POL 3306- Midterm Exam
What are the first two lines of Article II?
"The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:"
What is the Oath of Office?
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Who expanded the presidential office?
FDR
What is the general argument of federalist paper 70?
Hamilton states that he wants a stronger executive rather than weaker. - says there should only be one president instead of two
What is the general argument of federalist paper 69?
Hamilton tries to point out the difference between a king and a president
JEOPARDY
DO JEOPARDY STUDY GUIDE WHEN THIS CARD COMES UP
MULTIPLE CHOICE
DO MULTIPLE CHOICE POWERPOINT WHEN THIS CARD COMES UP
What is Hotelling's law?
Rational actors will make themselves nearly indistinguishable from their opponents
Who is Patrick Henry and why is he relevant?
Refused to attend convention
What is impeachment, conviction and removal?
Impeachment: - 2/3 majority of the house must agree that the president has acted against the constitution Conviction: - If 2/3 of house votes to impeach then Senate much have a majority vote to convict. Removal: - If president is convicted by Senate then they are removed from office.
What is pardon power?
President can grant pardons, but not to those who have been impeached.
What is treaty power?
President can make treaties with two-thirds of senate support.
What is the White House Press Secretary? Who is the current one?
Proactive in dealing with press on a constant basis Currently: Stephanie Grisham
What is 'Going public'? What is the process? Give an example.
Process: Now we have social media. Primarily it was done by television. Presidents speak directly to the public. Public puts pressure on congress. Congress responds (limited). Example: Ronald Reagan's support of Robert Bork
What is the Bully pulpit? Who coined the term?
a public office or position of authority that provides its occupant with an outstanding opportunity to speak out on any issue. **Teddy Roosevelt coined the term**
What are superdelegates?
an un-pledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is seated automatically and chooses for themselves
What is The permanent campaign?
governing in elected office requires prolonged approval by constituents therefore even elected officials are still campaigning.
Give an example of individual presidential expansion.
Theodore Roosevelt's expansion of the navy, labor rights, and his conservation efforts.
What is succession in terms of the presidency?
VP will take the presidents place if for whatever reason the president is not able to continue his presidency.
What are the differences between personal and professional misconduct in regards to the public?
the general public is far more likely to forgive personal misconduct rather than professional.
What are the exceptions or limitations on all of the executive powers?
-
Who is Gouverneur Morris and why is he relevant?
- One of the 10 most important people during convention proceedings. - Wrote most of the constitution - Wanted a strong executive
Who is James Madison and why is he relevant?
- One of the 10 most important people in constitutional convention proceedings.
Who is Roger Sherman and why is he relevant?
- One of the 10 most important people in constitutional convention proceedings. - Wanted a weak executive - Part of the Committee of 5
What is electoral math?
- 538 Need 270 to win -Amendment 23 gave D.C. 3 electoral votes. -100 senators and 435 voting members in the house.
What was the Virginia Plan? Who supported it?
- A legislature based on proportional representation - Federalists supported it
What is mist clearing?
- After super Tuesday - When the likely victor becomes clear
What is appointment power? Who can the Executive appoint?
- All federal level appointments are made by the President. - Can nominate Ambassadors, judges, ministers with consent of senate
What was Ultimate Agreement? Who were its advocates?
- Brearly Committee was advocates - Base of electoral college
What is an alternative to the electoral college? What would need to happen to make it change to something else?
- Direct popular vote - To change: 1.Constitutional Amendment 2.Each state changes their own (e.g. NE and ME) 3.Popular vote compact (11-state agreement)
Who is George Washington and why is he relevant?
- First president -Who the presidency was based off of - Almost universally loved, presided over the convention - Federalist
Who were the strong executive advocates?
- Gouvernour Morris (he won) - Federalists initially signed off because Executive could be independent
Who is James Wilson and why is he relevant?
- He had one of the biggest impacts on convention proceedings during the writing of the constitution. - Delivered the Franklin Speech
What are the general election elements?
- Horserace news story framing Who's up/down and "why" - Polling Media vs. internal "Internal leaks" - Altogether lots of focus on "Electoral math" and Swing states
What is the Early Electoral college procedure?
- In Article II (Early Process) 1. Electors are elected (6 different systems depending upon the state) 2. Electors voted for two people; votes counted/certified by congress 3. Majority winner = President, Second place = VP
What are the primary phases?
- Invisible Phase - Initial Contests - Mist Clearing - Veepstakes - Convention
Who is Abigail Adams and why is she relevant?
- John Adams' wife, people liked her much better than her husband and corresponded with her rather than him fairly often.
What is the invisible primary?
- Longest phase - "Testing the waters" - Forming organizations, raising money, getting poll numbers up
List the important attendees of the constitutional convention.
- Many delegates only agreed to come because of Washington - Jefferson, James Madison, James Wilson, Elbridge Gerry, Gouverneur Morris, Roger Sherman, George Mason, Luther Martin, Hamilton (attendance off and on) - Biggest impact: Morris, Wilson, and Madison - Washington was silent except about representative apportionment ratio
What are the qualifications to be president?
- Must be 35 years of age or older - Naturalized US citizen
What were the alternate proposals for the executive election plan?
- National Popular Vote - Electors appoint president - Congress appoints electors - Random lot (selected from congress) appoints
What is the White House Press Office? Who established it?
- Office responsible for gathering and disseminating information to three principal groups: the President, the White House staff, and the media. - Established by FDR
List important non-attendees of the constitutional convention.
- Patrick Henry - William Pierce - Luther Martin - John Francis Mercer - Caleb Strong - William Houston - Robert Lansing, Jr. - Robert Yates - William Richardson Davie - Alexander Martin -James McClurg - George Wythe
What was the New Jersey Plan?
- Plural executive - Enhancement to Articles of Confederation's congress
What is prerogative presidency? Give an example.
- President is not limited by enumerated limits and can do whatever it takes to fulfill duties even if it means violating the constitution - President Lincoln
Who is Edmund Randolph and why is he relevant?
- Refused to sign the constitution
What is the White House Office of Communications? Who created it?
- Responsible for the planning and production of the President's media events - Created by Nixon
Who were the plural executive advocates?
- Roger Sherman - Anti-federalists - Edmond Randolph (didn't sign because he wanted a plural)
Who were the weak executive advocates?
- Roger Sherman - Several Framers wanted congress to be more powerful than the president - Anti-federalists wanted a weak executive depending upon legislature
What are the Veepstakes?
- Search for the VP - Shortlist is formed; nominee selected -Factors: - Geographic (may boost turnout in VP nom's home state) - Demographic - Experiential - "Do no harm"
What is presidential power expansion by statute?
- Serving as the nation's economic manager (not stated in the constitution)
Who is Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton and why is she relevant?
- She got cheated on by Hamilton
Compare caucuses and primaries.
- State and local governments run the primary elections, while caucuses are private events that are directly run by the political parties themselves - Primaries you show up and vote, Caucuses are more interactive.
How are available electoral votes allocated?
- States have anywhere from 3 to 55 EV's -A state's EVs = # of Senators + # of Reps - Total EVs available = 538, 100 Senators, + 435 Reps, +3 for DC
What are the origins of the electoral system?
- The Constitution establishes a careful system of electing presidents - 1788 and 1792: that system elects the person it was supposed to elect - But in 1796 everything changed People split into factions, and organized nationally
What is Stewardship presidency? Give an example.
- The president is active and not limited to enumerated powers. (Active but not unconstitutional) - Teddy Roosevelt
Give a specific example of expansion of presidential power.
- The president is expected to develop a legislative program and to persuade Congress to enact it
What is restrictive/constitutional presidency? Give an example.
- The president is limited to enumerated powers listed by Article 2 - President Taft
What are the "theories of presidential power?"
- The three way in which presidents exercise their executive powers 1. Restrictive/ Constitutional 2. Stewardship 3. Prerogative
Who is Ben Franklin and why is he relevant?
- Wanted clergy at the convention - Made the remark on the rising sun in the chair
What is the convention in terms of the primaries?
- Where the presidential nom is selected 1. Official nominations 2. Platform is written and approved 3. Fostered Party Unity 4. Rules adopted 5. "Pep rally" in primetime
Who is Mercy Otis Warren and why is she relevant?
- Writer and poet that encouraged colonists to resist British authority in Massachusetts. - Propogandist for the American Revolution
Who is Alexander Hamilton and why is he relevant?
- Wrote Articles of Confederation - His plan for the executive was to create an elected monarchy - Washington's treasury secretary, made a plan about legislation - Federalist
What are two theories for predicting results?
-Abraham Abramowitz's "Time for change" model; predicted Trump's win in 2016; said to disregard his model - Helmut Norpoth's "The Primary Model" Predicted Trump's win in March 2016 with 87% certainty
Who is Thomas Jefferson and why is he relevant?
-Anti-federalist, disagreed with Hamilton a lot - part of the "Committee of Five" for writing the Declaration of Independence, - probably wrote the first draft of the declaration (his draft was mangled) - grew to dislike Burr
What were the original executive election plans?
-Congress appoints presidents - "Removable on impeachment & conviction of malpractice or neglect of duty" (anti-federalists) - Original plan of only one seven-year term → not reliant on Legislature for reappointment (federalists)
How has attention changed in regards to scandals?
-Everything changed with Gary Hart (charismatic, Democratic senator, runner-up in 1984 primary campaign)
Who were the plural executive opponents?
-Federalists - Hamilton (Federalist 70) - Gouvernour Morris
Why are the debates important?
-Many claim decided based on debates - Usually: Three for presidential nominees, one for VP nominees - High ratings; up to half of households watch
Who are the 'important' presidents?
-Teddy, Wilson, FDR
What is the presidential primary system?
1) Party Caucuses 2) Primaries 3) Conventions (Precinct, state, and national)
What are the mechanisms of the electoral college today?
1) State parties choose ceremonial electors to represent candidates 2) People vote for those candidates 3) Popular vote winner in a state gets all of the state's EVs (cf. NE and ME)
What are Lowi's 3 laws?
1) The law of effort: Presidents try, but don't succeed, Second half of term = Create appearance of success 2) The law of outcomes: Probability of failure approaches 100% 3) The law of succession: Presidents always make predecessors look better, This is the only guarantee of presidencies
Who were the proponents of alternatives for the executive election plan?
Brearly Committee/ "Committee of Eleven on Postponed matters"
What is Commander in Chief power?
Commander in Chief of armed forces but can't declare war
What are the initial contests?
Contest Order (generally): -Iowa Caucuses - New Hampshire Primary - South Carolina Primary (Different for the Democrats in 2016) - Eventually Super Tuesday
Who is Martha Washington and why is she relevant?
George Washington's wife. Relevant because she created the original image for the first lady?
What are the drawbacks to going public?
Locks the president in to doing or supporting something.
What are swing states? Give examples.
States that can vote either way in an election and their vote heavily impacts who will be elected. Example: Michigan
What is the Take Care Clause?
The Constitution that says the President shall "take care that the laws be faithfully executed" (Article II Section 3).
What is Article II of the constitution about?
The Executive Branch and its powers.
What is the ability to receive ambassadors?
The president appoints ambassadors, ministers, and consuls (subject to confirmation by the Senate) and receives foreign ambassadors and other public officials.
What is State of the Union power?
The president can give Congress information of the State of the Union.
What is the Domestic Emoluments Clause?
The president can only make money from the salary that the president is given. They can't make extra outside money.
What is the vesting clause?
The president's constitutional authority to control most executive functions. ("The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.")
What is recess appointment power?
When a president makes a federal level appointment while congress is not in session and that person holds the job until congress and officially confirm them.