American Citizenship

1. American Citizenship Chapter 13 The Presidency

2. Section 1 • The President’s Description

3. The President’s Roles • Chief of State • Ceremonial head of the government of the United States • Chief Executive • Vested with “Executive Power,” given by the constitution • Chief Administrator • Director of the Federal Government • Employs nearly 2.7 million civilians • Chief Diplomat • Main architect of American foreign policy and the nation’s chief spokesperson to the rest of the world • Commander in Chief • Controls the nation’s 1.4 million men and women in uniform

4. The President’s Roles • Chief legislator • Main architect of its public policies • Helps to initiate, request, demand certain actions by the Congress • Not Stated in the Constitution • Chief of Party • acknowledged leader of the political party • Chief Citizen • Representative of all the people • “A place of moral leadership” FDR • President plays all these roles simultaneously, and can not isolate themselves to one role over another

5. Formal Qualifications • Constitution puts some requirements into becoming a president • Must be a “natural born citizen” • Be at least 35 years of age • youngest ever elected was JFK at the age of 43 and Ronald Reagan elected at the age of 69 • Must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years • Nearly 100 million people in the United States meet these requirements, thus leading to informal qualifications

6. The President’s Term • Ultimately at the Constitutional Convention, a term limit of 4-years • Until the 1951 amendment, there was no limit to the number of terms a president could serve • Still fights today over the legitimacy of the 2-term limit • Lame-duck president, or safeguard against “executive tyranny?” • How about a single six-year term?

7. Pay and Benefits • Initially it was $25,000, however today it is $400,000 • Also provided a $50,000 expense allowance • Other benefits • 132-room mansion set on an 18.3 acre estate in the heart of the nation’s capital (White House) • Suite of offices and a large staff • Fleet of automobiles • lavish Air Force One plane, including other planes and helicopters • Camp David resort getaway in the Mountains in Maryland • Finest Medical, Dental, and other health care • Generous travel and entertainment funds

8. Section 2 • Presidential Succession and the Vice Presidency

9. The Constitution Succession • Presidential Succession • Scheme by which a presidential vacancy is filled • Originally not provided by the Constitution • However signed into the Constitution with the 15th amendment • Presidential Succession Act of 1947 • the order of succession following the Vice President

10. Presidential Disability • Previously no provision for dealing with a disabled President • Check and Balance between Executive and Legislative, in order to with a disabled President

11. The Vice Presidency • Importance of the Office • Given two duties: • Preside over the Senate • Help decide the question of Presidential disability • However, generally a job with little or no major duties • “Heartbeat away from the Presidency” • Blame for lack of duties is based on how candidate is selected • Balance the Ticket • chooses a running mate based on characteristics that help the President win office

12. The Vice Presidency (con’t) • Vice Presidential Vacancy • Vice Presidency has been vacated 18 times • The Vice President Today • Vice President Dick Cheney is widely regarded as the most influential Vice Presidents ever • Interesting fact, no matter what the circumstances, the President cannot fire the Vice President

13. Section 3 • Presidential Selection: The Framers’ Plan

14. Original Provisions • During the Constitutional Convention, struggle over whether to have president selected by direct vote or Congress • Compromise became the selection of Presidential Electors • A person elected by the voters to represent them in making a formal selection of the Vice President and President • Each Elector would cast two electoral votes • Plurality would select President, and Vice President the runner-up

15. The Rise of Parties • Electoral college • The group of people (electors) chosen from each State and the District of Columbia, to formally select the President and Vice President • The Election of 1800 • Electoral college tie, ultimately leading to Congress selecting the President • Created new elements • Party nominations for the Presidency and Vice Presidency • Nomination of candidates for Presidential Electors pledged to vote for their party’s Presidential ticket • Automatic casting of the electoral votes in line with those pledges

16. The Rise of Parties (Con’t) • 12th Amendment • Passed in 1804, it changed the electoral college system, to where different ballots would be cast for President and Vice President

17. Section 4 • Presidential Nominations

18. The Role of Conventions • Used extensively since the 1832 election • Convention Arrangements • Built almost entirely by the political parties • Generally the party-out-of-power has their convention first and the party-in-power three weeks later

19. The Role of Conventions (Con’t) • Apportionment of Delegates • The State party’s delegates is generally based on the State’s electoral votes • However, complex formulas eventually decide the delegate count • Selection of Delegates • Two campaigns… for nomination and presidential candidate races • Generally political parties allow state parties to decide delegates

20. Presidential Primaries • Presidential Primary • An election in which a party’s voters choose some or all of a state party organization’s delegates to their party’s national convention and/or express a preference among various contenders for their party’s presidential nomination • Democrats have Superdelegates, who are selected based on power positions in the Democratic party • History of the Presidential Primary • Started in 1900’s, rose and fall in popularity, and has risen again

21. Presidential Primaries (Con’t) • Primaries Today • Since most states have the decision power, the primaries are a patch work • Most states prefer to be toward the front of the primary season • Today we have “Super Tuesday” • Proportional representation • Winner-take-all • candidate who wins plurality, wins all the available delegates • Generally a Republican preference • Proportional Representation • Any candidate who wins at least 15 percent of the votes cast in a primary gets the number of that state’s delegates in their share • Generally a Democratic preference

22. Presidential Primaries (Con’t) • Evaluation of the Primary • Though confusing, generally force “knock-down, drag-out” fights for party out of power • Due to there be no real party leader • Not common for party in power, due to influence of incumbent President • Not true for George W. Bush • Reform Proposals • Many suggestions for changes, but very unlikely to take place

23. The Caucus-Convention Process • Iowa the most common state with the Caucus

24. The National Convention • Meetings at which delegates vote to pick their presidential and vice-presidential candidates • Meets three different goals • Name the party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates • Bring the various factions and the leading personalities in the party together in one place • Adopt the party’s platform • formal statement of basic principles, stands on major policy matters, and objectives for the campaign and beyond

25. The National Convention (con’t) • The First Two Days • Keynote address is given on first day • delivered by one of the party’s most accomplished orators • Second day the platform is adopted • The Last Two Days • Third day is spent to nominating the presidential candidate • Fourth day is devoted to nominating the vice-presidential candidate • leading to the president candidates acceptance speech

26. Who is Nominated • Political Experience • Generally the most electable candidate is nominated • Other Characteristics • Generally Protestants, from larger states, pleasant and healthy appearance, an attractive family, etc.

27. Section 5 • The Election

28. The Electoral College Today • People do not vote directly for a Presidential candidate, they vote to elect presidential electors • Choosing Electors • Electors chose by popular vote in every state • Chosen on a winner-take-all manner • Some states have the names of the electors on the ballot

29. The Electoral College Today (con’t) • Counting Electoral Votes • Electors meet on the same day, in each of their respective state capitals • After the vote, it is signed and sealed, then sent to the president of the Senate • Formal election takes place on January 6th • However, most people know the next President by the November election • Must win at least 270 electoral votes • If there is a tie, the election is sent to the House of Representatives

30. Flaws in the Electoral College • First Major Defect • That the winner of the popular vote will not win the presidency • 2000 election of George W. Bush • Bush lost the popular vote by 537,179 votes, but won the electoral college with 271 electoral votes • Thus a distorted view of the popular vote

31. Flaws in the Electoral College (Con’t) • The Second Major Defect • No requirement for electors to vote for the candidate that carried their state • One elector from Washington, D.C., did not vote in 2000 election… a vote for Gore • The Third Major Defect • Presidential election being decided by the House of Representatives, due to the majority of electoral votes not being met (270 votes)

32. Proposed Reforms • The District Plan • The electors would be chosen in each state in the same way as members of Congress • Possibly take away the winner-take-all problem • Still does not answer the inability of the popular vote to decisively win the electoral vote

33. Proposed Reforms (Con’t) • The Proportional Plan • Win electors based on the percentage of popular vote in each state the candidate wins • cures winner-take-all • Possibly destroy the two-party system • also increases the odds that the decision would be made by the House of Representatives • Some argue, then the number of electors to win should be lowered to plurality, rather than majority

34. Proposed Reforms (Con’t) • Direct Popular Election • Each vote would count equally in the national result • However, multiple issues with the proposal • Small states would lose their say • Possibly weaken the federal system of government • States are no longer represented • Increase likelihood of voter fraud • Some parts of the electorate would lose representation

35. Proposed Reforms (Con’t) • The National Bonus Plan • Proposal for electing a President by which the winner of the popular vote would receive a bonus of 102 electoral votes in addition to his or her state based Electoral College votes. If no one received at least 321 electoral votes, a run-off election would be held • Not a likely plan • Electoral College Supporters • Any of the proposed reforms could have unintended consequences • Identifies the winner quickly