Unit 4: The Executive Branch



Unit 4: The Executive Branch

Chapter 13: The Presidency

Section 1: The President’s Job Description

I. The President’s Roles

A. Chief of State

1. Ceremonial head of the government of the United States

B. Chief Executive

1. Head of the executive branch, responsible for carrying out laws

C. Chief Administrator

1. Economic head of a government that spends nearly $2 trillion per year

D. Chief Diplomat

1. Conducts foreign relations

E. Commander in Chief

1. Under control of the armed forces

F. Chief Legislator

1. The main architect of our nations public policies

G. Chief of Party

1. Leader of the political party that controls the executive branch

H. Chief Citizen

1. Represents the public interests of all Americans

II. Formal Qualifications

A. Natural born citizen

1. Has not yet been tested

2. What if a person was born abroad as a U.S. citizen? (military, ambassador)

B. Must be at least 35 years of age

C. Have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years (not necessarily before the election)

*See list of Presidents on pages 318-319

III. The President’s Term

A. The President serves a four year term

B. 22nd Amendment

1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice

C. The maximum a President could possibly serve is 10 years

1. In this situation, the Vice President would have to take over more than halfway through a President’s term, then be elected two more times

IV. Pay and Benefits

A. President’s salary is fixed by Congress and cannot be increased or decreased in a President’s term

B. Set at $200,000 per year

1. In 2001, the salary is scheduled to jump to $400,000

C. $50,000 a year expense account given to the President by Congress

D. Lives in the White House

E. Suite of offices and large staff

F. Yacht, automobiles, use of Air Force One

G. Camp David-vacation resort in Maryland

H. Each former President has received a lifetime pension, now $143,800 per year

Section 2: Presidential Succession and the Vice Presidency

I. The Constitution and Succession

A. Only stated that “the powers and duties” of the office of the president, not the office itself, were to “devolve on the Vice President”

B. The 25th Amendment (1967) states that “in case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President

C. Presidential Succession Act of 1947

1. Set the order of Presidential succession as follows (p. 323)

a. a. Vice President

b. b. Speaker of the House

c. President Pro Tempore of the Senate

d. Secretary of the State

e. Secretary of the Treasury

f. Secretary of Defense

g. Attorney General

h. Other Cabinet positions in order of their creation

II. Presidential Disability

A. Under the 25th Amendment, the Vice President is to become Acting President if:

1. The President informs Congress, in writing, “that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office”

2. The Vice president and a majority of the members of the cabinet inform Congress, in writing, that the President is so incapacitated

a. 1985, Reagan gave up his powers for 7 hours and 54 minutes when he underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his large intestine

III. The Vice Presidency

A. Duties

1. To preside over the Senate

2. To help decide the question of presidential disability

IV. Importance of the Office

A. Only a “heartbeat” away from the presidency

1. Eight presidents have died in office and one resigned

B. The role is increasing today as Presidents rely more on their Vice President as an advisor

Section 3: Presidential Selection: The Framers’ Plan

I. Original Constitutional Provisions

A. After much debate, the framers concluded that the President would be elected by a group of electors

1. Each state would have as many presidential electors as it has Senators and Representatives in Congress.

2. These electors would be chosen in each State in a manner the State legislature directed

3. The electors, meeting in their own States, would each cast two votes—each for a different person for President

4. The electoral votes from the States would be opened and counted before a joint session of Congress

5. The person receiving the largest number of electoral votes, provided that total was a majority of all electors, would become President

6. The person with the second highest number of electoral votes would become Vice President

7. If a tie occurred, or if no one received the votes of a majority of the electors, the President would be chosen by the House of Representatives, voting by States

8. If a tie occurred for the second spot, the Vice President would be chosen by the Senate

II. The Impact of the Rise of Parties

A. Electoral College

1. Group of electors who select the President

B. The Election of 1800

1. Two well defined parties, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans, had been created

2. Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr tied for the Presidency

3. It took 36 separate ballots before the House finally elected Jefferson as President

4. How this election changed the process:

a. Created party nominations for the presidency and vice presidency

b. The nomination of candidates for presidential electors pledged to vote for their party’s presidential ticket

c. The automatic casting of the electoral votes in line with those pledges

C. The 12th Amendment

1. Separated the presidential and vice-presidential elections

Section 4: Nominating Presidential Candidates Today

I. The Role of Conventions

A. Extent of Control by Law

1. Not really controlled under law

2. Chooses the two major party candidates

B. Convention Arrangements

1. In recent years, the party out of power has its party first (July), the other follows (August)

2. Held in large cities

C. The Apportionment of Delegates

1. Traditionally, the number of delegates from each state equaled the number of electors the state had in the electoral college

2. Today, each party uses a more complicated formula (Republicans=2100 delegates, Democrats 4300)

D. Selection of Delegates

1. Controlled by state governments

II. Presidential Primaries

A. Presidential Primary

1. It is a process in which those who vote in a party’s primary: elect some or all of a State party organization’s delegates to the national convention, and/or express a preference among the various contenders for that party’s presidential nomination

B. History

1. In 2000, 43 states held a primary

C. Primaries Today

1. Difficulties

a. The fact that in each State the details of the delegate-selection process are determined by that state’s own law

b. The ongoing reform efforts in the Democratic party

2. Dates

a. New Hampshire always holds the first primary

b. Small states want an early primary to get more attention (SD)

3. Winner-take-all

a. Some states give all of their convention votes to the candidate who wins the primary

b. Democrats do not allow this

III. Evaluation of the Presidential Primary

A. Hard fought contests occur, but are not common in the party in power because:

1. The President himself is seeking reelection

2. The President has pledged his support to another candidate

B. For the party out of power, the primaries are real battles

IV. Caucuses and Conventions

A. In those states that do not hold primaries, delegates to the national conventions are chosen in caucuses and conventions

1. Iowa caucuses are the first held, even before the New Hampshire primary

Section 5: At the National Convention

Functions of the Convention

1. Adopt the party’s platform

2. Formally nominate its presidential and vice-presidential candidates

3. Unify the party behind those candidates and for the upcoming campaign

I. The Convention Setting

II. The Opening Session

A. Conventions generally run four days

B. First day is devoted to two matters

1. Organizing the convention

2. Delivering rousing speeches

C. Keynote Address

1. Speech delivered by one of the party’s most dynamic orators

D. Elections to standing committees

1. Rules and order of business

2. Permanent organization

3. Credentials

4. Platform and resolutions

III. The Second and Third Sessions

A. More speeches

B. Platform reaches the floor

1. It is largely drawn up before the convention

2. Platform-supposed to be a basic statement of the party’s principles and its stands on major policy matters

IV. The Final Sessions

A. Nominating the party’s candidate for the presidency

B. Speeches are given on behalf of the candidates intended to raise support

C. States are roll called to vote for their candidate

1. Balloting goes on until a candidate achieves a majority of the delegates’ votes and is thus nominate

D. Candidate’s acceptance speech

V. Whom Does the Party Nominate?

A. Incumbents generally receive the nomination

B. The candidate who is most “electable” will receive the nomination

C. Most candidates have been former Governors

D. Neither party has nominated a woman or a minority member

1. 1984-Geraldine Ferraro was Democratic choice for V.P

2. 1988-Jesse Jackson made a strong run against Michael Dukakis

*Which do you think we will see first, a woman presidential candidate or a minority candidate?

Section 6: The Election

I. The Electoral College Today

A. The popular vote does not necessarily go to the presidential candidate, but rather to the elect presidential electors

B. The presidential electors are chosen on the same day as the presidential election (Nov. 7, 2000)

1. Electors are chosen at-large in every State except Maine and Nebraska

2. Chosen on a winner-take-all basis

The candidate receiving the largest popular vote in a State wins all of that State’s electoral votes

a. The formal election of the President and Vice President, when the electors cast their votes, takes place on January 6

C. 270 electoral votes are needed to be elected

II. Flaws in the Electoral College

A. The First Major Defect

1. It is possible for a candidate to win the popular vote, but lose the election

a. Electoral college system is winner-take-all

b. How the electoral votes are distributed among the states

2. The popular vote winner has failed to be elected three times

a. 1824 (Andrew Jackson lost to John Quincy Adams in the House)

b. 1876-Rutherford B. Hayes was elected president because he received one more electoral vote, but lost the popular vote to Samuel J. Tilden by over 2 million votes

c. 1888-Benjamin Harrison received 233 electoral votes to Grover Cleveland’s 168, despite receiving 90,596 less popular votes

B. The Second Major Defect

1. Nothing in the Constitution, nor in any federal statute, requires the electors to vote for the candidate favored by the popular vote in their States

C. The Third Major Defect

1. A strong third party candidate could cause any election to be decided by the House of Representatives

a. Voting would be done by states, not individuals

b. If the Representatives from a State were so divided that no candidate was favored by a majority of them, the State would lose its vote

c. The Constitution requires a majority of the states for election in the House (26). This could be difficult to attain

III. Proposed Reforms

A. The District Plan

1. Two of the state’s electors would be chosen from the state at large. They would cast their votes in line with the statewide popular vote result. The other electors would be elected separately in the state’s congressional districts and would vote the way their district did

B. The Proportional Plan

1. Each presidential candidate would receive the same share of a State’s electoral vote as he or she received in the State’s popular vote

C. Direct Popular Election

1. This plan would elect the president by the vote of the people

2. Not allowed under the Constitution

3. This plan would hurt smaller states

D. The National Bonus Plan

1. Would keep much of the electoral college system, especially its winner-take-all feature, the same. It would weight that feature in favor of the winner of the popular vote

2. A national pool of 102 electoral votes would be awarded, automatically, to the winner of the popular vote contest. These votes would be added to the number of votes won in the electoral college. If all those votes added up to a majority of the electoral college (at least 321), that candidate would be elected President

E. A Final Word

1. Supporters of the Electoral College argue:

a. It is a known process

b. It identifies the winner of the presidential election quickly and certainly

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