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The Modern Presidency maximizing power within
constitutional constraints
The Logic of American Politics
Chapter Seven The Presidency
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Presidential Expectations

• Today the American people expect a lot from the
  president
• These expectations often surpass actual
  constitutionally-based power
• For example, presidents receive blame or praise
  based on the state of the economy
• And, in a crisis, everyone looks to the president

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Two Presidencies?

• Founders designed a presidency that gave the
  executive enough resources for coordinating
  national responses during emergencies but not
  enough to usurp the Constitution.
• Withheld some executive powers giving Congress a
  say over the authority the president was given.
• Result Leadership gravitates to presidents
  during crisis, but then dissipates quickly as the
  crisis recedes.

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Emergence of the Modern Presidency

• As government expanded during the 20th century so
  did the workload of the president.
• With additional responsibilities, the chief
  executive gained additional discretion.
• Presidents have gradually discovered a number of
  tools for maximizing their power within
  constitutional constraints.

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Emergence of the Institutional Presidency

• A modest beginning
• By the early 1800s the number of staff working in
  and around the WH was less than a dozen.
• When FDR became president there were about 50
  staff members. (Including maintenance,
  switchboard, mailroom)

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Emergence of the Institutional Presidency

• In 1937 the Presidents Committee on
  Administrative Management (Brownlow Committee)
  concluded that the president needs help.
• Much like a CEO of a business, the president
  found himself in need of the tools to carry out
  the business of the nation.

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Emergence of the Institutional Presidency

• The Brownlow report, however, ignored the fact
  that the Constitution withholds the kind of
  authority the presidency would need to command
  the federal bureaucracy if it were a business.

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Emergence of the Institutional Presidency

• Congress initially ignored the reports
  recommendations
• Two years later though it agreed to most of the
  proposals and the Executive Office of the
  President was born.

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Executive Office of the President

• Typically ten agencies, together with the White
  House Office, make up the EOP.
• They work primarily with the president and his
  White House staff rather than with each other.
• They perform classic staff functions
• Gathering information (e.g., National Security
  Council)
• Maintaining the organization of the Executive
  Office itself (e.g., Office of the VP)

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The OMB

• The Office of Management and Budget is one of the
  most important agencies in the EOP
• It is responsible for
• creation of the annual federal budget
• monitoring agency performance
• compiling recommendations from the departments on
  bills under consideration in Congress
• administering central clearance.

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White House Office

• The WHO has grown in numbers and in complexity.
• With that has come increased structure.
• Today the chief of staff heads up the WHO and
  relatively clear lines of authority flow from
  that position.
• Specialists have replaced generalists.

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Modern Presidents As Administrators

• As the obligations of government grew, oversight
  of the executive (such as cabinet level agencies)
  began to tax Congresss time and resources and
  its ability to do its work.
• Congress found its interests served by delegating
  administrative duties and policy discretion to
  the White House

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Delegation

• Some of the presidents increased power comes
  from Congress.
• Sometimes Congress does this strategically to
  gain political advantage.
• When would they do this?
• When they agree on the goals of a bill but
  disagree on its specifics. Thus they make the
  language vague and the executive branch has great
  leeway in how it implements the law. This also
  puts blame for unpopular policies on the
  executive rather than Congress.
• Example Congress delegated to
• the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• discretion to establish rules for
• classifying species as endangered
• and threatened.

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Budgeting Power

• The formulation and presentation of the annual
  budget to Congress is one of the presidents most
  important clerical tasks today.
• Authority comes from the delegation of duty from
  Congress -- 1921 Budgeting Accounting Act.
• Until the 1920s, agencies sent their budget
  requests directly to the House Appropriations
  committee.

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Budgeting

• The presidents annual budget, submitted to
  Congress on the first Monday in February, takes
  months of work. Why?
• Assembling and negotiating requests from
  agencies.
• Bringing them into conformity with WH policy
  goals.
• Sometimes sails through other years replaced
  with congressional budget.
• Provides Congress with valuable information.
• Represents the presidents opening bid on how
  much will be spent for what and where the money
  will come from.

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Presidential Assertions of Authority

• Presidents have also tried to pull authority into
  the White House.
• Theodore Roosevelt issued an executive order
  (1902) prohibiting all federal employees from
  communicating with Congress either directly or
  indirectly, individually or through associations
  or to attempt to influence in their own interest
  any other legislation.

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Presidential Assertions of Authority

• Taft extended the rule to cover any congressional
  action. Even information requests were denied
  unless authorized by department head.
• Congress rejected these efforts to centralize
  power and passed legislation to block it.
• Free flow of information was protected.

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Presidential Assertions of Authority

• 1939 FDR managed to take more control of the
  bureaucracy by issuing an order that all
  department communications to Congress that could
  affect future budgets first be cleared as
  consistent with the presidents policy by the
  Bureau of the Budget (todays OMB). (central
  clearance)
• Remains in effect today

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Presidential Assertions of Authority

• President Reagan issued an executive order in
  1980 instructing all federal agencies to submit
  any new regulations or rules to OMB for a
  cost-benefit analysis.
• Impact curbed the number of new rules.
• This clearance process was relaxed after Congress
  responded negatively.
• The Lesson Presidents can assert authority, but
  they cannot overreach. Congress can step in and
  take back power.

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Modern Presidents As Legislators

• Presidents can recommend laws.
• Today, Congress gives these proposals serious
  consideration.
• 90 percent of presidents initiatives are
  considered by some congressional committee or
  subcommittee.
• But that doesnt necessarily mean the president
  gets what he wants

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Modern Presidents As Legislators

• In assembling support for their legislation,
  presidents begin with their party allies in
  Congress. They cultivate this support by
• advocating spending on programs and public works
  for a district or state
• appointing a members congressional aide as an
  agency head, and
• visiting a lawmakers district to generate
  support for the the next reelection campaign.
• These fellow partisans do what they can to
  support their leader.

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Modern Presidents As Legislators

• During George W. Bushs first year, his fellow
  Republicans in the House supported him 86 percent
  of the time, and in the Senate -- 94 percent of
  the time.

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Modern Presidents as Legislators

• Members of the opposing party lack incentives to
  cooperate with the president.
• They have a stake in defeating his
  administration, not helping it carry out policy
  objectives.

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Unified versus Divided Control of Government

• When presidents find their party in majority
  control of the House and Senate, they have
  excellent prospects for passing their legislative
  agenda.
• Examples New Deal and Great Society.
• However, during divided government (when the
  presidents opposition party controls either or
  both legislative chambers), the president
  confronts majorities with different preferences.
• Gridlock often results.

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Unified versus Divided Control of Government

• During the past half century, unified party
  control has occurred less frequently than divided
  government.
• How do presidents deal with this situation?
• pull decisions into the White House
• carefully screen appointees to federal agencies
• utilize the veto
• go public (engaging in intensive public relations
  to promote their policies to voters).

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Veto Bargaining

• The veto allows presidents to block legislation
  they dislike (unless 2/3 of both chambers vote to
  override it).
• The threat of a veto can also serve as a powerful
  tool.
• Presidents can use the threat to manipulate
  Congresss expectations about the likely result
  of alternative legislative packages, helping
  shape legislation

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Veto Bargaining

• How much influence the veto offers the president
  over public policy often depends on how close the
  presidents priorities are to the status quo
  compared to those of Congress.

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The Veto Game

• Scenario 1 The president and Congress have
  sharply different policy preferences

Congress Status Quo President
President Status Quo Congress
In this scenario, vetoes are likely.
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The Veto Game

• Scenario 2 Congress favors a more drastic change
  in policy than does the president.

Status Quo President Congress
Outcome Congress will have to make enough
concessions to the president so that their
proposal is equally or more attractive to him
than the status quo.
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The Veto Game

• Scenario 3 The president favors a more drastic
  change in policy than does Congress.

Status Quo Congress President
Outcome The president will approve Congress
ideal policy because he prefers it to the status
quo.
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Maximizing Power through Informal Means

• Bargaining and persuasion
• Richard Neustadts Presidential Power and the
  Modern Presidents excerpted in essay 7-1
• Going public
• Samuel Kernells Going Public excerpted in essay
  7-2

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Bargaining and Persuasion - Neustadt

• The authority of the president doesnt match
  expectations for his performance
• Constitution guarantees the president little more
  than a role as the chief clerk of the government
  but they have an opportunity to be a real leader

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Bargaining and Persuasion - Neustadt

• The key to presidential success lies in
  persuasion
• The ability to persuade depends on bargaining
• The essence of a Presidents persuasive task,
  with congressmen and everybody else, is to induce
  them to believe that what he wants of them is
  what their own appraisal of their own
  responsibilities requires them to do is in their
  interest, not his.

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Bargaining and Persuasion - Neustadt

• Additional keys to successful bargaining and
  persuasion
• Reputation
• Prestige

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Going Public - Kernell

• Presidents and members of Congress share
  constituencies.
• Going public allows presidents to try and
  bypass bargaining with Congress and attempt to
  coerce members of Congress to comply with his
  wishes by appealing directly to their
  constituents.
• If the president can win the publics backing for
  himself and his policies, opponents in Congress
  may go along because they do not want to offend
  voters.

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Going Public

• Today, presidents spend a great deal of their
  time, energy, and staff taking their message to
  the American people.
• Going on prime-time television.
• Public speeches, travel.

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Going Public

• Mass communication has both expanded and eroded
  the presidents command of the air waves.
• The president has more venues for getting his
  message out but people also have more options to
  avoid it.

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Limitations to Going Public

• An inherently risky strategy
• In a weak position to bargain if going public
  fails
• But when successful, presidents can win big.

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Bargaining versus Going Public

• Which tool is more effective may depend in part
  on whether the government is unified or divided.

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Presidents As Strategic Actors

• While today the president has more authority and
  responsibility than the Founders would have
  imagined, they still often find themselves
  lacking the power to satisfy expectations for
  their performance.
• The demands of the job often outnumber the
  resources.

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Presidents As Strategic Actors

• How presidents utilize their resources, such as
  the veto, to deal with an opposition Congress,
  can make all the difference between success and
  failure.
• So can their savvy in using bargaining and going
  public to help advance their causes.
• Framers mandated that presidents be leaders yet
  gave the the tools to be no more than clerks.
• Over the years, presidents have found ways to
  maximize their power within Constitutional
  constraints.