Presidential Leadership

April 21, 2009U.S./VA Government

While you wait …Take out a piece of notebook paper and respond:1. What was the name of the legislative program from the

early 1900s that was arranged by Franklin Roosevelt and countered the effects of the Depression?

2. Which president arranged the Louisiana Purchase?3. How did 9/11 build presidential power?4. What right did Abraham Lincoln suspend?5. What are the four most important Cabinet members

who help the president decide most of his key policies called (not the agency known as the National Security Council)?

6. What are the three Constitutional requirements to be president?

The Executive Branch

President

Vice President Cabinet Executive Office

14 Departments

Bureaucracy

Americans mustfollow laws

White House Staff

Agencies

Office of Managementand Budget

National SecurityCouncil

Homeland SecurityCouncil

Council ofEconomic Advisors

Two roles:

1. President of the Senate

2. Presidential Disability

Choosing a President

1. Read all of your eight choices for president.

2. Rank the eight choices in order of your personal preference. Your first two choices should be your picks for president and vice president.

3. Write down at least three factors that you used to make your selections.

Choosing a President

What factors did you use to make decisions?

How does this compare with the paragraphs you wrote on what you expect from a president?

What are the most important qualifications for the president, in your mind?

Presidential Powers

• Presidential powers have developed over time due to changes in the nation and presidential personalities

• Powers are defined by the Constitution, but what the president does is also affected by the following informal sources of power:– Immediate needs of the nation– Presidential energy and influence– Mandate = expressed will of the people

Presidential Powers

• What did the Founders intend?– No absolute power, but yes to a strong executive

• Articles of Confederation weak because it lacked an independent executive to carry out acts of Congress, to respond quickly to problems, and to enforce laws

• Distrust of direct participation by average citizens– Feared that mass movements would try to

redistribute wealth in the nation and that they would lose their private property

– Strong executive branch to protect liberty, private property, and businesses, and hold the legislative branch in check

– Does this still hold true?

Presidential Powers

• Constitutional Powers in Article II– Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces: national security– Chief Executive: appoints heads of executive departments

(i.e. the Cabinet) and conducts foreign policy, such as making treaties and appoint ambassadors

– Judicial powers: appoint federal court judges, pardon people convinced of federal crimes (except in cases of impeachment), reduce a person’s jail sentence or fine

– Legislative influence: ensures that all laws are “faithfully executed,” delivers State of the Union message, proposes legislation, and may call Congress into a special session

Presidential Powers• Informal Sources of Power

– Personal Exercise of Power: extend role for future presidents• 1803 Thomas Jefferson and Louisiana Purchase; established that

the president has inherent powers implied by the Constitution• Theodore Roosevelt: right and duty to do anything that the

nation needs, unless it violates Constitution or other laws– Immediate Needs of the Nation: time of war or economic

crisis• 1860s Civil War and Abraham Lincoln: suspended writ of habeas

corpus, jailed opponents of Union without authority, raised an army w/o Congressional approval, blocked Southern ports without legal right; nation agreed with the president in the end

• 1930s-1940s Franklin Delano Roosevelt: expanded role to deal with Depression; Americans then expected president to take a firm role; most modern presidents have acted in this way as well

• 1960s Lyndon Johnson: Congress gave extra power to deal with a crisis in Vietnam; “take all necessary steps” to protect Americans

Presidential Powers

• Informal Sources of Power– Mandate of the People

• Presidents like to say that their ideas and policies represent a mandate from the people

• Mandate = strong popular support• But popularity ratings change almost daily• Most modern presidents use media to garner popular

support– Radio, television, magazines, newspapers, Internet– Roosevelt’s “fireside chats” -> Twitter?– People often judge president’s ideas according to

their personal appeal on television– Newspapers provide a forum for discussion, staff tend

to leak information to test how people will respond to it

Presidential Roles

• Seven key duties, five based on the Constitution

1. Head of State2. Chief Executive3. Chief Legislator4. Chief Diplomat5. Commander in Chief6. Economic Planner7. Political Party Leader

Presidential Roles

• Head of State– Represents the nation and performs ceremonial roles– Hosts other leaders, first baseball pitch, Christmas tree,

giving awards and medals, etc– Key: presidents are more than just politicians, also symbol

• Chief Executive– Sees that all the laws of Congress are carried out

(bureaucracy)– Seven tools: executive orders, making presidential

appointments, right to remove officials they appointed, impoundment of funds, appoints all federal judges, grants reprieves and pardons, grants amnesty

– Executive orders: rules that have the force of law; issued by the president to spell out details of policies passed by Congress, like designating land for a national park

Presidential Roles

• Chief Executive (continued)– Appoint about 2,200 top officials, share political beliefs?– Not easy to get rid of an official who may have support– Impoundment: president refuses to spend money Congress

has appropriated for a specific purpose (usually routine)• Nixon tried to use this to eliminate programs, didn’t

work– Appointing Supreme Court justices leaves a legacy– Reprieve: Postponement of legal punishment

• Punishment delay– Pardon: Release from legal punishment

• Grace, totally forgiven– Amnesty: group pardon to people for an offense against

the government (draft dodgers, polygamous Mormons)

Presidential Roles

• Chief Legislator– Staff helps to draft bills for Congress and set the

agenda– Usually described in the State of the Union address– Tools:

• Political Favors• Veto power• NO line item veto, that is only for state governors

– This means that the president can only veto the entire part of legislation, he/she cannot pick and choose the parts that he/she wants to specifically get rid of

Presidential Roles

• Chief Diplomat– Makes key decisions about foreign relations, struggle with

Congress over foreign policy, though presidents have advantage because they have access to more information and the assistance of the CIA, State Department, Defense Department, and the National Security Council

– Has ability to take decisive action, whereas hard to pass Congress

– Sole power to negotiate and sign treaties, but the Senate must approve of all treaties before they take effect (Versailles)

– Executive agreements: pacts between the president and a foreign government, generally routine, after 1950 must be disclosed

– Decides which counties we recognize as legitimate (Cuba)

Presidential Roles

• Commander in Chief– Shares power to make war with Congress; Bush Sr.

received approval from Congress before sending troops to Iraq in 1991, which avoided a Constitutional issue

– Since 1973, no president has challenged War Powers Act (Iraq)

– Responsible for key military decisions, not day to day operations

– Has authority to use atomic weapons (Truman)– Takes actions at home to support war effort (price

controls, gas and food rationing, control of industries for goods)

– Control serious disorder in the nation, such as rioting or disaster

Presidential Roles

• Economic Planner– Grown rapidly since FDR’s New Deal– Since 1946, submits annual economic report to Congress;

created Council of Economic Advisors and declared that government could promote employment, production, purchasing power

– Prepares federal budget, decides where to put the money

• Party Leader– Give speeches to raise money for the party– Appoint members of the party to government jobs– Patronage: appointment to political office that rewards

those persons who supported party during the election– Conflict: head of the whole nation or just the party?

Presidential Powers

• Limitations on Presidential Power– Congress

• Congressional override of presidential veto• War Powers Act of 1973: president must remove troops

from combat zone after 60 days• Power of the purse• Impeachment = a decision to bring charges, not

remove from office– Federal Courts

• Have constitutional power to limit a president• President cannot act in areas of authority delegated to

Congress, even if Congress fails to act.

Presidential Powers

• Limitations on Presidential Power– Bureaucracy

• Obstruct programs by failing to provide needed information, misinterpreting instructions, neglecting to complete a task well

• Have discretion to interpret as they see fit and their interpretations may not always be the same as the president’s intention

– Public Opinion• Without it, a president cannot carry out political programs• Americans expect their presidents to be symbolic leaders

and to act with courage and dignity, but they will often disown the president if he or she does not live up to their standards

• Founders did not put anything in the Constitution for regulating the moral character of a president

Presidential Character

• Does it matter? Can you be a good president, but have lousy character?

• YES: Character is a measure of worldview. A president’s worldview will affect all of his or her decisions. It also sets the president’s track record and how other people will respond to him/her. It also affects elections and the party image. Therefore, character is important.

• NO: You can make solid policy decisions while having a shady personal life. Policy decisions are about deciding what is best for the country. That has nothing to do with personal life. Therefore, character is not as important.

Review

• Journal: How important is moral character in a president?

• What are the five Constitutional roles of the president?

• Commander in Chief, Chief Diplomat, Chief Legislator, Chief Executive, Head of State

• What are the two non-Constitutional roles?• Party Leader and Economic Planner• Describe some of the limits on presidential power.• How have presidential powers evolved over time?