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US presidency Flashcards

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1
Q

what does it mean by head of state?

A

the chief public representative of country who performs ceremonial functions

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2
Q

where in the constitution is the executive set out?

A

article ii, section 1 created singular executive

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3
Q

what is the executive branch?

A

it is headed by the president and is one of three branches within government

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4
Q

how does president take on head of state?

A

seen in times of national tragedy, plays mourner in chief, Bush played this role after 9/11 and Trump played this less successfully during COVID and George floyd death

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5
Q

how does president fulfil role as head of government?

A

president is chief of executive branch and federal government by power granted in constitution

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6
Q

what are enumerated powers?

A

powers given and written within the constitution

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7
Q

what are the executive powers of the president?

A

submitting the annual budget, the OMB draws it up then the president submits it to congress. this is followed by long process of bargaining especially if congress is split and leads to gridlock

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8
Q

what are the legislative powers of the president?

A

*proposing legislation: can be done through state of union or at anytime by press conference or at public event
*signing legislation
vetoing legislation: can be done through regular veto or pocket veto

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9
Q

what are the appointment powers of the president?

A
  • nominating executive branch officials: e.g 2021 appointments janet yellen as treasury
  • nominating all federal judges: trump nominated neil Gorsuch, brett kavanaugh and Amy coney barett
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10
Q

what are the foreign policy powers of the president?

A
  • commander in chief of the armed forces: after 2001 became more involved as war on terror and Obama had crisis in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria.
  • power to declare war not used by congress since 1941
  • negotiating treaties: e.g nuclear arms treaty with Russia (obama) and chemical weapons ban (George H.W Busb)
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11
Q

what is the power of pardon?

A

wiping away the crime of person.
president ford pardoned Nixon over Watergate, trump pardoned number of associates including Roger stone and Paul manafort

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12
Q

how many pardons have presidents used?

A

bush used total of 189
obama used total of 212
trump used total of 143

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13
Q

what are the informal sources of presidential power?

A

powers not specifically mentioned in the constitution bt are more political powers

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14
Q

what are some of the informal powers presidents have?

A

the cabinet, executive office of president, White House office, national security council, powers of persuasion, executive orders, ect

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15
Q

what is the cabinet?

A

an advice group selected by the president, it is not mentioned in the constitution. all appointments must be confirmed by the senate

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16
Q

how many cabinet meetings have each president held?

A

Clinton only held 6 in first year
bush held 49 in total
obama held 16 in first term and 12 in his second
trump held 25

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17
Q

what is the executive office of the president (EXOP)

A

consists of top presidential staff, was created o help president cope with demands and has grown to include others offices such as WHO and NSC

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18
Q

what was the turnover during Trumps presidency in the EXOP?

A

86% turnover of top officials and culture of sackings and resignations

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19
Q

what is the White House office (WHO)?

A

includes most trusted advisers and aides, is run by the white house chief of staff. has function to provide advice and administrative support for president

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20
Q

what is the White House chief of staff?

A

most crucial job within WHO, some have become too powerful and almost deputy president.
the best model is one who seeks presidents best interests and protects from political harm

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21
Q

what was trumps attitude to chief of staff?

A

did not respect the role and only cultural expectations made him keep the role. he fired first chief of staff, Reince Priebus, over twitter and shortly after fired second John Kelly, he was replaced by mick mulvany who was replaced by mark meadows

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22
Q

what is the office of management and budget (OMB)?

A

has three main functions

  • advise president on federal funds and budget
  • oversee federal spending on departments
  • act as clearing house for all initiatives
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23
Q

what is the national security council (NSC)?

A

established to help president coordinate foreign, security and defence policy. it is used as honest broker with presidents since Clinton using it more often. trump used it more as political rathe than coordinating forum

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24
Q

what is the power to persuade?

A

an informal power in which the president can use their prestige and other bargaining methods to get as they wish

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25
Q

how is power of persuasion limited?

A

in times of party polarisation and divided government, it is more difficult to use persuasive powers.
sometimes even under unified govt it can be difficult e.g bill Clinton failed to pass healthcare reforms

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26
Q

how can president use power to persuade through people?

A
  • appoint key roles in honeymoon period: bush, obama and Biden all did this
  • appoint chief of staff who is good political operator not just gatekeeper: bush found strong CofS
  • used closed discussion when formulating detail, but open to selling final programmes
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27
Q

what are executive orders?

A

a document issued which has the force of law, but is outside of constitution

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28
Q

what are examples of executive orders used by obama?

A

2009: lawful interrogations, reversed bush order
2009: closure of Guantanamo bay was unsuccessful

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29
Q

what is an example of executive order by bush?

A

2001: creation of homeland security

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30
Q

what id an example of executive order by Trump?

A

trump signed more EOs than any other president in first 100 days.

2018: Eo to keep Guantanamo bay open
2017: muslim travel ban

31
Q

what limits are there on executive orders?

A
  • they can be overturned by a president such as ones on abortion options,
  • ruled unconstitutional by courts e.g Clintons federal government contract order
  • by Supreme Court e.g Trumans nationalisation of steel \
  • by congress again the president e.g obamas attempt to close Guantanamo bay
32
Q

what are executive agreements?

A

an agreement reached between president and foreign nation on matters that don’t require a formal treaty. these do not need senate ratification and is useful when senate isn’t controlled by president

33
Q

what examples are there of executive agreements?

A
  • bill Clinton cut deal with North Korea in 1994
  • Obama signed iran nuclear deal with Iran and Paris agreement both in 2015, which were reversed by trump but Biden rejoined Paris accord
  • Trump signed agreement trade deal with Japan in 2019
34
Q

what are signing statements?

A

a statement issued by president on signing a bill which may challenge specific provisions of the bill. some claim this is an overuse of power

35
Q

how did obama use signing statements?

A

used them to raise concerns over detention and interrogation of terror suspects when signing National defence authorisation act in 2011

36
Q

how did Trump use signing statements?

A

issued two to accompany the countering Americas adversaries through sanctions act 2017, he challenged them constitutionally on many aspects

37
Q

what is an example of strong electoral mandate?

A

Ronald Reagan was re-elected with 59% vote in 1984

38
Q

what is example of weak electoral mandate?

A

in modern era presidents less likely to get landslide like Reagan.

  • bush was elected in 2001 after losing popular vote to al gore
  • trump lost popular vote to Clinton but won presidency just short of 50%
  • biden got 51% of popular vote
39
Q

what was Bush’s highest approval rating and lowest?

A

bush had a high of 90% after 9/11 but during last 3 years reached low of 25% in 2008

40
Q

what was trumps average approval rating?

A

average of 41.1%, reaching low of 34%

41
Q

what was obamas highest approval rating and lowest?

A

highest was 67% and lowest was 40%

42
Q

what are Joe bidens approval ratings?

A

highest of 57% and lowest of 40%

43
Q

how can national events effect approval rating?

A

they can either weaken or strengthen ratings depending on response by president. e.g

44
Q

what examples are there of positive impact on approval ratings after national events?

A

Bush: 9/11 attacks reached 90%
Obama: response to hurricane sandy was praised for swift response

45
Q

what examples are there of negative impact on approval ratings after national events?

A

Bush: response to hurricane Katerina was slow
Trump: slow response to hurricane Maria, poor handling of Covid pandemic, and was accused in increasing racial tensions after George floyd death

46
Q

how many presidential vetos have congress overridden?

A

Clinton: 2/36 overridden
Bush: 4/12 overridden
obama: 1/12 overridden
Trump: 1/10 overridden

47
Q

how does divided government effect presidential power?

A

as politics has become increasingly polarised it is difficult for president to to persuade congress to pass legislation.
the president is more powerful under united govt, as of 2020 Biden controlled both houses

48
Q

what does it mean by lame duck president?

A

a president is more likely to be able to get stuff done in first term as they hold the most approval and power and in second term they are less popular and find it harder to pass legislation

49
Q

what is an example of lame duck?

A

Bush’s average in 1st term was 62% whilst 2nd year was 37%

obamas highest approval 67% and lowest of 40% after 2014 mid terms

50
Q

in what years did presidents have united and divided government?

A

Clinton only had 2 years of united govt and 6 years divided

bush had 6 years united govt and 2 years divided

51
Q

what influence does the president have over the Supreme Court?

A

the president has little power to pressure the court, can only criticise the court as Obama did with citizens united case 2010

52
Q

what influence does the supreme court have on the president?

A

SC has considerable influence over president as check on power to prevent overstep of power e.g

  • Sc demand Nixon hand over White House tapes 1974
  • obamas use of recess appointments 2014
  • obamas use of EO to implement immigration reform 2016
53
Q

what is an imperial president?

A

characterised as one who misuses presidential powers in an excessive way in foreign policy and dealing with congress

54
Q

what is an imperilled president?

A

term coined by Gerald ford to characterised by ineffectiveness and weakness

55
Q

what was the bush doctrine?

A

after 9/11 bush set the tone of foreign policy, and was based on two fundamental claims, the virtue of American primacy and the nations right to wage pre-emptive war against perceived threats. lead to Iraq War and war on terror

56
Q

what was Obama’s soft power?

A

the ability to get what you want by attraction rather than coercion, using core method of diplomacy.

57
Q

to what extent did obamas administration live up to soft power?

A

obama failed to close Guantanamo bay and led largest offensive by coalition forces in Afghanistan 2010-11 and signed extension of patriot act 2011
however obama saw last withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and set date for withdrawal from Afghanistan

58
Q

why was trumps foreign policy hawkish pragmatism?

A

he bombed ISIS and launched missile attack on Syrian government air base in 2017 as well as cancelling obamas Iran nuclear deal. however also demonstrated pragmatism with North Korea with face to face meetings and reduced tensions. helped broker deal with UAE and Israel

59
Q

what ways can congress hold president accountable?

A
  • amending, delaying or rejecting presidents legislations
  • the power of the purse
  • senates power over presidential appointments
  • investigation and impeachment
60
Q

what are examples of congress rejecting legislation?

A
  • democrat congress rejected Clintons healthcare reforms 1993
  • republican congress rejected bush’s social security reforms 2003
  • republican congress voted down trumps repeal of Obamacare
61
Q

what was the longest shutdown of government after gridlock?

A

Trump administration with 35 days December 2018 to January 2019

62
Q

what are examples of presidents appointments under scrutiny?

A
  • bush had to withdraw Harriet miers as nomination for SC in 2005 as republican senate didnt believe her to have enough experience
  • obama’s SC nomination Merrick garland was rejected by republican senate
63
Q

what are examples of impeachment?

A
  • Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice
  • Trump was impeached 2x for attempting to coerce Ukrainian govt to reveal damage on Hunter Biden in 2020 and was impeached again for incitement of insurrection in 2021
64
Q

what is an example of investigation by congress?

A
  • 6 house committees set up to investigate Benghazi under Obama
  • following trumps victory, allegations of Russian interference led to 6 congressional committees investigation but found no evidence
65
Q

in what areas of policy was Bill Clinton effective?

A
  • successful in economic growth due to spending restraints and taxes on the rich, unemployment at 30 year low of 4% and poverty rates fell of ethnic minorities
  • clinton had most diverse cabinet at the time with increased minority representation, and appointed more black federal judges, don’t ask don’t tell
  • negotiated end to troubles 1998, successful in Yugoslavia ended genocide
66
Q

in what areas of policy was bill Clinton ineffective?

A
  • unable to pass healthcare reforms due to lack of organisation and divisive policy area
  • critics argue whilst economic recovery looked good on paper it was not evenly distributed, rich poor gap widening
  • homosexuals could not be open about sexuality in military
67
Q

in what areas of policy was George w. bush effective?

A
  • war on terror, created homeland security and patriots act which increased surveillance and security
  • education reform, no child left behind 2002 increased spending on education
  • major tax cuts of $1.25 trillion
68
Q

in which areas of policy was bush ineffective?

A
  • war on terror, war in Iraq based on false premise and US involvement made region less stable at huge financial cost
  • education reform did not significantly improve system
  • major tax cuts criticised as irresponsible at a time of increased government spending
  • social security reform was unsuccessful
69
Q

in which areas of policy was Obama effective?

A
  • healthcare reform was achievement as more adults had health insurance for, uninsured down from 18% to 11%
  • stimulating economy in 2008 with American Reinvestment recovery act and Dodd frank Wall Street reform
  • successfully ended war in Iraq
70
Q

in which areas of policy was Obama ineffective?

A
  • healthcare reform, had to compromise and sacrifice more radical aim of universal healthcare to ensure support
  • failed immigration reform and attempts to bypass congress ruled unconstitutional
71
Q

in which areas of policy was Trump effective?

A
  • taxes and jobs act 2017, slashed corporate tax rates from 35% to 21%, also unemployment at lowest level since 1969
  • immigration, reduced number of people entering US illegally
  • swift passage of CARES act 2020
72
Q

in which policy areas was trump ineffective?

A
  • taxes and jobs did not lead to economic boom or rise GDP by 6% as trump promised and little change in part time jobs
  • failed to repeal Obamacare due to lack of clarity and senate support
  • only built 15 miles of wall across Mexico boarder
  • slow to recognise danger of Covid-19 and leasd to severe casualty
73
Q

which factors assist presidents in achieving their aims?

A
  • united government
  • clear focus
  • the power of persuasion
  • ease of aim
  • reacting well to crisis
74
Q

which factors hinder presidents in achieving their aims?

A
  • divided government
  • lack of focus
  • the failure to persuade
  • the difficulty of the aim
  • reacting poorly to a crisis

US government (5 decks)

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