Ch. 13 - The Presidency

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Ch. 13 - The Presidency
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The Many Roles of the President

• Chief of State
• Ceremonial head of the country
• Acts as the face of the U.S.
• Welcomes foreign dignitaries
• For example

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The Many Roles of the President

• Chief Executive
• Ensures that the nations laws are enforced and
  carried out
• Head of the executive branch

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The Many Roles of the President

• Chief Administrator
• Head of the entire bureaucracy people who work
  for the government to implement policies
• Appoints everyone in the top levels with consent
  of the Senate
• May also fire any appointed person
• does not need Senate approval for firing

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The Many Roles of the President

• Chief Diplomat
• Develops the nations foreign policy stances
• Top advisor on foreign policy is the Secretary of
  State
• Spokesperson to the rest of the world
• Meets and befriends leaders of foreign countries

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The Many Roles of the President

• Commander-in-Chief
• Top commander of all branches of the armed forces
• All are subject to his immediate control
• Can wage undeclared wars

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The Many Roles of the President

• Chief Legislator
• Proposes Laws to Congress
• Chooses whether to sign bills into law or veto
  them

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The Many Roles of the President

• Chief of Party
• Undisputed leader and face of the political party
  that helped elect him
• Plans future strategy and direction of the party
• Helps raise money and campaign for other party
  members

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The Many Roles of the President

• Chief Citizen
• Helps the public as a whole, rather than private
  interests
• Represent what all American people should be (in
  terms of character)

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Qualifications

• 35 years old
• Natural Born U.S. Citizen
• Could be born in another country to an American
  parent
• Or born on U.S. soil
• Resident of the U.S. for 14 years

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Terms

• Pres. serves a 4 year term
• Limited to 2 terms by the 22nd Amendment
• If V.P. takes over less than half of Presidents
  term, it doesnt count against him
• Thus, most possible years 10

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Perks

• Salary of 400,000 per year for life
• 50,000 in expenses
• Free medical care for life
• Live in the White House
• Use of Air Force One, Marine One, other
  transportation

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Presidential Succession

• Constitution originally only provided that when
  Pres. becomes incapable, V.P. would become
  acting president
• 25th Amendment fixed this and other issues (1967)

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Presidential Succession

• If president dies, resigns, is impeached, or is
  temporarily incapable, succession occurs
• Pres. can be declared temporarily incapable by
  himself, or V.P. with a majority of the Cabinet
  (25th Amendment)

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Presidential Succession

• Order of Succession set by Presidential
  Succession Act of 1947
• Vice President
• Speaker of the House
• President Pro-Tempore
• Secretary of State
• Each Cabinet Dept. Secretary in the order they
  were created

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But what if I die?!?!
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Vice-Presidential Succession

• If V.P. dies or resigns, president picks a new
  one
• Majority of both houses of Congress must approve

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What Does the V Do?

• 2 Important Jobs (sarcasm)
• Take over if the Pres. dies
• Preside over the Senate
• These 2 jobs take no time, and allow Dick Cheney
  to spend time shooting old men in the face

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So What does the VP Really Do?
Reagan didnt let me do anything.

• They do whatever the president lets them do

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How to Pick a V.P.

• Balance the Ticket pick a guy with qualities
  that will draw voters you wouldnt

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Example of Balancing the Ticket

• President Reagan
• From California (West Coast)
• Very conservative
• Idea man not concerned with details

• Vice-President Bush
• From Connecticut (East Coast)
• Moderate conservative
• Technocrat obsessed with nuance/details

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Presidential Selection

• Constitution says president shall be chosen by
  a number of electors
• These electors are the electoral college

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Original Plan
The Election of 1800

• Each elector gets 2 votes
• 1st Place becomes president
• 2nd Place becomes vice-president
• Then, a crisis occurs

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The Election of 1800

• Political Parties had just appeared
• Jefferson and Burr Democratic Republicans
• Adams and Pinckney Federalists
• Each elector casts his 2 ballots for his partys
  2 candidates

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The Election of 1800

• Final Result
• Thomas Jefferson - 73
• Aaron Burr - 73
• John Adams - 65
• Charles Pinckney - 64
• John Jay - 1

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The Election of 1800

• Burr had run intending to become Jeffersons
  Vice, then realized he had a legitimate claim to
  win!
• Took 36 votes in the House of Reps. to settle the
  dispute and pick Jefferson

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The 12th Amendment
Darn straight, they did.

• Requires presidential and V.P. elections to be
  separate

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The Current Selection Process

• Thankfully for you, the process is much more
  complicated today
• It all starts with the nominating process

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The Nominating Process

• Candidates must win a majority of delegates at
  the party convention
• Each state gets delegates at the convention based
  on the number of electoral college votes, plus a
  bonus for states loyal to the party
• States have choices on how to award these
  delegates

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States Options How to Vote

• Primary Election election among the public to
  choose a nominee
• Open Primary all eligible voters may vote
• Closed Primary only party members may vote

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States Options How to Award Delegates

• Winner-Take-All winner of the states contest
  gets all of the states delegates
• Proportional Representation Each candidate gets
  delegates equal to the of the vote they got
• Democratic Party rules require proportional
  representation

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General Election

• General Election one candidate from each party
  run against each other for the presidency

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General Election

• Each state sets requirements for how a party gets
  qualified to be on the ballot

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General Election

• Traditionally, the Republican and Democratic
  Candidates will debate each other at least once

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General Election

• Winner of the election is determined by who gets
  a majority of electoral college votes (270 out of
  a possible 538)

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General Election

• Electoral College is winner-take-all whoever
  gets a plurality (not a majority) in the state
  gets all the states electoral college votes

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The Electoral College

• Cons
• Undemocratic can win with fewer votes
• Outdated we have technology for voters to have
  full control
• Voters in closely divided states matter more

• Pros
• Preserves stable 2 party system
• No mass confusion over recounts
• Pushes candidates to campaign in smaller states

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Proposed Reforms to the Electoral College

• District Plan
• Electoral College Votes based on who wins each
  congressional district
• Example California has 53 districts
• McCain wins 20, gets 20 electoral votes
• Obama wins 33, gets 33 electoral votes
• Obama wins popular vote in CA, gets 2 bonus votes

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Proposed Reforms to the Electoral College

• Proportional Plan
• Electoral College votes awarded based on of
  popular vote
• Example State has 20 electoral votes
• Obama gets 60, McCain gets 40
• Obama gets 12 electoral votes, McCain gets 8

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Proposed Reforms to the Electoral College

• Direct Popular Election
• Whoever wins the most votes nationwide becomes
  the president

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Proposed Reforms to the Electoral College

• National Bonus Plan
• Electoral College system still in place
• Whoever wins the popular vote nationwide gets a
  bonus of 102 electoral college votes
• 102 is the number which makes it mathematically
  impossible to win popular vote and lose the
  election