NOTES ON THE PRESIDENCY I WHO CAN BECOME PRESIDENT Article II Section 1 of the Constitution sets forth the qualifications to be president The two major limitations are age a minimum of 35 and being a natural born citizen thus eliminating naturalized citizens Although these minimal requirements would seem to allow most people the opportunity to run only a few individuals have had a realistic chance Of the 43 persons who have served as president all but the current president have been white males and nearly all with the exception of John Kennedy a Catholic have been Protestant or Unitarian A majority of the presidents have been lawyers although there have been fewer lawyers in the last century Many presidents have been wealthy though presidential candidates have had more varied backgrounds than members of Congress II THE PROCESS OF BECOMING PRESIDENT Because of the two party system in the United States it would be exceedingly difficult for someone to be elected without the nomination of one of the two major parties Once the candidate has received a nomination he or she must win a majority of the votes cast in the Electoral College Each state s allocation of electors is determined by their congressional representation i e the number of members of the House plus two more for their Senators The electors are decided in most states on a winner take all system with the candidate who receives the plurality of votes winning Thus it is possible for a candidate to lose the popular vote but still win election as president as was the case in 2000 Usually however the electoral vote serves to exaggerate the successful candidate s margin of victory It is possible for no candidate to receive a majority of the votes cast in the Electoral College As long as there are only two strong candidates it is unlikely that neither would receive a simple majority of electoral votes although there could be a tie 269 269 If no candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes the House will elect the president by voting state by state for a candidate This would mean that California which has 52 representatives would get one vote and Wyoming which has one representative would receive one vote III THE MANY ROLES OF THE PRESIDENT Over time the institution of the presidency has evolved into numerous formal and informal roles A Head of State As head of state the president is afforded a status of symbolic royalty In most countries the head of state is not the leader of government but a separate position such as the queen in Britain or the president in Germany In the United States this role includes throwing out the first pitch to open baseball season receiving visiting heads of state at the White House and representing the nation during times of national mourning such as after the terrorist attacks of September 11 2001 B Chief Executive The president also functions as the chief executive As chief executive the president is leader of government in the executive branch This position requires that the president administer the laws of the country 1 The Powers of Appointment and Removal The president is responsible for selecting high ranking unelected officers of the government As a result of the civil service system the number of political appointments is a small part of the total number of government employees somewhat more than 6 000 positions 2 C D The Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons Key terms Reprieve a formal postponement of the execution of a sentence imposed by a court of law pardon a release from the punishment for or legal consequences of a crime A pardon can be granted by the president before or after a conviction The power to pardon can also be applied to large groups of individuals Commander in Chief 1 Wartime Powers The president also is commander in chief or the head of the military The founders had George Washington in mind when they assigned this responsibility This role has become a position that has more power and responsibility than any other although the founders did not expect presidents to lead the country into war without Congressional authorization As the country grew in military power and global reach presidents became much more likely to send troops into armed combat either in crisis situations or with an authorizing resolution short of a declaration of war 2 The War Powers Resolution The War Powers Resolution of 1973 requires the president to report to Congress on the use of force Congress can require the president to withdraw forces The use of military force by presidents has raised some very serious issues regarding the balance of power between Congress and the presidency The imminent sense of threat following the September 11 attacks supported passage of legislation that gave the president powers that had not been seen since World War II Chief Diplomat As chief diplomat the president has the responsibility for setting the direction of foreign policy E 1 Diplomatic Recognition The president has the power of diplomatic recognition i e he determines the governments that the United States will recognize as legitimate The United States refused to recognize the governments of the Soviet Union and of the People s Republic of China for decades after these communist governments came to power 2 Proposal and Ratification of Treaties The president has the sole power to negotiate treaties Two thirds of the Senate must approve of a treaty before it goes into effect Even if the Senate ratifies a treaty it will not be valid unless the president then approves the Senate version of the treaty 3 Executive Agreements The president can also make international agreements with the heads of foreign governments These actions are called executive agreements and they do not require the approval of the Senate However executive agreements do not bind future presidents as treaties do There have been far more executive agreements about 13 000 than treaties about 1 300 Chief Legislator Some of the powers the president has as chief legislator are prescribed in the Constitution For example the president gives a State of the Union message to Congress each year Frequently this speech is used to outline the president s legislative agenda Presidents tend to have a much higher legislative success rate at the beginning of their administration than toward the end of their term 1 Getting Legislation Passed The president attempts to persuade Congress to pass his proposals If the president is of the same party that has