Chapter 14: The Presidency

PRESIDENTIAL CHARACTER

-All presidents share certain constitutional and political powers, every president brings to the White House a distinctive personality. -The public not only judges the president in terms of what he accomplishes but also in terms of their perception of his character. 1. Dwight Eisenhower: -Orderly, Military Style to White House -Accustomed to delegating authority and having staff work done for him by trained specialists. -He seems to be a bumbling, incoherent speaking, but this was simply a public disguise. -His private work reveal a very different man: sharp, precise, and deliberate 2. John Kennedy: -Different style to presidency -Bold, articulate, and amusing leader who like to surround himself with talented amateurs. -Kennedy had a a pattern of personal rule and an atmosphere of improvisation where he did not hesitate to bypass the chain of command. 3. Lyndon B. Johnson -Master Legislative strategist who had risen to be majority leader of Senate on his ability to persuade -He was a consummate deal maker. -He was in Washington 30 years prior to being president and he knew everything and everybody -He tried to make every decision himself -This style worked in political negotiations but not in speaking to the country at large when trying to retain public support for Vietnam 4. Richard Nixon -Hihgly intelligent man with deep knowledge and interest in forwign policy, coupled with a deep suspicion of the media and his political rivals. -He disliked pwersonal confrontations and tended to shield himself behind an elaborate staff system. -He distrusted cabinet agencies -His personality made it hard for him to mobilize popular support. -Eventually, he was forced to resign under the threat of impeachment arising from his role in Watergate Scandal 5. Gerald Ford -Spent his political life in Congress -Was at home with give-and-take, discussion-oriented procedures. -He was a genial man who liked talking to people -He had a circular system of White House organization -Unfortunately, the circular system meant that many decisions were made in a disorganized fashion in which key people and key problems were not taken into account 6. Jimmy Carter -outsider to Washington -former Governor who was determined not to be "captured" by Washington insiders -He was a voracious reader and had an appetite for detail -He began with a circular structure, and he based his decisions on reading countless memos and asking detailed questions -Towards the end he shifted to a pyramid structure 7. Ronald Reagan -outsider and a former governor of California -He wanted to set broad directions of his administration and leave details to others. -He gave wide latitude to subordinates and to cabinet officers. He was a superb leader of public opinion, earning the nickname "The Great Communicator" 8. George H. W. Bush -Lacked speaking skills and was much more of a hands-on manager -Drawing on his extensive experience in the federal government, Bush made decisions on the basis of personal contacts with key foreign leaders and Washington officials 9. Bill Clinton -Paid a lot of attention to public policy and preferred informal, ad hoc arrangements for running his office. -He was an effective speaker who could make almost any idea sound plausible -He as elected as a centrist Democrat but immediately pursued liberal policies. -When those failed and Congress became Republican, he became a centrist again. 10. George W. Bush -entered office as an outsider from Texas -His father had served as the 41st president, his late grandfather had served as a Senator and he won the presidency only after Supreme Court halted a recount of ballots in Florida, where his brother was governor. -He focused on domestic issues, cutting taxes, and reforming education. -He was a deeply religious man, he talked about how he stopped drinking only after he found God. -He insisted that meetins run on time and that press contacts be strictly controlled -Following 9/11, his agenda shifted entirely to foreign and military affairs, the war on terror, and homeland security. 11. Barack Obama -First African American to win the nomination and only the 3rd person elected while he was a sitting Senator. -He campaigned as a candidate for change and hope. -He came to office amid an economic crisis -In his first term he passed the largest budget in US history and enacted legislation for comprehensive health insurance.

Impeachment

Charges against a president approved by a majority of the House of Representatives

Pocket Veto

A bill fails to become law because the president did not sign it within 10 days before Congress adjourns.

Veto Message

A message from the president to Congress stating that he will not sign a bill it has passed. Must be produced within 10 days of the bill's passage.

Pyramid Structure

A president's subordinates report to him through a clear chain of command headed by a chief of staff.

Signing Statement

A presidential document that reveals what the president thinks of a new law and how it ought to be enforced.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE PRESIDENCY

-Few issues inspired as much debate or concern among the Framers in 1787 as the problem of defining the chief executive. -The Framers feared anarchy and monarchy. The Framers had many proposals: 1. Some Framers proposed a plural national executive. 2. Others wanted the executive power checked by a council that would have to approve many of the executive's actions. 3. Others (Hamilton) wanted something like an elective monarchy, patterned like the British one. 4. Another plan was to have a single, elected president. -those who won, in the end, believed that governing a large nation, especially one threatened by foreign enemies, required a single president with significant powers. -Several feared, however, that this would result in a monarchy CONCERNS OF THE FOUNDERS: -The founders concerns are very different and distant from our current concerns. -The founders worried that the president would overpower state governments with his power over the militia. Others worried that the president would be directed by the minions and favorites and become a tool of the Senate. -The biggest concern was over the election and whether a president, once elected, would arrange to stay in office by resorting to bribery, intrigue, and force. -Now, these concerns seem foolish and unfounded. -In the end, the Framers decided the president would be chosen by the voters. THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE: -Thus the electoral college was invented. -The states would choose electors in whatever manner they wished. -These electors would then meet in the state capital and vote for the president and vice president. -The framers thought that no candidate would win a majority allowing the House of Representatives to make the choice. It didn't happen like this due to in a large part political parties. -The plan seemed to meet every test: large states would have their say, but small states would be protected by having a minimum of three electoral votes without regard to how small their population was. THE PRESIDENT'S TERM OF OFFICE: -George Washington chose to serve only two terms in office. -No president until FDR dared to run for more than 2. -In 1951, the Twenty-second Amendment to the Constitution was ratified formally limiting all future presidents to two terms. -There was much doubt for the Founders how a president would hand over the power to the next president and whether there would be an orderly transfer of power from one incumbent to the next. -Ever since the beginning, there was always a very uneventful, orderly transfer of power. -This orderly transfer of authority occurred despite passionate opposition and deeply divisive elections did not happen by accident. THE FIRST PRESIDENTS: -The first couple presidents were prominent men in the nation. They were all active in the movement for independence or in the Founding and both. -Washington spoke out against parties, but they soon emerged. -Establishing the legitimacy of the presidency was made easier by the fact that the national government had relatively little to do. -A general rule of "fitness" emerged to appoint people to office: those appointed should have some standing in their communities and be well though of by their neighbors. -The presidency was kept modest. -The president's relations with Congress were correct but not close. -Vetoes were sometimes cast but very rarely and only when a law was deemed unconstitutional or extremely unwise. Washington cast two vetoes. Jefferson and Adams cast none. THE JACKSONIANS: -At a time during the presidency of Andrew Jackson the presidency and politics, in general, underwent broad changes. -The personality of Jackson altered the relations between the president and Congress. -Jackson vetoed 12 acts of Congress. His vetoes were not just on constitutional grounds but on policy ones too. -He didn't initiate too many new policies, but he got rid of the ones he didn't like. -He did not shrink from conflict and he had bitter conflicts with Congress. -He was a supporter of a small federal government, but he was also a believer in a strong and independent presidency. REEMERGENCE OF CONGRESS: -With the end of Jackson's term, Congress reestablished its power and except during the Civil War the presidency was the subordinate branch. -This time was also an intensely partisan era. -During this long period of congressional dominance, only Lincoln broke new ground for presidential power. Lincoln's expansive use of that power was totally unexpected. He was part of the Republican party and stood for limiting presidential authority. He did something much different: 1. He made unprecedented use of the vague powers in Article II of the Constitution. 2. He raised an army. 3. He spend money. 4. Blockaded Southern ports. 5. Suspended the Writ of habeas corpus 6. Issued the Emancipation Proclamation -After Lincoln, Congress once again reasserted its power and became, during Reconstruction, the principal federal institution. -Except for Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson the president was simply a negative force until the New Deal. -Congress ignored the president's when they tried to initiate a legislative program, and they did whatever they wanted. -Our modern conception of the president, as the central figure of the national government, devising legislative programs and commanding a large staff of advisers is very much a product of the modern era and a enlarged federal government. -In the past, the presidency was only powerful during a national crisis or because of an extraordinary personality.

Line-item veto

An executive's ability to block a particular provision in a bill passed by the legislature.

DIVIDED GOVERNMENT

-A great majority of the time the president's party is the minority in Congress. Rarely, does the president have a unified government -Americans claim they don't like divided government because it creates partisan bickering, political paralysis, and policy gridlock. -Gridlock - the inability of the government to act because rival parties control different parts of the government -Two Questions about Gridlock: 1. Does divided government produce a gridlock that is any worse than that which exists with unified government? 2. If gridlock exists, is it a bad thing for the country? DOES GRIDLOCK MATTER?: -It is not easy to tell whether divided government produces fewer or worse policies than unified ones. -Divided governments do as well as unified ones in passing important laws, conducting important investigations, and ratifying significant treaties. -Having divided government or unified one is not a big deal because there is still much debate and controversy among the same party. -The only time there is a unified government is when not just the same party but the same ideological wing of that party is in effective control of both branches. This rarely ever happened. IS POLICY GRIDLOCK BAD? -An American president has less ability to decide what laws get passed than a prime minister. -Even Americans who hate gridlock and want more leadership aren't ready to make sweeping constitutional change or to stop voting for politicians from different parties. This is, however, the only way to stop gridlock and give the president the ability a prime minister has. -Americans like the idea of somebody being able to block a policy they don't like. We all, then, have an interest in some degree of gridlock. -One-fourth of all voters will vote for one party's candidate for president and the other party's candidate for Congress. -Gridlock is a necessary consequence of a system of representative democracy.

WHO GETS APPOINTED

-A president can make a lot of appointments, but he rarely know more than a few of the people whom he does appoint -Unlike cabinet members in a parliamentary system, the president's cabinet officers and their principal deputies usually have not served with the chief executive in the legislature. -They usually come from private business, universities, think tanks, foundations, law firms, labor unions, and the ranks of former and present members of Congress. -The men and women assigned to cabinet and sub cabinet usually have prior federal experience -Many of these appointees are "in-and-outers": people who alternate between jobs in the federal government and ones in the private sector. -In the past cabinet members were people who had large political followings. Now a days cabinet members are people known for their expertise or administrative experience rather than for their political following. -There have been an increased number of women and minorities in the cabinet and other posts. -There is a rivalry between the White House staff and cabinet and agency appointments. Staff members see themselves as extensions of the president's personality and policies. Department heads seem themselves as repositories of expert knowledge.

THE PRESIDENT'S PROGRAM

-Presidents must work hard during campaigning they have little time to study the issues in depth. They use simple slogans to couch your ideas. Their advisers are not legislative specialists, but political aides. -As soon as presidents win, they must fill hundreds of posts. They must deliver a State of the Union message to Congress only two weeks after being sworn in. They must submit a new budget. -The presidents job is extremely difficult. PUTTING TOGETHER A PROGRAM: To develop policies on short notice a president will draw on several resources: 1. Interest Groups -Strengths: Will have specific plans and ideas. -Weaknesses: Will have narrow view of the public interest. 2. Aides and Campaign Advisers -Strengths: Will test new ideas for their political soundness -Weaknesses: Will not have many ideas to test; inexperienced in government 3. Federal Bureaus and Agencies -Strengths: Will know what is feasible in terms of governmental realities. -Weaknesses: Will propose plans that promote own agencies and will not have good information on whether plans will work. 4. Outside, academic, and other specialists and experts -Strengths: Will have many general ideas and criticisms of existing programs -Weakness: Will not know the details of policy or have good judgement as to what is feasible. -There are essentially two ways for a president to develop a program. One is to have a policy on almost everything. The other is to concentrate on three or four major initiatives or themes and leave everything else to subordinates. -He must also test ideas with the public and Congress by releasing "trial balloons" -In addition to adverse reaction, the president faces three other constraints: 1. Time limit and attention span. More work than ever before. 2. Unexpected crisis. 3. Federal government and most programs can only be changed marginally except in special circumstances. -These constraints mean the president must be selective in what he wants -Recent events have required presidents to focus on economy and foreign affairs. -Now that polls exist, politicians must act on the basis of what their constituents want. Their are two views of how to do this: 1. Trustee Model: do what the public good require, even if voters are skeptical. 2. Delegate model: do what your constituents want you to do. ATTEMPTS TO REORGANIZE: -one item on the presidential agenda is for every president: reorganize the executive branch of government -the ongoing attempt to reorganize the federal government around homeland security goals is nether the first, nor even the largest reorganization effort. -Every president has been appalled by the number of agencies that report to him and by helter-skelter manner in which they have grown up. This is one reason for reorganization -Reorganization serves many themes. -Reorganization requires congressional approval by sending it a reorganization plan which must be approved by Congress. -Today reorganization plans are normal laws that must be passed by Congress and approved by the President PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITION THE VICE PRESIDENT: -Eight times a vice president has become president because of the death of his predecessor -The vice president has automatically become president, in title, and powers, when the occupant has died or resigned. -Vice presidents rarely can ever be elected as president after serving as vice president -The vice presidency is a rather empty job. There is not much to do. Still candidates suffer a lot to get the job. -The only official task of the vice president is to vote in case of tie and preside over the Senate. -The vice president, is at best a adviser to the president PROBLEMS OF SUCCESSION: -Two questions about the vice president becoming president: 1. What if the president falls seriously ill, but does not die? 2. Who will be the new vice president if the old one becomes president? -The first problem has happened many times. -The second problem has arisen on eight occasions. -The Succession Act said that the secretary of state would become the next vice president followed by other cabinet officers in order of seniority. This means that a vice president who became president could pick his own successor by choosing his own secretary of state. -The Twenty-fifth Amendment dealt with the disability problem by allowing the vice president to serve as "acting president" whenever the president declares he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. -The amendment deals with the second problem by requiring a vice president who assumes the presidency to nominate a new vice president. This person takes office if the nominee is confirmed by a majority in the House and Senate. IMPEACHMENT: -There is another way a president can leave office before his term expires, and that is by impeachment -All civil officers of the United States may be impeached, including the president -An impeachment is like an indictment in a criminal trial voted by the House of Representatives. To be removed from office the impeached officer must then be convicted by a two-thirds vote of the Senate, which sits as a court. -Only two presidents have been impeached: Nixon and Clinton. Nixon resigned before he could be removed by the Senate. Clinton was not removed by the Senate.

THE POWER TO SAY NO

-The Constitution gives the president the power to veto legislation. -Most presidents have also asserted the right of "executive privilege" to withhold information from Congress. -They have also tried to impound funds appropriated by Congress. -These methods are all ways of forcing Congress to bargain with him. VETO: -Two ways to veto a bill: 1. Veto message - statement that the president sends to Congress with the bill within 10 days after the bill has been passed by Congress. He explains in the message the reasons for not signing the bill. 2. Pocket Veto - if the president does not sign the bill within 10 days... AND... Congress has adjourned within that time, then the bill will not become law. The pocket veto can only be used before the life of a given Congress expires because they must adjourn. -A bill not signed or vetoed within 10 days while Congress is still in session becomes law automatically without the president's approval. -A veto can be overridden by a two-thirds majority of each house. -The president must either accept or reject an entire bill. Presidents do NOT have the power to exercise a line-item veto with which a president can approve some provisions and disapprove other ones. Governors have this power. -The president originally had the power of a line-item veto, given him by a law passed by Congress. The Supreme Court, however, ruled this law unconstitutional because it gives the president too much power. -About 4% of all vetoes were overridden -Often the vetoed legislation is adapted by Congress in a form suitable to the president. This is why the veto power is central to allow the president to bargain with Congress and possible get what he wants into the revised legislation. EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE: -The Constitution says nothing about whether the president is obliged to divulge private communications and other information, but presidents have acted as if they do have that privilege of confidentiality: 1. The Doctrine of Separation of Powers means that one branch of government does not have the right to inquire into the internal workings of another branch headed by constitutionally named officers. 2. The principles of statecraft and of prudent administration require that the president have the right to obtain confidential and candid advice from subordinates; such advice could not be obtained if it would quickly be exposed to public scrutiny. -There was no challenge to the presidential confidentiality for 200 years -Supreme Court did not require the disclosure of confidential communications -In 1974, Supreme Court by a vote of 8 to 0 held that while there may be a sound basis for the claim of executive privilege, especially where sensitive military or diplomatic matters are involved. There is, however, no "absolute unqualified presidential privilege of immunity from judicial process under all circumstances" -In 1997, 1998, President Clinton was sued while in office by a private person, Paula Jones. In this case, the courts once again claimed that there was no executive privilege for Secret Service officers and lawyers who worked with Clinton. This unfortunately greatly reduced the number of officials with whom the president can speak to in confidence. IMPOUNDMENT OF FUNDS: -Presidents have refused to spend money appropriated by Congress. -What does the Constitution say? The Constitution does not say whether a president MUST spend the money that Congress appropriates. All it says is that the president cannot spend money that Congress has NOT appropriated. -Nixon wanted to reduce federal spending in 1972. He did this by pocket-vetoing 12 spending bills and then impounding funds appropriated under other laws that he had not vetoed. Congress retaliated by passing the Budget Reform Act of 1974 that requires the president to spend all appropriated funds unless he first tells Congress what funds he wishes not to spend and Congress, within 45 days, agrees not to delete the items. -Federal courts have upheld the rule that the president must spend money that Congress has appropriated without delays. SIGNING STATEMENTS: -Since the presidency of James Monroe, the White House has issued statements at the the time a president signs a bill that has been passed by Congress. -These statements have several purposes: 1. To Express presidential attitudes about the law. 2. To tell the executive branch how to implement it. 3. To declare that the president thinks some part of the law is unconstitutional. -Members of Congress are opposed to signing statements because they often block the enforcement of a law Congress has passed and is therefore equivalent to a unconstitutional line-item veto. -While the Supreme Court has allowed signing statements to clarify unclear legislative intent, it has never given a clear verdict about the constitutional significance of such documents.

PRESIDENTS AND PRIME MINISTERS

-The popularly elected president is an American invention. -Most nations have a prime minister chosen and responsible to the parliament. PRESIDENTS ARE OFTEN OUTSIDERS: -Presidents are outsiders and are often not part of "the mess in Washington." -Most presidents did not even serve in the federal government. Some were military figures. Some had previous experience in the executive branch. -Very few of them were actual legislators. PRESIDENTS CHOOSE CABINET MEMBERS FROM OUTSIDE CONGRESS: -Under the Constitution, no sitting member of Congress can serve in the Cabinet. -The people chosen by a prime minister for his cabinet are almost always previous members of parliament. PRESIDENTS HAVE NO GUARANTEED MAJORITY IN THE LEGISLATURE: -A prime minister's party is always the majority in parliament. -The president's party often does not have a majority in Congress resulting in divided government. -The Framers intended conflict between the legislative and executive branches. They wanted both branches to be separate from one another. Because of this it is hard for a president to also have a majority in Congress. PRESIDENTS AND PRIME MINISTERS AT WAR: -Once the president decides to fight, he must cajole Congress to support him. Once the prime minister decides to fight, there could not be any meaningful resistance from Parliament. -When public opinion turns against the president, they usually will continue to fight because they cannot be removed from office. When public opinion turns against a prime minister, they would probably resign and turn over the job of prime minister to another person in his party.

THE POWER TO PERSUADE

-The sketchy constitutional powers given to the president, combined with a lack of an assured legislative majority means the president will have to rely heavily on persuasion to get anything done. THE THREE AUDIENCES: -The president's persuasive powers are aimed at three audiences: 1. Washington DC, audience of fellow politicians and leaders. A president's reputation among his colleagues is of great importance in affecting how much deference his views receive and how much power he can wield. 2. Party Activists and officeholders outside Washington. 3. "The Public" Many different publics each with a different view or set of interests. A president must watch every word because it will be scrutinized closely by the media and organized groups. -Presidents usually have formal, pre-written speeches. A president' use of these speeches is called the bully pulpit, which means taking advantage of the prestige and visibility of the presidency to guide the people. POPULARITY AND INFLUENCE: -The object of this talk is to convert personal popularity into congressional support for the president's legislative programs. -Why should Congress care about the president's popularity? -Some scholars say that congressional candidates might benefit from the president's coattails: they might ride into office on the strength of the popularity of a president of their own party. -The influence of coattails has declined in recent years and is quite small today. The weakening of party loyalty and of party organizations, combined with the enhanced ability of members of Congress to built secure relations with their constituents has tended to insulate congressional elections from presidential ones. -A president's personal popularity can have a significant effect on how much of his program Congress passes. Members of Congress know that it is risky to oppose too adamantly the policies of a popular president. -The more popular the president, they higher proportion of his bills Congress passes. Four cautions for using this finding: 1. He can be "successful" on a big bill or on a trivial one. If he is successful on a lot of trivial matters, and unsuccessful on bigger matters, the measure of victories does not tell us much. 2. A president can keep his victory score high by not taking a position on any controversial measure. 3. A president can appear successful if a few bills he likes are passed but most of his legislative program is bottled up in Congress and never comes to a vote. 4. Presidential popularity is hard to predict and can be greatly influenced by factors over which nobody has much control. (9/11 - Bush) THE DECLINE IN POPULARITY: -Every president lost popular support between his inauguration and the time that he left office except when his re-election gave him a brief burst of renewed popularity. -Since a president's popularity is at a high after an election, people describe the president's period of high popularity as a honeymoon -Some presidents don't enjoy this honeymoon while others do. Those who do make good use of their honeymoon to get their programs into Congress. (FDR, LBJ)

THE POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT

-Thought the president, unlike a prime minister, can not command an automatic majority in the legislature he does have some formidable albeit vaguely defined powers. POWERS OF PRESIDENT ALONE: 1. Serve as commander in chief of the armed forces 2. Commission officer of the armed forces 3. Grant reprieves and pardons for federal offenses 4. Convene Congress in special sessions 5. Receive ambassadors 6. Take care that the laws be faithfully executed 7. Wield the "executive power" 8. Appoint officials to lesser offices POWERS THE PRESIDENT SHARES WITH THE SENATE: 1. Make treaties 2. Appoint ambassadors, judges, and high officials POWERS THE PRESIDENT SHARES WITH CONGRESS AS A WHOLE: 1. Approve Legislation -These list of powers are not very impressive. The president seems to be little more than the chief clerk of the country. Woodrow Wilson describes it as "usually not much above routine", mostly "mere administration". -Some presidents are extremely powerful, especially during war time, when directing forces or managing the economy and foreign affairs. -The President's duty to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed" has become one of the most elastic phrases in the Constitution. -The President's greatest source of power is found in politics and public opinion, not in the Constitution. Because of this, Congress has started passing laws that confer broad grants of authority to the executive. -The public sees wrongly that the president is the "first branch" of government. They look up to him, and this gives the president his unique power.

THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

-Today, the president has hundreds of people assisting him -If the president was once helpless for lack of assistance, he now confronts an army of assistants so large that it constitutes a bureaucracy he has difficulty controlling. THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICE: -The President's closes assistants have offices in the White House -They usually take care of the political and policy interest of the president. -Theses aides do not have to be confirmed by the Senate -There are three ways to organize the staff: 1. Pyramid Structure - A president's subordinates report to him through a clear chain of command headed by a chief of staff. 2. Circular Structure - Several of the president's assistants report directly to him. 3. Ad Hoc stucture - Several subordinates, cabinet officers, and committees report directly to the president on different matters -It is also common for presidents to mix methods. -Each method has advantages and disadvantages: 1. Pyramid -Advantages: orderly flow of information and decisions -Disadvantage: president may be misinformed or isolated 2. Circular -Advantages: virtue of giving the president a great deal of information -Disadvantages: confusion and conflict 3. Ad hoc -Advantages: great flexibility, minimizes bureaucratic inertia, and generates ideas and information -Disadvantage: risks cutting the president off from the government officials who are responsible for translating decisions into policy proposals and administrative action -Typically, senior White House staff members are drawn from the ranks of the president's campaign staff. A few people will be experts brought in after the campaign. -To outsiders, the amount of jockeying among the top staff for access to the president may seem comical or even perverse. -The staff attaches enormous significance to who can see him on a daily as opposed to weekly basis, who can get an appointment, and who has a right to see documents and memoranda just before they got to the Oval Office. THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT: -Agencies in the Executive Office report directly to the president and perform staff services for him but are not located in the White House itself. -Their members may or may not enjoy intimate contact with him -These appointments must be confirmed by the Senate -Some main agencies include: 1. Office of Management and Budget 2. Director of National Intelligence 3. Council of Economic Advisers 4. Office of Personnel Management 5. Office of the US Trade Representative -The most important agency is the OMB. THE CABINET: -The cabinet is composed of the heads of the federal departments which meet regularly with the president to discuss matters. -The Constitution does not even mention the cabinet. -The Cabinet did not work very well for many presidents because they heads kept feuding. -Cabinet officers are the heads of the 15 major executive departments. These departments are: 1. Department of State 2. Department of Treasury 3. Department of Defense 4. Department of Justice 5. Department of Interior 6. Department of Agriculture 7. Department of Commerce 8. Department of Labor 9. Department of Health and Human Services 10. Department of Housing and Urban Development 11. Department of Transportation 12. Department of Energy 13. Department of Education 14. Department of Veterans Affairs 15. Department of Homeland Security -The Presidents appoints and directly controls vastly more members of his cabinet departments than does the British prime minister. This because the president must struggle with Congress for control of these agencies, while the prime minister has no rival branch of government that seeks this power. -The abundance of of political appointees does not give the president ample power over the departments. -Having the power to make these appointments does give the president one great advantage: he has lots of opportunities to reward friends and political supporters. INDEPENDENT AGENCIES, COMMISSIONS, AND JUDGESHIPS: -The president also appoints people to four dozen or so agencies and commissions that are not considered part of the cabinet and that by law often have a quasi-independent status. -The president also appoints judges with the consent of Senate.

Divided government

One party controls the White House and another party controls one or both houses of Congress.

Circular Structure

Several of the president's assistants report directly to him.

Ad hoc Structure

Several subordinates, cabinet officers, and committees report directly to the president on different matters.

Legislative Veto

The authority of Congress to block a presidential action after it has taken place. The Supreme Court has held that Congress does not have this power.

Cabinet

The heads of the 15 executive branch departments of the federal government.

Gridlock

The inability of the government to act because rival parties control different parts of the government.

Electoral College

The people chosen to case each state's votes in a presidential election. Each state can cast one electoral vote for each senator and representative it has. The District of Columbia has three electoral votes, even though it cannot elect a representative or senator.

Bully Pulpit

The president's use of his prestige and visibility to guide or enthuse the American public.

Unified government

The same party controls the White House and both houses of Congress.