The President Flashcards
What are the eight roles of the President?
- Chief of State (symbolic leader)
- Chief Executive (responsible for enforcing the law
- Chief Administrator (runs the day to day operations of the government, largely by appointing the cabinet)
- Chief Diplomat (foreign relations)
- Commander and Chief (military)
- Chief Legislature (suggesting legislation, state of the Union)
- Chief of Party (leader of the party, should be advancing party’s ideals)
- Chief Citizen (to do/represent/be what’s best for every American)
What are the three qualifications of the President?
- Born a US citizen
- 35 years of age
- Lived in the U.S for 14 years of life
Who was the youngest president?
Teddy Roosevelt (age 42)
Who was the youngest president ever elected?
John F. Kennedy (age 43)
Terms and pay
- Up to ten years (22nd amendment)
- $400,000 a year + $50,000 stipend
What is the 12th amendment?
Electors get two votes, one for VP and one for President
What is the 22nd amendment?
Limits the president to two terms (maximum of ten years)
What is the 25th amendment?
- If something happens to the president, the VP becomes president and then chooses a new VP
- Disability: signing over power or being stripped of power by the cabinet and the VP
What are the two roles of the Vice President?
- Wait for the President to die
2. Preside over the senate (vote if there is a tie)
What are some of the reasons a President might choose a specific VP?
(To help the president win)
- Region (John Carey chose John Edwards)
- Experience (type of quantity)
- Gender
- Race
- Age (Palin and McCain)
- Religion (JFK was Catholic)
- Ideology
What are executive powers?
The things the President uses to enforce the laws
What are the President’s two executive powers?
- Execute the laws (and designate resources for a particular law)
- Give/write executive orders (laws without Congressional approval that “promote the general welfare”
- - Japanese interment camps
What are the President’s two administrative powers?
- Appointing power (cabinet, supreme court justices, independent regulatory commission heads)
- Removal of power (fire many appointed people)
Who can the President not remove from power?
Supreme court justices, vice president, head of the federal trade commission or other independent regulatory commission heads
What are the President’s four diplomatic powers?
- Treaty making power
- Executive agreements
- Persona non grata
- Power of recognition
What is treaty making power? (diplomatic)
The President acts as the chief negotiator. In order to pass a treaty, he or she needs two thirds of the senate’s approval
What is an executive agreement? (diplomatic)
Like a treaty without senate approval (i.e. an agreement with another head of state)
What is persona non grata (diplomatic)
(Person not welcome)
- The President cannot declare persona non grata on an American citizen
- Likely used for an ambassador of a country we’re at war with
What is the power of recognition? (diplomatic)
We get to decide whether or not other countries exist as sovereign entities
- IE. Taiwan recognized as China so we could go to the Korean war
What are the President’s two powers as the commander and chief?
- Making undeclared war (congress can declare war but only the President can send out troops)
- Wartime powers
What are the President’s three powers as the chief legislator?
- Recommending legislation (cannot actually craft or introduce a bill, State of the Union)
- Veto power (Congress can override a veto with a two thirds vote)
- Special session and adjournment (President can force congress to come together or force them to adjourn)
What percentage of vetoes are overridden? (legislative)
N
FDR vetoes and overrides
635 v. nine overridden
Who had the least amount of vetoes?
George W. Bush
