U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS, SPRING 2011

A FIRST LOOK AT THE PRESIDENCY

OSY chapter 7; Woll 46 (Federalist 70), 47 (Corwin)

Friday, March 4

The Framers had deep concerns about the exercise of executive power. This drove their debates over how to choose the President, the term length, and the specific duties of the office.

Hamilton in Federalist 70 (Woll 46) argues that the Presidency should be one person (many had suggested a 3-person executive), and the President needed enough power and “energy” so that s/he truly was a check/balance against Congress (which as noted previously was considered to be the most important branch of government).

Why would a multiple-person presidency not work, according to Hamilton?

MODEL FOR PRESIDENCY – The primary reason this debate could be settled by the authors of the Constitution was the presence of George Washington – selfless and willing to place national interest over personal ego. The Framers were willing to trust Washington (perhaps ONLY Washington) with the job. Washington also established important patterns for future presidents (narrow interpretation of Article II powers, consultation with the Senate, maintaining a separation from the Congress (eventually), served two terms only)

MAJOR POLI SCI IDEAS ABOUT THE PRESIDENCY

♦ ‘presidential power is the power to persuade’ (Neustadt, which we read next week, Woll 49)

persuasive tools of President: status conferral, legislative assistance, programs/projects and patronage, campaign help, appeals to the public (bully pulpit, “going public”) – the President has tools to bargain with and unmatched access to political resources and media attention

♦ Americans want paradoxical things from their president (Thomas Cronin and Michael Genovese)

1. strong leadership but limited because we are suspicious of power
2. a ‘common person’ who is still a heroic figure
3. a compassionate and just president who is also cunning and manipulative
4. a president who is ‘above politics,’ but the office is the most political one of all
5. the pres should unify us, but the president must also advocate and thus divide
6. programmatic leadership (plans) but pragmatic (flexible); should lead and follow
7. what it takes to become president may not be what is needed to govern the nation

KEY THEME: PRESIDENTS HAVE BECOME DOMINANT POLITICAL FIGURES IN U.S.

Presidentialist (Hamiltonian) v. Congressionalist approach – the modern presidency tilts toward presidentialist mindset – the President leads, Congress follows; historically (especially pre-World War II) most presidencies were Congressionalist (Congress leads, President either follows or is co-equal)

Edward Corwin (Woll 47) traces the shifts in the presidency from Jefferson to Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), from which point onward the president has clearly become the key figure in U.S. government and politics. His five reasons why this happened (Woll p. 260) are extremely important. How do each of these reasons contribute to the rise of the President as political figure #1 in the United States?

HOW DO PRESIDENT, CONGRESS CONFLICT? role differences, checks and balances

POWERS OF PRESIDENT (OSY 203-209):

• execute laws passed by Congress; executive orders have the force of law and allow actions independent of Congress (faith based initiatives, stem cell research)
• lawmaking process - veto or sign bills passed by Congress; President now also begins the yearly budget process by submitting a budget to Congress (not how Constitution envisioned)
• foreign relations – negotiate treaties, appoint ambassadors; presidents can also sign executive agreements, which do not require Senate approval
• appointments – Cabinet officers, judges & justices (with Senate approval)
• power to convene Congress (not really used anymore)
• commander-in-chief of the armed forces; now has ability to commit armed forces without a congressional declaration of war
• State of the Union speech each year – agenda setting ability
• Pardons

CONGRESSIONAL CHECKS ON PRESIDENT

• override presidential veto (requires a 2/3 vote of both houses)
• declaration of war (has been superseded by modern times and precedents)
• ratification of treaties (Senate only)
• approval of appointments (Senate only)
• budget process – largely controlled by Congress, but President now initiates the budget

Factors that improve or weaken relations between President and Congress

• unified v. divided government; note that unified government is no guarantee of good relations (Jimmy Carter)
• personality and abilities of president – some are better than others at ‘the power to persuade’ (examples: Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson in direct persuasion, Teddy Roosevelt & Ronald Reagan in use of ‘bully pulpit’ or ‘going public’)
• president’s interest in working with Congress versus making Congress work for him/her

MAJOR REASONS WHY PRESIDENT HAS ADVANTAGE OVER CONGRESS

• public figure #1, media access (‘going public’)
• public expectations that President is #1 political figure
• more access to information thru executive branch
• structure of Congress: hard to agree, election timing, local view, bicameralism
• persuasive power and personal abilities of president
• historical development of unchecked power - use of military, executive agreements

WAYS THAT CONGRESS HAS FOUGHT BACK

• congressional support agencies – especially the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). (1973), to balance president’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
• Case Act (1972) – to limit executive agreements, didn’t work
• War Powers Resolution (1973) – to limit presidential warmaking, didn’t work, probably not constitutional
• greater oversight of appointments (Supreme Court, cabinet officers)
• impeachment (hard to use this power, though)
• attempts to go public and use the media (but also difficult to do)

MORE DISCUSSION OF PRESIDENCY IS COMING SOON…

Wednesday, March 9: three more Woll readings on presidential leadership and presidential character, helping to explain how occupants use the office to achieve political goals and lead the nation

Friday, March 11: News summary #2, examining presidential-congressional relations today (initial article to be posted Friday, March 4)