President of the United States
Demographic Characteristics of U.S. Presidents
• 69% politicians
• 62% lawyers
• >50% from the top 3%
wealth and social class
• 0.5% born into
poverty
• 69% elected from
large states
Constitutional Qualifications
• Must be at least 35 years old
• Must have lived in the United
States for 14 years
• Must be a natural born citizen
Presidential Benefits
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$400,000 tax-free salary
$50,000/year expense account
$100,000/year travel expenses
The White House
Secret Service protection
Camp David country estate
Air Force One personal airplane
Staff of 400-500
Christmas at the White House, 2004
How is the President compensated?
White House
Camp David
Marine One
Secret Service
“The Beast”
Air Force One
Election and Terms of Office
Presidential Power
“The executive power shall be vested in a
President of the United States of America.”
With these few words, the Framers established
the presidency.
The Constitutional Powers of the
Presidency: Article II
The Constitutional Powers of the
President
How has presidential power grown
over time?
The Modern Presidency
Legislative
Power
Chief-of-State
Pardoning
Power
Chief Diplomat
Treaty-making
Power
Presidential Powers
Commander
-in-Chief
Chief Executive
Veto Power
Appointment
Power
Development of Presidential Power
Formal Powers
Formal Powers of the
President
• Constitutional or expressed powers of
the presidency
• Found primarily in Article II of the
Constitution (the Executive Article)
Article II
Enumerated Powers
Powers explicitly identified in the text of the
Constitution- To include:
• Power to pardon
• Make treaties
• Recommend
legislation
• Make appointments
• Call Congress to
session
• Commander in Chief
• Receive Ambassadors
• Veto power
The Enumerated Powers of the President
Enumerated Powers (cont.)
Formal Powers:
Commander-in-Chief
• Commander in Chief of the Army & Navy
• Making undeclared war
• Limited by War Powers Act 1973
• President can commit troops for 90 days
Formal Powers:
Chief Executive
• “Faithfully execute” the laws
• Grant pardons for federal offenses except for
cases of impeachment
• Nominate judges of the Supreme Court and
all other officers of the U.S. with consent of
the Senate
• Fill vacancies that may happen during recess
of the Senate (recess appointments)
Formal Powers:
Foreign Affairs
• Appoint ambassadors, ministers and
consuls
• Make treaties subject to Senate
confirmation
• Receive ambassadors
• Diplomatic Recognition – acknowledging
the legal existence of a country/state
Formal Powers:
Chief Legislator
• Give State of the Union address to
Congress
• Recommend “measures” to the
Congress
• Upon “extraordinary occasions”
convene both houses of Congress
Formal Powers:
Chief Legislator (cont.)
• Presidential Veto
• Veto Message within 10 days of passing the House of
origin
• Pocket Veto - President does not sign within 10 days
• Congress can override with 2/3 majority from both
Houses
• Veto Politics
• Congressional override is difficult (only 4%)
• Threat of veto can cause Congress to make changes in
legislation
Informal Powers
Informal Powers
Interpretation of the Enumerated Powers
Expansive Precedents
Expansive Precedents (cont.)
Expansive Precedents (cont.)
Advent of the “Modern” Presidency
• Who is most identified with the start of the “modern”
Presidency?
• Impact of FDR:
• Preeminent source of national leadership (why?)
• Role of FDR during Great Depression & WWII
• Effect on all of FDR’s successors ever since?
• Key precedent: The First 100 Days
• Institutional Leadership:
• What are the various roles played by Presidents?
Executive Orders
Notice for Japanese “relocation,” 1942
Executive Agreements
• GWB announced cuts in
the nuclear arsenal, but
not in a treaty; usually
trade agreements between
US and other nations
Executive Privilege
• United States v. Nixon
(1973) – presidents do
NOT have unqualified
executive privilege (Nixon
Watergate tapes)
Access to Media
Persuasion
Emergency Powers
Presidential Roles
Head of State
The President is chief of state. This
means he is the ceremonial head of the
government of the United States, the
symbol of all the people of the nation.
Queen Elizabeth and President Reagan, 1983
President Kennedy speaks at Berlin Wall,
1963
Chief Executive
The Constitution vests the President
with the executive power of the United
States, making him or her the nation’s
chief executive.
President Clinton with Janet Reno,
the first female Attorney General,
February, 1993
President Bush holds cabinet meeting
in October, 2005
Commander-in-Chief
The Constitution makes the
President the commander in chief,
giving him or her complete control
of the nation’s armed forces.
President Johnson decorates a soldier
in Vietnam, October, 1966
President Bush aboard U.S.S.
Lincoln, May, 2003
Chief Legislator
The President is the chief
legislator, the main architect
of the nation’s public policies.
President Clinton delivers the State
of the Union Address, 1997
President Roosevelt signs into law the
Social Security Act, 1935
Chief Legislator
Political Party Leader
The President acts as the chief
of party, the acknowledged
leader of the political party
that controls the executive
branch.
President Reagan & Vice-President Bush accepting their party’s
nomination in 1980
Chief Administrator
The President is the chief
administrator, or director, of the
United States government.
President Bush at Ground Zero after 9-11
Vice-President Johnson sworn in
aboard Air Force One
after President Kennedy’s
assassination, 1963
Chief Diplomat
As the nation’s chief diplomat, the
President is the main architect of
American foreign policy and chief
spokesperson to the rest of the
world.
President Lincoln during the Civil
War, 1862
President Roosevelt and the “Bully
Pulpit,” 1910
Chief Citizen
The President is expected to be
“the representative of all the
people.”
Economic Leader