet is preoccupied
Limits of cabinet
Independent No formal role Gatekeepers Depends on president- Carter and Ford= collegiate Lack of authority
Reasons to use cabinet
Check up on legislation Sees cabinet Team talks Forum for discussion Team spirit Superficial reasons
Use of cabinet by JFK was….
once a month
‘boring waste of time’
Use of cabinet by LBJ was….
once a month
‘dull affairs’
Use of cabinet by Nixon
once every 2 months
nothing substantial
Use of cabinet by Ford was…
1 every 3 weeks
Relaxed
Use of cabinet by Carter
Election promise
Too bureaucratic
Use of cabinet by Reagan
Nothing useful
Use of cabinet by George HW Bush
Not used
Taken from ideas of Ronald Reagan
Use of cabinet by Clinton
2 in 1998
Use of cabinet by Bush and Obama
Team talks
Define iron triangles
Relationship between legislative branch, bureaucracy and interest groups
Symbiotic relatioship
Examples of iron triangles
Military Industrial Complex
Agriculture
Issues with iron triangles
Elitism
Agency Capture
Highly undemocratic
Define Vice-President
Deputy to president
Running mate
Roles of VP
Presiding officer- Tie break vote; Calls results of EC
Becomes acting President
Evidence of Acting President
George HW Bush
Dick Cheney
What did John Adams say about the role of the Vice President
“I am nothing, but I could be everything”
Define federal agencies
Independent bodies which carry out specific roles in the departments
How many federal departments are there?
15
Examples of agencies
EPA
NASA
FBI
Who leads the agencies?
Directors
Who leads the departments?
Secretaries
Other parts of Executive
Independent Regulatory Agencies
Government corporations
