OConnor and Sabato, Chapter 7: The Presidency

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OConnor and Sabato,Chapter 7 The Presidency

• Presentation 7.3
• The Presidents Role in the Legislative Process
  the Impact of Public Opinion

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Key Topics

• The role of the president in the legislative
  process the president as policy maker
• Public Opinion and the President

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The Role of the President in the Legislative
Process

• FDR was the first president to send a package of
  legislative proposals to Congress
• It is the duty of the President to propose and
  it is the privilege of the Congress to dispose
• Marked a transition in the presidents role in
  the legislative process

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1a. Presidentialist vs. Congressionalist Views

• FDRs view illustrates the presidentialist view
• Article IIs grant of executive authority gives
  president discretionary powers
• GOP presidents congresspersons often embrace
  the congressionalist view
• Executive power should be read narrowly
• Presidents should not intrude into the
  legislative process

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1ai. Institutional Conflict

• The public increasingly looks to the president to
  formulate legislative plans
• Congress has at various times attempted to resist
  presidential influence (e.g. GOP Contract With
  America)
• Presidents must construct voting majorities in
  Congress to play a constructive role in the
  legislative process

Presidents can always play an obstructionist role
through the use of the veto power.
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1aii. Presidents Divided Government

• Presidents have a tough time getting anything
  done when the other party controls one or both
  houses of Congress
• Presidents are more likely get legislation passed
  that were central themes of their campaign

The Senate can be an especially potent weapon in
the hands of an opposition party.
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1aiii. Honeymoons and Lame Ducks

• Presidents are stronger earlier in their
  administrations, and their influence w/ Congress
  wanes later in their administrations
• LBJ You cant put anything through when half
  the Congress is thinking how to beat you

LBJ being sworn in on Air Force I after JFKs
assassination. Picture courtesy Encarta.
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1b. Presidential Involvement in the Budgetary
Process

• Congress spends more time fighting over the
  budget than it does legislating
• The origins of the presidents role in the
  budgetary process the Great Depression
• From the Bureau of the Budget (1921) to the
  Office of Management and Budget (1970)

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1bi. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

• Works exclusively for the president
• Employs hundreds of economists and budget/policy
  experts
• Provides economic forecasts analyzes the costs
  of proposed legislation

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1bii. The OMB and the Budget

• Fears of rampant deficits led to passage of the
  Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act
• Empowered the OMB to eliminate automatic spending
  increases in programs like Social Security

Congress increased OMBs powers to assess each
appropriations bill.
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1bii. Clintons Balanced Budget?

• Both parties unwillingness to compromise led
  money to be funneled into deficit reduction
• The result was the 1st balanced budget in 1998
  since the Nixon administration

Bill Clinton signing the NAFTA Treaty. Picture
courtesy Encarta
Both parties can take credit for balancing the
budget.
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1c. Ruling Through Regulation

• Presidents have other means of influencing public
  policy
• Presidents can issue executive orders, which have
  the effect of law
• All executive orders are published in the Federal
  Register

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1ci. George W. Bushs Use of Executive Orders

• Reversed the Clinton administrations funding of
  fetal tissue research and groups providing
  abortion counseling
• Limited stem cell research to existing lines
• Created the Office of Homeland Security (later
  Congress made it a Cabinet-level department)
• Negated the Presidential Records Act (1978)

The Presidential Records Act established that the
records of presidents belong to the American
people. Bush also blocked access to vice
presidential papers.
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1d. Winning Support for ProgramsThree Methods of
Winning Support

• 1st -- Patronage support for congressional
  protégés is helpful
• 2nd Party discipline personal appeals can be
  effective
• 3rd Presidential style developing a leadership
  style is often the difference between a great
  and mediocre president

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1dii. Presidential Leadership

• Is there a psychological profile that will help
  identify great leaders
• James David Barbers typology of presidential
  personalities (see next slide)
• Is the saying The times make the man (or woman)
  true?

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1diii. Barbers Typology of Presidential Character
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1div. The Power to Persuade

• Political scientist Richard E. Neustadt argues
  that presidential power is the power to
  persuade
• Individuals ability to bargain and compromise
  goes a long way toward determining whether a
  presidency will be successful or not

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2. Public Opinion the President

• Presidents can gain support by going public
• Teddy Roosevelt and the bully pulpit
• Passed legislation unpopular with his own party
  by appealing to the public

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2i. The Impact of Scandals on the Presidency

• People have become more skeptical of presidential
  actions as a result of several bad scandals
• LBJs credibility gap on Vietnam
• Nixon, Watergate, and the abuse of executive
  privilege
• U.S. v. Nixon (1974) the Court unanimously held
  that executive privilege did not empower the
  president to refuse to comply with judicial orders

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2ii. The Impact of Watergate

• Public cynicism of politicians increased
• Journalist-politician relationships turned
  adversarial
• Partisan animosity escalated

Nixon saying farewell after resigning the
presidency on Aug. 9, 1974. Picture courtesy
Encarta.
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2a. Going Public

• Making direct appeals to the electorate to
  support legislative proposals
• Wholesaling making national appeals via
  television
• Retailing making targeted appeals to key states

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2b. Presidents vs. Prime MinistersPresidents
Prime Ministers

• Greater appointment powers
• Larger staffs
• Head of separate institution from legislature
• Harder to remove

• Can be removed by vote of no confidence
• Do not face term limits
• Part of the legislature (guaranteed support)

Presidents in countries like Egypt, China, and
Mexico bear little relation to the American
presidency in terms of power or role in
government.
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2b. Presidential Approval Ratings

• The importance of survey data in determining
  presidential success
• Popular presidents can get things done unpopular
  presidents face greater obstacles
• Presidents tend to be popular early in their terms

Random poll respondents answer to a single
question -- Do you approve or disapprove of the
presidents performance in office? goes a long
way toward determining a presidents ability to
achieve his/her goals.
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2bi. The Vagaries of Approval RatingsThe Strange
Case of Bill Clinton

• Came into office with low approval ratings (a
  plurality president)
• In 1994, Clinton bottomed out at below 40
  approval
• However, he rebounded and won reelection
• Approval ratings remained high despite (or
  because of?) personal scandals

Clintons 1st term rebound was helped in part by
his conflict w/ the GOP- dominated Congress. The
govt. shutdown was blamed on Republicans.
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Conclusion Continuity and ChangeA Woman
President?

• Victoria Woodhull was the 1st women to seek the
  presidency
• Sen. Margaret Chase Smith campaigned for the GOP
  nomination in 1964
• Elizabeth Dole campaigned for the GOP nomination
  in 2000
• No woman has waged a credible campaign to date

What obstacles do women face in seeking the
presidency? Are Americans still too biased to
elect a woman president?
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Conclusion cont.Americans Polled Could You Vote
for a Woman Candidate for President?