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Power of the President
◦Commander in ChiefWars Powers Act- ◦Must consult Congress◦Report within 48 hours◦Not more than 60 days
Grant Pardons-
Bush pardons
Clinton pardons
Execute lawsOpen to interpretation- G. Bush used
signing statements to circumvent this responsibility:
Today, I have signed into law H.R. 2863, the "Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006." The Act provides resources needed to fight the war on terror, help citizens of the Gulf States recover from devastating hurricanes, and protect Americans from a potential influenza pandemic.
Sections 8007, 8011, and 8093 of the Act prohibit the use of funds to initiate a special access program, a new overseas installation, or a new start program, unless the congressional defense committees receive advance notice. The Supreme Court of the United States has stated that the President's authority to classify and control access to information bearing on the national security flows from the Constitution and does not depend upon a legislative grant of authority. ..The executive branch shall construe these sections in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the President.
Washington Post Headline: Senate Supports Interrogation Limits- Bipartisan rebuff of White House
Bush statement- Today, I have signed into law H.R. 3199, the ``USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005,'' The bills will help us continue to fight terrorism effectively The executive branch shall construe the provisions of H.R. 3199 that call for furnishing information to entities outside the executive branch, in a manner consistent with the President's constitutional authority to supervise the unitary executive branch and to withhold information
Appoint officials:◦Supreme Court Justices◦Lower court judge◦Ambassadors◦Cabinet members
◦Process becoming more difficult:Pres Bush nominated 39 people for 27different judgeships
that were blocked by filibuster
Bork: “The process is no longer controlled by the Senate…controlled by well-endowed constituency groups
Make treaties:◦2nd treaty of Versailles- Ends WWI◦North Atlantic Treaty- Established NATO
◦NAFTA
Approve or veto legislationVetoes:Bush-12FDR- 635Reagan- 78Washington-2
The President has tools:1. the Constitution2. Good will (interpersonal skills) 3. Personal popularity4. Willingness to act5. Executive order- Oh man!
Executive order- is this OK?
Examples:FDR-internment of Japanese-Americans after the
attack on Pearl Harbor Truman -integration of the armed forces Eisenhower-integrate the nation's schools.Article II sec 1:"The executive power shall be vested in a president
of the United States of America…." Article II, section 3:
"The President shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed”
Using power
Presidentialist- More common since FDR- belief in active government- Policy maker not just executor of laws
Congressionalist- “ Faithfully execute the laws”. A much more conservative approach. LBJ said it is not enough, pres must build coalitions, legislate
T. Roosevelt:“the executive power was limited only by specific restrictions and prohibitions appearing in the Constitution or imposed by Congress “…bound actively and affirmatively to do all he could for the people and not content himself with the negative merit of keeping his talents undamaged in a napkin.
Which is he?
Taft:”The president can exercise no power which cannot be fairly and reasonably traced to some specific grant of power or justly implied and included within such express grant as proper and necessary to its exercise. Such specific grant must be either in the federal Constitution or in an act of Congress passed in pursuance thereof. “
Which is he?
Presidential Power
Richard Neustadt’s famous essay:1. Power is the ability to persuade and
bargain2. Power is dispersed in the political system-
president can not command things and expect results
3. the other institutions have their own constituencies and sources of power
President needs cooperation of others, he must meet their interests too
Three audiences
1. Washington DC, the political leaders- must command respect- The Johnson Treatment◦ Its tone could be supplication, accusation, cajolery,
exuberance, scorn, tears, complaint, the hint of threat. It was all of these together. It ran the gamut of human emotions. Its velocity was breathtaking, and it was all in one direction. Interjections from the target were rare. Johnson anticipated them before they could be spoken. He moved in close, his face a scant millimeter from his target, his eyes widening and narrowing, his eyebrows rising and falling. From his pockets poured clippings, memos, statistics. Mimicry, humor, and genius of analogy made The Treatment an almost hypnotic experience and rendered the target stunned and helpless.
2. Party activists- exemplify party principles/carry out slogans/ be ideological- This can be a problem- remember that “hope and change guy”?
-"I want to be realistic here. Not everything that we talked about during the campaign are we going to be able to do on the pace that we had hoped."
3. The public- many different publics- Presidents give fewer impromptu speeches want to control the message. Bush was great at it-Obama not so much
So who helps this poor guy?Cabinet- Not part of Constitution. Grew over
time. First cabinet, Sec of war, Sec of Treasury, State & Atty General
Cabinet grows:
Cabinet once met regularly with President. Not so much now. This is really just a photo op:
Cabinet has never been a good tool for sharing ideas with President.
Natural conflict- they serve at the pleasure of POTUS but have own agendas as the represent their agencies interests. They represent dept to President instead of President to dept.
President has little control of departments as he appoints just a few members of each. Most are career bureaucrats.
Who else then?
White House Staff has real power◦1. Rule of propinquity- Power is in the hands of
those that are in room when a decision is made.
◦2. 100’s on staff/ powerful when close to president
◦President sometimes can’t control them either (Watergate, Iran/Contra). Huge workload allows staff to act independently
Staff myth vs reality
MYTH REALITY
Small Large
Anonymous out front-Halderman, Regan, Stephanopolus, Rove
Honest brokers Decision makers- sometimes against what is best for Pres- Watergate
Well do you love me?•Typically public support is needed•Instant polls provide info for better or worse•Public expects the good, blames for the bad• Time hurts most Presidents
Make me a star
Approval ratings rise:◦1. Good economy◦2. National appearances◦3. Short successful wars ( Mission accomplished)
◦4. Diplomatic breakthroughs◦5. Control of the message
Never speak off the cuff…never
But still:It aint easy:No president has ever received over 50%
of the vote of all eligible voters. LBJ at 40% in 1964 was the closest.
Popularity and legislation
Getting your agenda passedPresident year popularity % Bills
approved
Eisenhower 1953 69.3 89.2
1959 54.6 69.2
Nixon 1969 61.4 74.8
1973 25.9 59.6
Reagan 1981 57.0 82.3
1987 48.0 43.5
“Sir, I’ve got bad news and bad news”Agenda also hurt by the unexpected
crisis:◦1. Nixon – Watergate◦2. Carter- Iran hostages◦3. Reagan- Iran/Contra◦4. Clinton- Monica
President and coattailsNope!
Coattails after all???
Success of party in mid terms often ties to presidents approval ratings:
Examples:
President approval rating
Loss/gain
Nixon 1974 24% -48
Bush 2002 71% +8
The chosen
Selection system Time period Features
Original 1788-1828 Congressional caucus chooses nominee, Elec College acts independently
Party convention 1832-1900 Nominees chosen at party convention, EC casts votes with pop vote winner in states
Party convention/primary
1904-1968 Like previous but SOME delegates chosen through primary election
Party primary, caucus
1972-present Like previous but a MAJORITY of delegates via primary and caucus
The Men We ChoseDo we ask too much of presidents
(Burt Solomon):1. Higher expectations2. Must be all things to all people3. Must be an everyman, a star but one of
us4. Telegenic, smart, pristine5. Mobilize unwieldy coalitions
Why Great men Are Not Chosen (James Bryce):1. Great men don’t seek it because:
◦The role of Congress inhibits great men◦Great men take chances, step on toes, create enemies- The party takes the path of least resistance.
◦Consequently we gets candidates who don’t quite exhibit greatness…..
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