ap gov chapter 12

Presidential salary & benefits

-$400,000 salary and travel allowance of $100,000 -Lifetime Pension of $207,800 a year -Free medical and dental health care -Air Force One, White House 132 room mansion with Bowling alley and private movie theater. -Lifetime secret service

Constitutional requirements of being president

-35 years old -Natural born citizen -A resident of 14 years before taking office

Presidential approval

-Approval is usually around 50% -Often linked to the economy, foreign affairs, etc. -Party not in power does not approve of president's policies

Part of the president's job is to lead his party.

-Because parties are relatively weak in the U.S., this is an informal duty with no prescribed tasks. -The president has become "fundraiser-in-chief" for his party, largely because it is in his best interest to have more members of his party in Congress.

Enumerated powers of the President

-Commander in Chief -Veto laws -Make treaties -Appoint government officials -Grant reprieves and pardons -Appoint ambassadors

Other duties of the President

-Commander in chief of the armed forces -Appoints head of executive departments, federal court judges, and other top officials with the senates consent -Make treaties -Provides leadership in proposing policy changes -In times of emergency, call an executive order -Meets and hosts ambassadors from other countries -Appoints ambassadors

Positives to being the President

-Compensation -Benefits, pension plan -Famous and opportunities after presidency is over due to name recognition -*Power* -The nuclear football -The White House -Air Force One -The Beast

The President is the Commander in Chief- makes major military decision

-Decides to use nuclear weapons- nuclear football -Authorizes special operations

Outer cabinet

-Does not talk to President on a daily basis -Shows up for regular meetings

Inherent powers of the President

-Executive orders -Executive privilege -Can declare states of emergency -Issue injunctions against strikes

Informal requirements of being president

-Experience in government -Moderate positions (perception of being Moderate) -Access to large amounts of money

The Cabinet

-Heads of government departments -Advise the president on specific issues -The cabinet is not used as a collective decision-making body -Not mentioned in Constitution -Cannot disagree with the President

Inner cabinet

-Inside the White House -Inner circle of President -In President's ear on a regular basis

The expansion of presidential power

-Lincoln put people in power without giving them a trial & increased military -Jackson vetoed the reauthorization of the National Bank and fired the secretary of the treasury for refusing to carry out his order

Powers not given to the President

-Line-item veto -Declaring war -Creating new cabinet position President CAN ASK Congress to declare war and create new cabinet positions, but can't do them alone.

Commander in Chief

-Shares with congress the power to declare war -Use military action to put down disorder in the nation

Negatives to being the President

-Stress -If bad things happen in the country, everyone will blame the President -No privacy- you are scrutinized -Really busy schedule- hard to have a family life -Constant criticism- media

A president's actions in office reflect something more than his political views.

-They also reflect the inner forces that give rise to his basic character. -Personality characteristics clearly have an important effect on presidents' success or failure in office. However, character is only one of a number of factors that go into making a successful president.

War Powers Act (1973)

-Vetoed by Nixon but was overturned by Congress -Congress sought to regain control of war making decisions and limit president's power -Requires president to consult with Congress within 48 hours of sending troops & must withdrawal troops within 60 days unless Congress OK's an extension -More symbolic

7 Roles of the President

1)Head of State 2)Chief Executive 3)Chief Legislator 4)Economic Planner 5)Party Leader 6)Chief diplomat 7)Commander in Chief

Diplomatic recognition

A foreign policy tool where the USA recognizes the government of a foreign country; can't trade with other countries

Treaty

A formal agreement between the government of two countries; need consent of Senate Need 2/3 vote

Amnesty

A group pardon

Injunction

A judicial order forcing a person or group to refrain from doing something

Watergate

A political scandal involving abuse of power and bribery and obstruction of justice

Reprieve

A postponement from legal punishment

Impoundment of funds

A president can refuse to give money congress has appointed

Pardon

A release from legal punishment

Executive privilege

Allows the executive branch to keep key information from being disclosed; can be challenged

Jackson & the National Bank

Andrew Jackson vetoed the reauthorization of the National Bank and fired the secretary of the treasury for refusing to carry out his orders. Congressional anger at Jackson's actions weakened Jackson's presidency.

Who can the president pardon?

Anyone except himself

Political patronage

Appointment to political office

When does the president pardon people?

At the end of the term

The VP will take over for the president if the VP and a majority of the __________ or another body authorized by law informs Congress that the president is disabled.

Cabinet

Difference between the Cabinet and White House Staff

Cabinet: answer to Congress White House Staff: do not have to be confirmed, answer to President

Who decides the presidential cabinet?

Chosen by the President & approved by the Senate

Discuss how unilateral and multilateral approaches to war making illustrate presidential discretion in war powers.

Congress decided whether to authorize war, but it is the President who decides whether to cooperate with UN, NATO, etc.; and to find allies who are either unilateral or multilateral. Multilateral is more accepted

The Council of Economic Advisers

Consists of three top economists appointed by the President and approved by the Senate

Chief Diplomat

Directs foreign policy of the USA

When is it harder for the president to influence policy with Congress?

During the lame-duck period- just want to wait until the next president

Electoral college system in 1804

Electors cast separate ballots for president and vice president -If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes the house chooses from the three candidates who have the largest number of electoral votes -12th amendment (separate ballots)

Electoral college system in 1789

Electors would meet in their own states and cast votes for two presidential candidates (one ballot) -Most votes- president -2nd most votes- vp -President and VP can be from different parties

FDR & New Deal

Expanded power During the New Deal, for example, Congress delegated much authority to the Roosevelt administration to do what was necessary to solve the nation's ills.

__________, Democratic candidate for vice president in 1984, was the first woman nominated by a major party for high office.

Geraldine Ferraro

Line-item veto

Gives president some power over individual items; unconstitutional

Party Leader

Gives speeches to help party members running for office -Helps raise money -Selects national chair person -Fundraising head

Periodically, the president faces a grave situation in which conflict is imminent or a small conflict threatens to explode into a larger war.

How a president handles such crises can be critical to the success of his presidency. He must exercise good judgment in situations where he may have limited time to make a decision.

Presidential power is determined in part by the political skills of the individual president.

In Richard Neustadt's words, "Presidential power is the power to persuade." Presidents must thus choose their issues carefully. They must calculate when they need to intervene and play their cards and when they need to hold back. Though Presidents must use their persuasive skills, they also have considerable power to simply order actions or policy changes in many areas.

Why did the Articles of Confederation fail?

In part because of the lack of a strong national executive

Generally, does the power of the president increase or decrease in times of war/crises?

Increase

Over time, what happens to presidential popularity?

It declines

Secretary of Defense

James Mattis

Attorney General

Jeff Sessions

Does a landslide at the polls guarantee consistent public support during a president's term?

No because the presidential election is independent of the elections of Congress- leads to divided government

If a president appoints a justice, do they automatically become judges?

No- must be checked by Senate

Is the cabinet used as a collective decision-making body?

No. Cabinet meetings may not even be particularly important to the president, though he may value the advice of individual members of the cabinet.

Inherent powers

Not mentioned in the Constitution

White House Staff

One of the president's resources -Each president has some key aides, including his chief of staff and his national security adviser. -The extended White House staff constitutes the Executive Office of the President, which includes the Office of Management and Budget and the Council of Economic Advisers. Has grown over the years

President pro tempore of the Senate

Orrin Hatch

Executive agreement

Pact between the president and head of a foreign government Need simple majority vote in both houses

Lame-duck period

Period between the election of a new president and inauguration

Enumerated powers

Powers specifically given to the president in Article II

3rd in line of succession

President pro tempore of the Senate

25th amendment

Presidential succession, vice presidential vacancy, and presidential disability

Chief Legislator

Proposes legislation, veto power

Executive orders

Rules that have the force of law, CAN be challenged Orders given to federal agencies that carry the weight of law; next president can easily override previous executive orders they don't like

4th in line of succession

Secretary of State

Members of the inner cabinet

Secretary of State, Treasury, Defense, General & Homeland Security

The vice president presides over the ______ and votes in that body in case of a tie.

Senate

2nd in line of succession

Speaker of the House

Secretary of the Treasury

Steven Mnuchin

Which is more influential with the public: the President or Congress?

The President

What was the War Powers Act made in response to?

The Vietnam War

The constitutional basis of presidential power

The delegates to the Constitutional Convention were wary of unchecked power. This is because they previously had a king and didn't want to be controlled, but they also realized that they needed somewhat of an executive branch.

War Powers Resolution

The delegation of authority is not necessarily permanent, however; Congress may attempt to regain its authority, as it did with the War Powers Resolution in 1973.

What is divided government?

When one party controls the presidency and the other party controls Congress

Discuss a way in which the War Powers Resolution might limit foreign wars.

The president has to consult with Congress before sending troops into countries. Both must agree to every war, so this could limit the amount and time span of war. The President must notify Congress within 48 hours

Head of State

The president represents the nation and performs many ceremonial roles

Chief Executive

The president sees that the laws of congress are carried out

Identify one advantage the President has over Congress and one advantage Congress has over the President in war making.

The president ultimately control troop movement, but not without Congress's approval Only Congress can officially declare of war

How is the president's staff organized?

There is no "right way" for a president to organize his staff. Each president creates the structure that he thinks will work best for him, though sometimes finding the right balance takes a bit of trial and error.

What is the most important duty of the President?

To ensure that all laws are faithfully executed

Economic Planner

To submit an annual economic report to congress, responsible for promoting high employment

Bully pulpit

Using the presidency to influence public support for a policy

Secretary of State

Vacant

1st in line of succession

Vice President

The VP role

Vice presidents have traditionally been "standby equipment." They are not usually used in a major advisory capacity.

Electoral college system today

Votes separately for president and vp -Voters cast their ballots for president every four years -Not direct election -Need 270 electoral votes to win

Do polls show that the public finds divided government desireable?

Yes

12th amendment

added the separation of the president and vice president onto two different ballots

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

assists the President coordinate legislative and budgetary proposals from the executive branch

One proposed reform of the electoral college system is to choose electors from __________.

congressional districts

What strongly affects presidential popularity?

economic conditions, unanticipated events or crises (such as the Iranian hostage crisis), or American involvement in a war

Unilateral

engaging in a war without relying on international coalitions to carry out the war

One problem with doing away with the electoral college is that it would undermine _____________ bc the states would lose their role in the choice of a president.

federalism

In the electoral college, a third party candidate could possibly win (not realistic) enough electoral votes to prevent either ___________ from receiving the majority of votes

major party candidate

The major parties usually choose presidential candidates who hold _______ positions on most issues.

moderate

A serious candidate for the presidency must have access to large amounts of ______.

money

The new president, called the ____________________ until the inauguration, takes office at noon on ___________________.

president-elect; January 20

If the House votes for the pres and some members of the House favor a strong third party candidate it might be hard for any candidate to win ___ votes.

26 House votes- each state gets 1 vote; need a majority

According to the constitution, the president and the vice president must be at least ____ years old.

35

How many congressional districts does Georgia have?

14

Unless congress decides in the vice president's favor by a _____ vote in each house, the president may resume office.

2/3

The ____ amendment established the order of succession to the presidency and spelled out what happens when the vice presidency becomes vacant.

25th

Identify why the legislative Veto aspect of the resolution might jeopardize the legality of the resolution.

Legislative veto was deemed unconstitutional in INS v. Chadha. It compromises checks and balances Legislative veto expands power

22nd amendment

Limits the number of terms a president may be elected to serve (2 terms) two terms or ten years total (can serve 2 year and then run twice more)

Who does the cabinet answer to?

The American people, Congress

Multilateral

utilizing international structures in conducting international wars, often including working with the UN or numerous nations in the international community before deciding to enter a war; conversing with others

According to the __________ weakness, the electoral college system is unfair to those who vote for a losing candidate, since the party whose candidate receives the popular vote in any state wins all the state's electoral votes.

winner takes all