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Paper 3 content > The US presidency > Flashcards

The US presidency Flashcards

1
Q

formal sources of presidential power

A
  • head of state: George Bush delivering news of 9/11 to the country, Trump delivering news on Covid 19
  • head of government: formal powers that are the presidents duties, written in article II of the constitution
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2
Q

executive powers

powers outlined by article II of the constitution

A
  • preparation of the annual budget, but it must be passed by Congress
  • president is the executive of the government
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3
Q

legislative powers

powers outlined by article II of the constitution

A
  • signing legislation
  • veto a bill
  • threat of a veto
  • taking no action (leave on desk)
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4
Q

e.g of taking no action

A

Obama allowed the renweal of the Iran sanctions act (1996)

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5
Q

appointment powers

powers outlined by article II of the constitution

A

the president nominates officials to the executive branch and judiciary, but this must be confirmed by the senate

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6
Q

2 appointments by Joe Biden

A

Antony Blinknin as secretary of state

Alejandro Myorkas as secretary of homeland security

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7
Q

recess appointments

powers outlined by article II of the constitution

A

allows the president to make temporary appointments to vacancies which would usually require the senates approval, but he can’t get approval as the Senate is in recess.

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8
Q

foreign affairs powers

powers outlined by article II of the constitution

A
  • the president is the commander in chief of the US military and can initiate action (only Congress can declare war)
  • the president negociates treaties with foreign powers
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9
Q

power of the pardon

powers outlined by article II of the constitution

A

pardon: the power of the president to forgive a person of a federal crime, erasing it from their criminal record

commutation: the ability of the president to reduce the sentence issued for a crime

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10
Q

number of pardons done by Clinton, Bush and Obama

A
  • Clinton pardons: 396
  • Bush pardons: 189
  • Obama pardons: 212
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11
Q

what are informal powers?

A

powers that are not granted explicitly by constitution, but which are either taken anyway or enable the president to gain power

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12
Q

appointment of cabinet

informal sources of presidential power

A
  • the cabinet has no constitutional power and the president maintains the final say over policy
  • members are often policy specialists who offer opinions on policy and lend support to the president in his policy objectives
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13
Q

Trumps cabinet - representation

A

Trumps cabinet was more white and male than any other president since Reagan

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14
Q

who did Obama appoint to be the Treasury and why was this good for him?

A

Tim Geithner was appointed by Obama to be the Treasury because his role at the federal state bank of new york, which enabled Obama to deal with the recession after the 2007 economic crises - Tim Geither introduced the financial stability plan and introduced stress tests to ensure banks could withstand economic crises

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15
Q

explain what happened with the Guatanamo Bay situation

A

Obama was concerned that Hagel was not transferring detainees out of Guatanamo Bay quickly enough. Obamas national security adviser sent Hagel a memo requiring him to send updates about transfers. soon after he resigned

the informalness lead to Hagel being careless and he had differing views for Guatanemo Bay than Obama.

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16
Q

Obamas cabinet - representation

A
  • Obamas cabinet was the most diverse, with 7 women, 4 african americans etc
  • a diverse government shows good symbolism and governement at work
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17
Q

% of white men in Trump and Reagans cabinet

A

71% trump and 81% Reagan

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18
Q

e.g when Trump appointed someone with similar ideologies to him

A

Micheal Flynn as his national security adviser : Flynn tweeted controversial statements like ‘fear of muslims is rational’ which clearly indicates a similarity in ideology to Trump, he also critiqued Obamas administration

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19
Q

3 similarities between UK and US cabinet

A
  • both elected by the executive - have to be reflective of society
  • roles within cabinet: both have departments
  • the PM/president can be removed from cabinet with a lack of support from its members (Thatcher, Blair, May), however, in the US, it can happen but hasn’t happened before
20
Q

3 differences between US and UK cabinet

A
  • power: the UK has collective responsibility where the cabinet has collective power over decision making whereas in the US, the president can overrule cabinet
  • appointment proess: the US president has formal checks (clean record etc) on their cabinet whereas the UK doesn’t
  • the UK cabinet has to be in Parliament to be appointed, whereas in the US, they are exclusively barred from being members of congress (e.g Clinton had to quit her job as senator to become Obamas secretary of state) - separation of powers
21
Q

how can the cabinet strengthen the power of the president

A
  • their cabinet can be loyal supporters to them (Trump appointing Ben Carson due to his loyalty)
  • the cabinet has no constitutional power and the president maintains the final say over policy
  • members are often policy specialists who offer opinions on policy and lend support to the president in his policy objectives (Obama and Tim Geithner)
22
Q

how can cabinet weaken the power of the president

A
  • if their cabinet disagrees with them, the president can be removed from cabinet, however, this has not happened yet
  • the president must ensure they can rely on their cabinet (Obama and Hagel during Guatenamo Bay)
23
Q

power of persuasion

informal presidential powers

A

to persuade those around him to achieve his policy goals.

24
Q

how might a president persuade?

A
  • personal gravitas
  • bully pulpit
  • direct moral appeals to Congress
  • offering inducemenets to congress
25
Q

direct morals appeals to congress

1 example

A

Obamas Rose Garden speech of 2013 - he quoted ‘i have the power, but i am handing it over to you (to Congress)

26
Q

bully pulpit

1 example

A

a strong and significant platform from which the president can advance his policy. in US politics it usually refers to the White house

  • Trump on building a wall bordering Mexico
27
Q

personal gravitas

2 examples

A

phoning congressional leaders or having personal meetings with people

  • Obama got his deputy chief of staff to call senators to ensure they vote to ratify Sonia Sotoayor
  • Trump sent his aide to speak to congress whips to share information with them to try to get his Tax Bill passed.
28
Q

offering inducements to congress

2 examples

A

e.g offering broader policy promises to make legislation more palatable:

  • Obama’s promises about Syria intervention only be limited and no ground troops to prevent deaths
  • Obama deported more people than any other president, to show congress he could be trusted with immigration policy and to gain support for his proposed immigration reforms
29
Q

John F. Kennedy : affirmative action

examples of executive orders, successful or unsuccessful?

A

required federal contractors to take affirmative action to ensure equal treatment of employees and job applicants

SUCCESSFUL

30
Q

George W Bush: Homeland Security

examples of executive orders, successful or unsuccessful?

A

established an office of homeland security as a response to 9/11

SUCCESSFUL

31
Q

Barack Obama: Closure of Guatanamo Bay

examples of executive orders, successful or unsuccessful?

A

ensured that detention centre would be closed within a year UNSUCESSFUL with a 90-6 vote in the senate

32
Q

President Clinton being successful with the power of persuasion

A

Budget Reconcilliation Act 1993 (raised taxes)
Improving Americas School Act (raised funding for education)
Crime Bill 1994 (funded police officers and prisons)

33
Q

President Clinton being unseuccessful with the power of persuasion

A

healthcare reform 1993: wanted to force employers to provide health insurance to all employees, but this was dropped in 1994

34
Q

George Bush being successful with the power of persuasion

A

no child left behind act 2002: expanded the governments role in education
homeland security act 2001: provided funding for counter terrorism.

35
Q

George Bush being unsuccessful with the power of persuasion

A

social security reform: allow individuals to divert a proportion of their social security tax into personal retirement accounts. however, the reform was not passed as it had low public support

36
Q

Obama being sucessful with the powers of persuasion

A

Obamacare 2010

37
Q

Obama being unsuccessful with the power of persuasion

A

DREAM Act 2010: fillibustered in the senate
Closure on Guantanamo Bay
Assault Weapon Ban: fillibustered in the senate

38
Q

Electoral Mandate

factors that influence the power of the president

A

if a president has a strong success during election time, this means that he has a strong electoral mandate - this makes his requests difficult for Congress to ignore.

however, if a president has a close/ narrow vote, it would make them weak (less confident with policy)

39
Q

e.g of a president with a strong electoral mandate

A

Obama’s landslide in 2008: 10 million more votes than his rival McCain

40
Q

control of congress

factors that influence the power of the president

A

Congress in a separation of power, have the ability to affect your power as a president, they can pass legislation against you and censor what you say

41
Q

example of when a president has had less control over congress

A

Clinton had less popularity as the majority of his party were Republicans and he was a democrat, making it harder for him to pass legislation.

42
Q

popularity at an election

factors that influence a presidents popularity

A

coattails: if a leader does well in the election it would help others in their party by attracting votes to them too.

if a president is popular, they are more likely to attract support from Congress as a concequense

if a president is less popular, congress are likely to distance themselves from him in the mid terms, therefore decreasing his power

43
Q

national circumstances

factors that influence the popularity of a president

A
  • a national crises can help/hinder a presidents power
  • for example, a strong or weak economy can influence a presidents power
44
Q

how did national crises affect George Bush’s power?

A

after 9/11, his approval ratings increased because of how he dealt with it

45
Q

how did national crises affect Bill Clintons power?

A

he cheated on his wife, which hindered his power

46
Q

how did national crises affect Trumps power?

A

lost support due to his response to George Floyd

also lost support due to his response to covid saying it didn’t exist

47
Q

what is imperial presidency?

A

continue

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