The American Presidency The World s Most Powerful Public Official Presidential Quotes Learning Objectives Explain the institutional role of the presidency and how it has changed over time Explain what makes a president successful Describe the Federal Bureaucracy and the role it plays in the government Key Terms Chief of State Head of Government Executive Office of the President Cabinet Iron triangle Impeachment Executive Privilege http www whitehouse gov government cabinet html How Bureaucracies Are Organized Organization of the Department of the Interior I The President s Power A The American president is widely considered to be the most powerful political leader on earth B In truth he she probably is but presidents often claim to have little power C The ambivalence of American presidents results from the complexity of presidential power The President has great constitutional authority in Foreign policy but limited power in domestic policy D To be powerful in all the ways a president requires to be successful he has to rely less on formal powers than on political skills E A good president is a sophisticated politician learned in the art of government with excellent leadership and media skills F A successful president must be able to convince the public that he has a vision for the nation a plan that will solve problems and keep America among the strongest nations on the face of the earth G If a president or a presidential candidate cannot prove he she has a real vision their support will vanish H Many presidents have been judged to be failures II What the Framers Planned A In establishing the executive branch the framers were wary of the abuses of King George III but remembered the impotence of the Articles of Confederation B They had no model upon which to base the description of the office C They clearly did not want the executive to be the dominant figure in the government they expected Congress to be the dominant branch of government D And for the 19th century it was We had some important presidents in the 19th century but Congress was by far the dominant branch Washington Jackson Lincoln E Washington in particular helped people trust the executive branch In the 20th century power in the American political system shifted to the president especially during and after the great depression and WWII F If the framers could see the American government today I think they would be quite surprised at how the government turned out and the presidency would be the biggest surprise Legislative Power Chief of State Pardoning Power Treaty making Power Chief Diplomat Commander in Chief Chief Executive Veto Power Appointment Power III The Formal Powers of the President A Commander in chief of the military However only Congress can declare war George Washington had 700 soldiers under his command Bush has about 1 5 million and some 20 000 nuclear missiles We have military bases all over the world B Negotiates treaties approved by Senate C Appoints all Ambassadors and D Can issue pardons and reprieves grant amnesty E Appointment power including federal judges usually must be approved by Senate Appoints top 1 500 or so people F Veto power two thirds vote of both houses to override G Required to annually give Congress information of the state of the Union This has turned into a major power H See that the laws are faithfully executed I Inherent power prerogative powers Treaties and Executive Agreements Concluded by the United States 1789 2004 Years Number of Treaties Number of Executive Agreements 1789 1839 60 27 1839 1889 215 238 1889 1929 382 763 1930 1932 49 41 1933 1944 F Roosevelt 131 369 1945 1952 Truman 132 1 324 1953 1960 Eisenhower 89 1 834 1961 1963 Kennedy 36 813 1967 1968 L Johnson 67 1 083 1969 1974 Nixon 93 1 317 1975 1976 Ford 26 666 1977 1980 Carter 79 1 476 1981 1988 Reagan 125 2 840 1989 1992 G Bush 67 1 350 1993 2000 Clinton 209 2 048 2001 2004 G W Bush 72 274 Note Number of treaties includes those concluded during the indicated span of years Some of the treaties did not receive the consent of the U S Senate Caring definitions of what comprises an excutive agreement and their entry into force date make the above numbers approximate Source Harold W Stanley and Richard G Niemi Vital Statistics on American Politics 2005 2006 Washington D C CQ Press 2006 Table 9 1 339 Trends in Presidential Use of the Veto Note Vetoes for the two administrations of Grover Cleveland 1885 1889 1893 1897 have been excluded from these averages because of the unusual circumstances surrounding President Cleveland s use of the veto See Theda Skocpol Protecting Soldiers and Mothers Cambridge MA Harvard University Press 1992 Source http digital library unt edu govdocs crs data 2001 upl meta crs 1907 98 156gov 2001Jan29 pdf IV The Two Presidents Theory Some scholars believe that we have two presidents one in foreign policy and one in domestic policy The foreign policy powers of the president are considerable a president is much weaker in domestic policy In addition to more formal powers in international relations a president has other advantages a Us against them The public rallies around the president and expects Congress to do the same when there is international conflict b Organizational advantage about 2 7 million employees c Monopoly of information d Prerogative powers V The President Wears a lot of Hats A Chief of State monarchy in many nations B Head of the Government C Chief Diplomat D Head of his party But in the domestic area the president has much more limited power The president cannot pass legislation Only Congress can pass bills To be a success a president must convince Congress to pass his bills but his formal powers are limited In the domestic arena the president s primary power is the power to persuade VI How can a president do this Must organize lobby and lead A Understanding Congress and skillfully working with it good organization trips to White House Trips on plane Johnson entertained wives B A lot of trading with Congress legislationappointments help with campaigns pork barrel projects C The threat of a veto D Setting the agenda state of the union E Skillful use of the media going public television radio fireside chats RooseveltMy friends this is the primary reason power shifted to the executive F Leading public opinion grassroots lobbying pressing the flesh town meetings Presidents vary greatly in their knowledge of the political process and their ability to use these techniques