THE PRESIDENT(CH 12 WILSON; 6 L &

G)

We’ve come to think of the President as being all powerful and all important. It’s not surprising that the allegory of the President being “the Wizard of Oz” is just as true today (if not more so), as it was when Blaum, wrote during the Progressive Era.We’ll see that these increased expectations are the source of new presidential powers and increased disappointment in government (usually the President).

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

CONSTITUTIONAL BASIS OF PRESIDENCY

SCOTUS. affirms in 1890 (In re Neagle) Pres. can be bold in inferring the powers the Congress/Constitution grants.

Delegated (From

Congress)En

umer

ated

(by

the

Cons

titut

ion)

vs.

Powers

The Fundamental Question is -How to have an “energetic” Executive

(Hamilton’s phrase); while still having a responsible office holder?

If Congress selected the Pres there would be problems (Like What____?) If there was direct election there would be problems (____?).

How does this get solved?Electoral college

President would be responsible to the State Legislatures - not the electorate. - Remember close elections would be resolved by the HOUSE - (1824 good story; NY & Van Rensselaer )

FORMAL ROLES OF THE PRESIDENT: Head of State (“Public Face”), Head of government (Executive, Military, Legislative).Head of State:Military: (Art. II Sec 2: “Commander in Chief” of Army/Navy of U.S., and Militia of the several States, when called in to the actual Service of the U.S.President is Commander in Chief but also a civilian. (why Ike was never called “General” after being Pres. - also why Clinton was not prosecuted under military law)Pres. controls international and domestic security agencies (CIA, NSA, FBI). REMEMBER CONGRESS MUST DECLARE WAR - President is responsible once that action has been taken (at least that’s the way it’s supposed to work).Judicial: President’s power to pardon (ie Ford’s of Nixon: for ALL offenses he HAS or MAY HAVE committed) is near absolute. Diplomat: Pres. has the power to “recognize” other countries - as Nixon did with mainland China. Especially with the role the US plays in world affairs today, this is of substantial importance in world affairs.IMPERIAL PRESIDENT/UNITARY EXECUTIVE (JACKSON(?) LINCOLN(?) W. BUSH(?):Idea that the president’s inherent powers give him the responsibility to be the prime mover of all government action.Proponents point to the Commander in Chief role as central to expanding executive power. (Bush was very quick to make it clear he viewed himself as a war-time president, in a war that would be fought beyond his term.)Not limited: Pres. Clinton didn’t ask Congress before bombing Serbian positions (1995). Also promised US troops for security in different parts of the world; without Congressional approval.WHEN A PRESIDENT OBTAINS POWER, HIS SUCCESSORS ARE VERY RELUCTANT TO SURRENDER IT!!Head of GovernmentExecutive Power “executive power (Art. II Sec 1), faithful execute laws (Art. II Sec 3), appoint, remove, supervise executive officers and appoint fed. judges (Art. II Sec 2).Like a CEO pres. has the power and responsibility to execute policySenate must approve nominations - but courts affirm Pres. can remove without Senate input.CHART 3 - INSTITUTIONAL PRESIDENTMilitary: Constitution & law requires Pres. to act against “Invasion” or “domestic Violence.” Also requires state legislatures (or Governors if leg. is not in session) to request help; before troops can be sent in.What about Little Rock in ’57? - Gov. Orval Faubus had sent in the National Guard (state militia) to prevent integration. Pres. Ike sends in 101st Airborne to ENFORCE A FEDERAL ORDER/PROTECT FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS/MAINTAIN ESSENTIAL NATIONAL SERVICES.Legislative Power: Art. II Sec. 3 “shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”At 1st Washington sent a report (not a major speech) to Congress.Recommend is all Pres. can do; but there is a bully pulpit.Since FDR; has been the fountainhead of new legislationVETO & POCKET VETO. - See Chart.Impound Funds (until Nixon) Presidents could refuse to fund the programs Congress has authorized. Since Watergate - Both houses must agree to the impound.THE RISE OF PRESIDENTIAL GOVERNMENTIn PRACTICE - NOT in THEORY the President is the most important factor in American politics. Because the President is the only office elected with a national constituency it has the broadest popular base. This popularity can be a great resource for presidential power - BUT a resource is not power. A popular president can use this resource to unlock power that is vested in the Constitution or law.Legislative Epoch, 1800-1933: The clear intent of the framers was for Legislative Supremacy (What examples can you think of to support this?____) [Also Madison in Federalist #51 states “In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates.”]The 1st decade was unique because everything was precedent settingBy the end of the 1st decade Congress had developed a strong organization, including leadership and division of labor (committee system), established jurisdictions for standing committees, and party (new invention) hierarchies.Congress was leading - Pres. was a “Chief Clerk” From Madison on to the Modern Era we see a series of forgettable Presidents (Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt, Wilson(?) and Lincoln being exceptions; notice how the power gained by these exceptions doesn’t transfer to their successors).Goal of government at this time is largely to promote commerce (which can be better done through Congressional Committee - why would I take the job on the other side of Penn. Ave?) - Presidents DO contribute to Manifest Destiny New Independence comes with the National Nominating convention (although not very quickly) slowly the power of the “bosses” in “smoke filled rooms” fades. (but is it totally gone?)As the nation become more closely tied together (Conventions, new technology - telephone/graph, radio, TV - Primary system). The president is able to tap into his national constituency thus effecting the legislation Congress passes. Teddy Roosevelt is the 1st to describe the Presidency as a “Bully Pulpit”, every president since FDR has been able to use the Power.The New Deal is the dividing line between Congressional dominance and Presidential Government.New Deal and the Presidency (Modern Period), 1933-Present:Also called the 3rd founding (Rev, Civil War, New Deal) because the the dramatic changes in the size and reach of the Federal Government. (Is a powerful national government needed in a global world with the USA as a world leader?)Many early New Deal programs are ruled unconstitutional. In ’36 (after landslide and FAILED court-packing attempt) the S.C. changes to favor more New Deal programs.100 Days Graphic National Labor Relations Board (think Wagner Act) v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. NLRB prevents corps from interfering in the efforts of workers to unionize. Steel Corp says NLRB has no jurisdiction because the Company is based in only 1 state. Court says large companies with suppliers & subsidiaries in many states can be regulated by Federal Gov’t. *** Since the New Deal the Courts have not seriously challenged the Presidential/Congressional acts to intervene into the economy or society. That might change when SCOTUS hears a case on Health Care Law.Delegation of Power: Congress has turned over much of its power to the executive. This is usually done by giving the President a broad mandate for action, with few detail of how it is to be done. For example the Clean Water Act leaves it to the Executive Branch to decide the level of toxins permitted in drinking water. (Pres. GW Bush famously upped the permitted level of arsenic in drinking water in 2001.)The theory: 1. Congress ID’s the problem. 2. Congress sees it has neither the time nor expertise to deal with the problem (scientists are better than lawyers at figuring our what is “clean” water) 3. Congress sets he basic policies and leaves it to the President to “fill in the details”. CONGRESS IS STILL THE CONSTITUTIONAL SOURCE OF POWER, AND CONGRESS COULD CHOOSE TO RECIND THOSE POWERS THAT HAVE BEEN DELEGATED (Through amendments, new laws, budget cuts, or committee oversight). PRESIDENTIAL GOVERNMENTFormal Resources of Pres. Power:Patronage: Choosing the high level political leadership of government. Allows building of economic/political constituency.Cabinet: (Part Patronage) - Tend to be appointed based on political considerations. “Inner Cabinet” - VP, Sec. State, Defense, Treasury, Attorney Gen. and others invited in.White House Staff: Tend to be the trusted people who have worked with the Pres. during the campaign and in previous gov’t service. - Tend to be more trusted than Cabinet membersExecutive Office of the Pres.: Those that provide advice to pres. (Office of Management and Budget and CIA for examples.)The Vice: Deliver a key state (maybe); then what? Depends of the Pres.Informal Resources of Pres. Power:Elections: A Landslide or clear victory (or not in the case of GWB) can lead to a mandate: interpretation of voter approval for Presidential programs - thus Congress must go along. Obama ’08 - Mandate do more of that. Obama 2010 stop that we don’t like it(?) (or is the losses in ’10 more about the differences in the composition of the electorate in off year as oppose to presidential years).Initiative: As an individual actor the Pres. is better able to coordinate the actions of his branch. Presidential Initiative will tend to dominate: the media, congressional hearings, floor debates.Media: Press Conference, Public Speech, TV/Radio/Web Address all allow the Pres. to dominate the news (and influence Congress).Party: Greater power of my party in Congress increases the likelihood Pres. initiatives will go through. BUT dominance of the “political branches” leads to unified opposition by the other party. This makes bipartisanship harder. Groups (Coalitions): We defined traditional Dems & Rep Groups - look at it again.Popularity: The more popular the Pres. is the more he is able to get support for his programs. (opposite also true). As a tendency, Popularity tends to diminish over the term. However when the Pres. reacts to a crisis there is likely to be a rallying of public opinion (ie: Bush after 9/11, Clinton’s response to impeachment).