Chapter 13: The Presidency Section 1

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Chapter 13: The Presidency

Section 1

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Objectives

1. Describe the President’s many roles.

2. Understand the formal qualifications necessary to become President.

3. Explain how the President’s term of office has changed over time.

4. Describe the President’s pay and

benefits.

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Key Terms

• chief of state: the ceremonial head of government

• chief executive: the leader of the executive branch and holder of executive power under the Constitution

• chief administrator: the director of the executive branch

• chief diplomat: the main architect of the nation’s foreign policy and its chief

spokesperson to the world

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Key Terms, cont.

• commander in chief: the leader of the nation’s armed forces

• chief legislator: the main author of the nation’s public policies

• chief of party: the leader of the political party controlling the executive branch

• chief citizen: the representative of all the

people and the champion of public interest

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Introduction

• What are the roles and qualifications of the office of the President?

– The President’s roles include:

• Chief of state

• Chief executive

• Chief administrator

• Chief diplomat

• Commander in chief

• Chief legislator

• Chief citizen

– Qualifications for President include being 35 years

old, a natural born U.S. citizen, and having lived in the United States for 14 years.

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Presidential Roles

• The President acts as chief of state, the

ceremonial head of the U.S. government and the symbol of the American people.

• The President is the chief executive, holding the nation’s executive power in domestic and foreign affairs.

• The President is the chief administrator,

directing the more than 2.7 million civilian

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Presidential Roles, cont.

• The President is the nation’s chief diplomat, the main architect of

American foreign policy and the

nation’s chief

spokesman to the

rest of the world.

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Presidential Roles, cont.

• The President is the commander in chief of the 1.4 million

men and women of

the nation’s armed

forces.

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Presidential Roles, cont.

• The President is the chief legislator, proposing laws that set the congressional legislative

agenda.

• The President is the unofficial head of the

political party that controls the executive branch.

• The President is the unofficial chief citizen,

expected to champion the public interest and be the representative of all the people.

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Formal Qualifications

• Checkpoint: What are the three requirements a potential President must meet to be eligible for office?

– The President must be a natural born citizen of the United States.

– The President must be at least 35 years of age.

– The President must have been a U.S. resident for at least 14 years.

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Terms in Office

• The Constitution sets no term limits for the presidency.

• George Washington set the custom of serving two terms.

• Franklin Roosevelt broke this custom by being elected to four terms from 1932 to 1944.

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Terms in Office, cont.

• The 22

^nd

Amendment, ratified in 1944,

limits Presidents to no more than two full elected terms in office.

– If a President succeeds to the office after the middle of a term, he or she can still seek two full terms.

– No President can serve more than 10 years in office.

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Views on Term Limits

• Many people, including some Presidents, have argued that the two-term rule unfairly limits the right of the

people to choose their President.

• Some say it also weakens a President’s influence at the end of the second term in office.

• Supporters say the amendment protects against abuse of executive power.

• Some have argued for a single six-year term, which

would free the President from worrying about reelection.

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Pay and Benefits

• Congress decides the President’s annual salary.

– This salary cannot be changed while a President is in office.

– The current salary, set in 2001, is $400,000 a year plus $50,000 a year for expenses.

– The Constitution forbids the President from receiving any other pay from the government or the States

while in office.

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• The President also receives many

benefits, including the White House, Air

Force One, Camp

David, a fleet of cars, a large staff, a suite of offices, excellent

healthcare, and many other fringe benefits.

Pay and Benefits, cont.

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Review

• Now that you have learned about the roles and qualifications of the office of

President, go back and answer the Chapter Essential Question.

– Does the current electoral process result in the best candidates for President?

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Chapter 13: The Presidency

Section 2

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Objectives

1. Explain how the Constitution provides for presidential succession.

2. Understand the constitutional provisions relating to presidential disability.

3. Describe the role of the Vice President.

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Key Terms

• presidential succession: the scheme by which a presidential vacancy is filled

• Presidential Succession Act of 1947:

the current law fixing the order of

succession to the presidency after the Vice President

• balance the ticket: the practice of

choosing a vice presidential running mate who can strengthen the presidential

candidate’s chance of being elected

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Introduction

• What occurs when the President is unable to perform the duties of the office?

– If a President dies, resigns, or is removed by impeachment, the Vice President succeeds to the presidency.

– If the President is temporarily incapacitated, the Vice President becomes Acting President until the President can resume office.

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Presidential Succession

• The Vice President

succeeded the President nine times in U.S. history, beginning with John Tyler replacing William

Harrison in 1841.

• At first, the Vice President technically assumed only the powers and duties of the presidency.

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Presidential Succession, cont.

• However, the custom was that the Vice President took the presidential office as well.

• Under the 25^th

Amendment, adopted in 1967, the Vice

President now

formally assumes the office of

President.

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Order of Succession

• The Presidential

Succession Act of 1947 sets the order of

succession after the Vice President.

• The presiding officers of Congress are followed by the heads of the cabinet departments in the order that they were created.

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Presidential Disability

• For many years, there were no provisions for deciding if a President was too disabled to continue in office.

– Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke in 1919 and was too ill to meet with his cabinet for seven months.

– President Eisenhower had three serious but temporary illnesses while in office.

– In 1981, President Reagan was badly wounded in an assassination attempt.

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Presidential Disability, cont.

• The 25

^th

Amendment addressed the disability issue. The Vice President becomes Acting President if:

– The President informs Congress, in writing, that he or she cannot carry out the powers and duties of the office, OR

– The Vice President and a majority of the

members of the Cabinet inform Congress, in writing, that the President is incapacitated.

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The Vice Presidency

• Checkpoint: What are the formal duties of the Vice President?

– The Constitution gives the Vice President two formal duties: to preside over the Senate, and to help decide if the President is disabled

(under the 25^th Amendment).

– Otherwise, the Vice President must be ready to assume the duties of the presidency if

necessary.

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The Vice Presidency, cont.

• Historically, the office of Vice President has had low status.

• Often the vice presidential candidate is chosen because he or she can balance the ticket, helping the president get elected due to personal

characteristics such as ideology, geographic background, race, ethnicity, or gender.

• This puts little emphasis on the presidential qualities possessed by a vice presidential candidate.

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• Recent Vice Presidents have had more political experience and influence.

• Dick Cheney is widely viewed as the most influential vice president in history.

• Joe Biden, right, brought years of foreign policy

experience to his

The Vice Presidency Today

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The Vice Presidency Today, cont.

• No Vice President has been given as much power as the President, in part because the

President cannot remove the Vice President.

– What does this

cartoon imply about the growth of the power of the Vice President?

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Vice Presidential Vacancy

• The vice presidency has been left vacant nine times by succession, seven times by death, and twice by resignation.

• Under the 25

^th

Amendment, the President can fill a vice presidential vacancy by nominating a Vice President, who must be confirmed by both houses of Congress.

– In 1973, Gerald Ford became the first Vice President appointed in this fashion.

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Review

• Now that you have learned about what occurs when the President is unable to perform the duties of the office, go back and answer the Chapter Essential

Question.

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Chapter 13: The Presidency

Section 4

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Objectives

1. Describe the role of conventions in the presidential nominating process.

2. Evaluate the importance of presidential primaries.

3. Understand the caucus-convention process.

4. Outline the events that take place during a national convention.

5. Examine the characteristics that

determine who is nominated as a

presidential candidate.

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Key Terms

• presidential primary: an election in which a party’s voters choose state delegates to the

national convention and/or express a preference for their party’s presidential nomination

• winner-take-all: contest where the candidate who wins gets all the delegates chosen at the primary

• proportional representation: a system that gives a primary candidate a proportion of

delegates equal to their percentage of the vote

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Key Terms, cont.

• caucus: a closed meeting of party members who select delegates to a national convention

• national convention: a quadrennial

meeting where major parties select their presidential ticket

• platform: a party’s formal statement of principles

• keynote address: the speech opening a

national convention

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Introduction

• Does the nominating system allow Americans to choose the best candidates for President?

– The widely used presidential primary system does

force candidates to prove their political abilities before moving on in the nominating process.

– Whether the current system produces the most skilled candidates remains a matter of debate.

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Nominating the President

• The system of nominating the President is not

mentioned in the Constitution and has been created by the two major parties.

• Each party’s national committee sets the time and place of its national convention.

• The committees also assign each State party a certain number of convention delegates. In 2008,

the Republican convention had 2,380 delegates and the Democrats had 4,233 delegates.

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Selecting Delegates

• The Republican Party leaves the process of picking delegates

largely up to State laws.

• The Democratic Party also enforces some national party rules to promote participation by minorities, women, and grass-roots

organizations.

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Presidential Primaries

• Checkpoint: How do State laws affect the presidential primary system?

– The details of delegate-selection vary from State to State.

– In some States, the presidential primary chooses party delegates to the national convention.

– In others it expresses a preference among presidential contenders.

– In some States it does both.

– Many States choose early dates for their primaries.

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Primaries Today

• State primaries were once winner-take-all affairs.

• The Democratic Party’s rules now ban this method,

forcing many States to change their

primary laws and abandon it.

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Primaries Today, cont.

• Most States now use the proportional

representation method.

• More than half the primary States now hold a preference primary, with the

delegates being chosen at a State party

convention, usually based on the

preference vote.

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Evaluation of the Primary

• Checkpoint: Why are primaries considered vital to the nomination process?

– They force potential nominees to test their political strength and prove their worthiness as main

contenders.

– Primaries also make the nomination process more democratic.

– Primaries are less important to the party in power, which typically will either nominate the sitting

President or the candidate endorsed by the President.

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Primary Reform Proposals

• Critics have

suggested that a series of regional

primaries or a single national primary

would be more

efficient than the long, costly State-by-State primary system.

What does this cartoon imply about the first state primary and caucus?

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Caucuses

• In States that do not hold primaries, caucuses choose the delegates to the national convention.

– Party voters attend local caucuses where they vote for delegates to attend district conventions.

– The district conventions choose delegates to the State convention, which then selects the State

delegates who will represent the party at the national convention.

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The National Conventions

• Today a party’s nominee is usually decided before the convention.

• Conventions have three key goals:

– Naming the party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates

– Uniting the party’s factions and leaders in one place for a common purpose

– Adopting the party platform, stating its basic principles, policy goals, and objectives for the campaign and beyond.

– Conventions also draw media attention for the party and its candidate.

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• Conventions meet for 3-4 days, organized around many speeches by party leaders, adoption of the party platform, and the keynote address

celebrating the party and its candidates.

• The convention closes

with the State delegations voting for the presidential nominee and the

nominee’s acceptance speech.

National Conventions, cont.

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Race for the Presidency

• The race for the presidency begins long before the election.

– One to four years before the election, potential

candidates begin to explore their chances, organize, and raise funds.

– From January to June of the election year, primaries and caucuses help decide the party’s frontrunner.

– In August and September, major parties hold

conventions, adopt platforms, and nominate their presidential candidate.

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• From September to November, the presidential candidates hold debates and give speeches.

• On the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, the voters cast their ballots and choose the president-elect.

Race for the Presidency, cont.

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• Sitting presidents eligible for another term are usually nominated.

• Nominees have almost always held elected

office, with governors being the most common nominees.

• A long public record is

common but

not a necessity.

Who is Nominated?

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Who is Nominated?, cont.

• The overwhelming majority of nominees have been white, male, Protestant, and married.

• Women and minorities had not been serious major party candidates until 2008, with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama vying for the

Democratic nomination and Obama winning the presidency.

• Republican nominee John McCain was the oldest major party presidential candidate in history.

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Review

• Now that you have learned about whether the nominating system allows Americans to choose the best candidates for

President, go back and answer the Chapter Essential Question.

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Chapter 13: The Presidency

Section 5

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Objectives

1. Describe the features of the presidential campaign.

2. Explain how the electoral college provides for the election of the President.

3. Identify several flaws in the electoral college system.

4. Outline the advantages and disadvantages

of proposed reforms of the electoral college.

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Key Terms

• swing voter: a voter who has not made up his or her mind at the start of a

campaign

• battleground State: a State in which either candidate could win

• district plan: a plan in which each State

chooses electors as it chooses members

of Congress

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Key Terms, cont.

• proportional plan: a plan that gives each presidential candidate a share of the State electoral vote equal to his or her share of the State popular vote

• direct popular election: a plan that would abolish the electoral college and replace it with a direct popular vote for president

• national popular vote plan: a plan to reform the electoral system to accomplish a direct

popular vote

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Introduction

• Does the election process serve the goals of American democracy today?

– This question is still widely debated.

– Critics note that the current electoral process does not always elect the winner of the popular vote.

– Supporters note that the winner of the popular vote usually wins the presidency and that the current process preserves the influence of the individual States.

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Presidential Campaigns

• Presidential campaigns now begin long before the party conventions.

• Candidates focus their time and money on battleground States and swing voters, trying to persuade uncommitted voters to support vote for them.

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Presidential Campaigns, cont.

• Voters are

bombarded with ads, interviews,

speeches, and press releases.

• Since the 1960s, candidates also routinely debate each other in

nationally televised

events.

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Presidential Campaigns, cont.

• Checkpoint: What role does the popular vote play in a presidential election?

– The people vote for presidential electors, rather than directly for a candidate.

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Choosing Electors

• Presidential electors cast the actual votes for

President and Vice President. Electors are chosen by the results of the State popular vote on election day.

• Electors meet at their State capital after the election and cast one electoral vote for President and one for Vice President. The results are sent to Washington and tallied.

• The Framers expected electors to use their own

judgment, but now electors are expected to vote for their party’s candidates.

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Counting Electoral Votes

• Each State has as many electors as it has members of Congress.

• Each State receives at least three electors, two for its Senate

seats and one for the House.

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Counting Electoral Votes

• The winner-take-all system gives all a

State’s electoral votes to the candidate who wins the State

popular vote.

– How does this graphic show the impact of the winner-take-all

system?

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Defects in the Electoral College

• The winner-take-all system and the unequal distribution of State electoral votes means that the winner of the

electoral vote might lose the popular vote.

• This has happened four times. Fifteen Presidents have won with less than a majority of the popular vote.

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Bush v. Gore

• In 2000, Al Gore narrowly won the popular vote, but George W. Bush won the electoral college by one vote.

• Florida’s popular vote was disputed, leading to a recount stopped by a 5- 4 decision of the

Supreme Court, giving Bush Florida’s 25

electoral votes.

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The House

• Electors are not required by the Constitution to pick the winner of the popular vote in their State.

• It is possible that a presidential election will need to be decided in the House.

– House votes are by State, not individual members, which gives small States undue influence.

– If a majority of State representatives cannot agree on a choice, the State loses its vote.

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The House, cont.

• The House vote also requires a majority of 26 States, which

could be difficult to achieve. A minority party could also

control a majority of state delegations.

– What does this

cartoon imply about the electoral college?

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Proposed Reforms

• The district plan lets every State congressional district select its own electors by popular vote.

• The proportional plan gives each candidate a share of the State electoral vote equal to their share of the State popular vote.

• These plans require no constitutional amendment but do not guarantee that the winner of the national popular

vote will win the election. More elections might have to be decided by the House.

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Direct Popular Election

• The direct popular election plan abolishes the electoral college. Voters would vote directly for President and Vice President.

• The plan has popular support but faces several obstacles:

– It would take a constitutional amendment to get rid of the electoral college.

– It would make individual States less important.

– It would force candidates to campaign everywhere, at great expense.

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National Popular Vote Plan

• The national popular vote plan calls on States to reform the electoral college and has wide support.

– All State electoral votes would be given to the winner of the national popular vote.

– All States would enter into a compact that would make this change effective only if approved by States totaling at least 270 electoral votes.

• So far only 4 States have successfully changed their electoral laws. But 20 other States have tried.

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Defending the Electoral College

• Checkpoint: What are the arguments for keeping the electoral college system?

– It is a known process. Reforms may have unknown flaws.

– The present system usually identifies the president-elect quickly and clearly.

– The electoral college promotes the nation’s two-party system.

– Only two presidential elections have ever gone to the House of Representatives.

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Review

• Now that you have learned about whether the election process serves the goals of American democracy today, go back and answer the Chapter Essential Question.