Political Science- Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Executive Branch

Qualifications for president:
1. Thirty-five years of age.
2. Naturally born citizen.
3. Must live in the country for fourteen years prior to his election.

Historically, presidents have been:
1. White, males.
2. Have political or military background.
3. Married (though Buchanan was a bachelor).
4. Of northern European ancestry.

The concept of popularly elected presidents is an American invention. The constitution set up an electoral college that would vote for the president. Today, however, the electoral college is no more than a number and the president is elected by the people. Up until the twenty- second amendment in 1951, a president could run for an indefinite amount of terms. Now, a president can only serve two terms of four years each.

Succession and disabilities-

The constitution says that if a president can no longer serve, the vice president takes over- he acts as president but doesn’t have the official title of president.

The twenty-fifth amendment discusses the idea of succession and disability-
1. Succession- if the president dies, the vice president becomes president and he chooses a new vice president.
2. Disability- if the president is unable to do his duties, but is alive, the vice president is the acting president. How do you know if the president is ill?
a. He informs Congress that he is too ill to perform his duties.
b. If the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet inform Congress that the president is unable to perform his duties.
The president can resume his duties after he tells Congress that he is well. However, if the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet disagree, Congress has twenty-one days to assess the president’s situation, and by a two-thirds vote, they decide.

Impeachment and removal-

The constitution gives the House of Representatives the right to issue articles of impeachment. If accused, the president can either resign or stand trial. At the trial, the Senate is the jury and the chief justice of the Supreme Court presides over the trial.

The road to the White House-

There are two ways to get elected to the White House:
1. The president dies.
2. You are elected.

Most presidents have been elected. Many have had previous political experience.

The president is elected by the Electoral College. The Electoral College was set up by the constitution, but was changed almost immediately due to the introduction of political parties. Each state has a different number of electors- same as the state’s House and Senate members.

In the general election, you vote for the candidate of your choice. The constitution really wanted that you vote for electors, who will vote for the president. In December, the electors go to Washington D.C.- they cast two votes- one for president and one for vice president, and it’s counted up in Congress.

Today, in order to win the election, you need 270 electoral votes. If no candidate receives the majority of 270 votes, then the House chooses. If no vice president receives a majority of votes, the Senate chooses the vice president.

Over the years of American history, ambitious Americans have never desired the role of vice president.

Constitutional duties of the vice president:
1. President of the Senate and serves as the tiebreaker.
2. Decides the presidential disability with the Cabinet.

Because the vice president may someday become president, the formal qualifications for president apply to the vice president as well. There is one difference though- he can serve an unlimited number of terms. The vice president is usually chosen at the National Convention- the president officially chooses his vice president. The president often chooses a vice president who will balance out his ticket in some way. In recent years, since Kennedy’s assassination and attempts at Ford and Reagan’s lives, people are more focused on who they choose as vice president.

Today, the vice president is given more duties:
1. Takes part in Cabinet meetings.
2. Acts like the president’s representative when meeting with foreign countries.

Article II in the constitution outlines the powers of the president. The system of checks and balances sometimes limits the president, but the power of the modern president has increased because the president has shaped his position. In the Sixties and Seventies, historian Arthur Schlesinger discussed the idea of the imperial president- he said that the president is becoming too powerful. Historian Richard Neustadt said that the president’s powers lie in the ability to persuade others either through negotiations, influence or compromise. From 2002- 2008, Bush and Cheney tried to expand the powers of the presidency.

Duties of the president:
1. Executive powers-
a. Enforces laws, treaties and court decisions.
b. He can issue executive orders- has the power of a law.
c. Appoints and removes officials.
d. Has emergency powers.
e. Presides over the Cabinet and the executive officers.
2. Legislative powers-
a. The constitution declares that every year he give a State of the Union Address- identify the country’s problems, present solutions and discusses legislative proposals.
b. Issues the annual budget and economic reports.
c. Signs and vetoes bills.
d. He proposes legislation and then uses his influence to get it passed.
e. He calls for special sessions of Congress.
3. Diplomatic powers- as chief diplomat, he:
a. Appoints ambassadors and other diplomats.
b. Negotiates treaties and executive agreements- have the same power as treaties, but are quick arrangements between countries.
c. Meets with foreign nations.
d. Can extend and withdraw recognition.
e. Receives foreign dignitaries.
4. Military powers-
a. Serves as the commander in chief of the armed forces.
b. Has the final decision making powers in matters of national and foreign defense.
c. In charge of maintaining domestic order.
5. Judicial powers-
a. Can grant pardons, reprieves and amnesties.
b. Appoints judges to federal judiciary.
6. Party powers-
a. President is the head of his political party.
b. Chooses the vice president.
c. Strengthens the party by helping party members get elected. The expression used is that he is “riding on the president’s coattails”.
d. Gives party members jobs- patronage.
e. Influences the party policies.

There are limits on the presidential powers. To avoid abuse of an executive, the founding fathers made sure that there are checks on the president.
1. Congressional checks-
a. Override a presidential veto with a two-thirds vote.
b. Impeach him.
c. Approve his appointments.
d. Power of the purse- can decide how much money the president gets to spend. In 1974, the Congressional Budget and Impoundment act was passed- denied the president the right to refuse to spend the money that Congress budgeted. It also gave Congress a greater role in the budgeting process.
e. Legislative powers- can pass laws that limit the president- War Powers Act.
f. Legislative veto- Congress can veto an act that the president or Cabinet does. In 1983, this was declared unconstitutional.
2. Judicial checks-
a. Judicial review of executive actions.
3. Political checks-
a. Public opinion.
b. Popularity.
c. How much attention the media gives him.

Presidential character-

Political scientist James Baber examined the importance of the president’s personality and character and discussed how it shapes both him and the presidency. He divided this into four types, based on childhood and other experiences-
1. Active positive- takes pleasure in his work, adjust easily to new situations and is confident in both himself and his work.
a. FDR
b. Truman
c. Kennedy
d. Ford
e. Carter
f. Bush
2. Active negative- is a hard worker but doesn’t enjoy his work, is insecure in his position and may be obsessive or antagonistic.
a. Wilson
b. Hoover
c. LBJ
d. Nixon
3. Passive positive- easygoing, wants agreement from others and may be overly confident.
a. Taft
b. Harding
c. Reagan
4. Passive negative- dislikes politics and tends to withdraw from close relationships.
a. Coolidge
b. Eisenhower

Bureaucracy- systematic way of organizing a large administration in charge of carrying out all day to day operations. The federal government is the largest bureaucracy in the US. It employs 2.8 million people.

Three basic principles of bureaucracy:
1. Hierarchal authority- the people at the top have the power over the people on the bottom, like a pyramid.
2. Job specialization- everyone has a specific job or duty.
3. Formal rules- rules and procedures which must be followed.

History and growth of a bureaucracy-

At the beginning of this nation, in order to work in the government, one had to be at a certain level and there were certain qualifications one had to meet. He also had to have political acceptability. Then came the spoils system- give jobs to your political supporters. During the Age of Reform, they tried instituting competitive exams, but there wasn’t enough government funding so it flopped. In 1883, the Pendleton Act was passed- civil service exam. They did this because President Garfield was shot and they felt that it was due to the fact that he put his friends in office and someone who thought that they deserved a position killed him. In 1939, the Hatch Act was passed- if you are a government worker, you can’t be involved in political activity. This was really meant to keep Communists out of the government. In 1978, they Civil Service Reform Act was passed- it created more bureaucracy. It created the office of personal management- this office recruits and trains government workers and also discusses salaries.
The federal bureaucracy is divided into four parts:
1. Cabinet departments- there are fifteen cabinet departments. Each cabinet is headed by a secretary except the Department of Justice, which is headed by an attorney general. The cabinets have fully stocked offices. All have been set up by Congress (the first three by Washington) and every president chooses his cabinet, but Senate must approve it.
2. Independent executive agencies- these independent executive agencies have power, but don’t have cabinet status, like NASA. These people work specifically with the president.
3. Regulatory agencies- agencies that are here to regulate businesses. The ICC regulates railroads and the SEC regulates the stock exchange.
4. Government corporations- the government carries out businesses like the post office. These businesses are set up by Congress.

Influences on the bureaucracy:
1. The president- he chooses the people and he can issue an executive order, like limiting their budget.
2. Congress- approves the people. They can also pass laws affecting the budget. They can additionally write all kinds of legislation.
3. Iron triangle- a three way work relationship between cabinet members, Congressional agencies and special interest groups.
4. Issue networks- groups that work on an issue. These networks are not permanent like the iron triangle.