Can anyone be the President of

the U.S.?

Constitutional Requirements:• Must be at least 35 years

old• Must have lived in the

United States for 14 years• Must be a natural born

citizen

Unofficial:• Ability to win party

nomination• High office holder• Family name• Money

Demographic Characteristics of U.S. Presidents

• 100% male• 100% Caucasian• 97% Protestant• 82% of British

ancestry• 77% college

educated

• 69% politicians• 62% lawyers• >50% from the top 3%

wealth and social class• 0.5% born into

poverty• 69% elected from

large states

Presidential Benefits

• $400,000 tax-free salary• $50,000/year expense account• $100,000/year travel expenses• The White House• Secret Service protection• Camp David country estate• Air Force One personal

airplane• Staff of 400-500

Christmas at the White House, 2004

Powers of the President

Formal Powers of the President

• Constitutional or expressed powers of the presidency

• Found primarily in Article II of the Constitution (the Executive Article)

Formal Powers: Military Powers

• Commander in Chief of the Army & Navy

• Making undeclared war– Limited by War Powers Act

1973• President can commit troops

for 90 days

Executive Powers

Formal: Expressed in Constitution

• “Faithfully execute” the laws• Direct the administration• Appoint and remove

many officials

Informal Powers: Those powers not explicitly written in the Constitution but

inferred – expanded during modern presidenciesExecutive Orders• Orders issued by the President

that carry the force of law– Clinton’s “Don’t ask don’t tell”

gays in the military policy– FDR’s internment of Japanese

Americans– GWB trying suspected terrorists in

military tribunalsNotice for Japanese “relocation,” 1942

Executive AgreementsInternational agreements, usually related to trade, made by a president that has the force of a treaty; does NOT need Senate approval• Jefferson’s purchase of Louisiana in 1803 • GWB announced cuts in

the nuclear arsenal, but not in a treaty; usually trade agreements between

US and other nations

Executive Privilege• Claim by a president that he has the right to decide

that the national interest will be better served if certain information is withheld from the public, including the Courts and Congress

• United States v. Nixon (1973) – presidents do NOT have unqualified executive privilege (Nixon Watergate tapes)

Diplomatic Powers• Appoint ambassadors,

ministers and consuls• Make treaties subject to

Senate confirmation• Receive ambassadors• Diplomatic Recognition –

acknowledging the legal existence of a country/state

Legislative Powers• Give State of the Union

address to Congress

• Recommend “measures” to the Congress or veto legislation

• Upon “extraordinary occasions” convene both houses of Congress

Judicial Powers

• Grant reprieves• Grant pardons• Commute

sentences• Grant amnesty

Presidential Roles

Quick FireDescribe the message of one of the following

political cartoon.

Head of State

Queen Elizabeth and President Reagan, 1983

President Kennedy speaks at Berlin Wall, 1963

The President is chief of state. This means he is the ceremonial head of the government of the United States, the symbol of all the people of the nation.

Chief Executive

President Bush holds cabinet meeting in October, 2005

President Clinton with Janet Reno, the first female Attorney General,

February, 1993

The Constitution vests the President with the executive power of the United States, making him or her the nation’s chief executive.

Commander-in-Chief

President Bush aboard U.S.S. Lincoln, May, 2003

President Johnson decorates a soldier in Vietnam, October, 1966

The Constitution makes the President the commander in chief, giving him or her complete control of the nation’s armed forces.

Chief Legislator

President Clinton delivers the State of the Union Address, 1997

President Roosevelt signs into law the Social Security Act, 1935

The President is the chief legislator, the main architect of the nation’s public policies.

Political Party Leader

President Reagan & Vice-President Bush accepting their party’s nomination in 1980

The President acts as the chief of party, the acknowledged leader of the political party that controls the executive branch.

Chief Administrator

Vice-President Johnson sworn in aboard Air Force One

after President Kennedy’s assassination, 1963

President Bush at Ground Zero after 9-11

The President is the chief administrator, or director, of the United States government.

Chief Diplomat

President Lincoln during the Civil War, 1862

President Roosevelt and the “Bully Pulpit,” 1910

As the nation’s chief diplomat, the President is the main architect of American foreign policy and chief spokesperson to the rest of the world.

Chief CitizenThe President is expected to be “the representative of all the people.”

Role of the Vice President

Jumpstart AssignmentDescribe the following political cartoon. How does it relate to the power of the President and Vice President?