FRQs on the Presidency
5. The concept of "divided government" in the United States means that one political party can control the executive branch while the other controls the legislative branch. This poses a problem for the President in making appointments to federal offices. (a) Describe problems that divided government poses for the President in making federal appointments. (b) Identify and explain ways Presidents try to overcome the problems described in (a).
(a) Greater policy conflict, offices go unfilled, and it narrows the field of potential candidates. (b) Compromise on conflict (e.g. ideological compromise), making interim recess appointments, and selecting more minority nominees (i.e., diversification).
6. Conflicts between Congress and the President over war powers have their origin in the US Constitution. In 1973 Congress passed the War Powers Resolution in an attempt to clarify the balance of powers between the two branches of government. (a) Describe the primary constitutional conflict between Congress and the President over the decision to go to war. (b) Describe provisions of the War Powers Resolution that were designed to limit the President's power over the war making. (c) Other than the constitutional power that you described in (a), identify and explain other formal powers Congress has over war making.
(a) The President is Commander in Chief and Congress has the power to declare war. (b) Presidents must notify Congress within 48 hours of sending troops into combat and conflicts are limited to 60 days unless Congress takes action. (c) Passing laws because they can pass laws that relate to war making and treaty ratification because they are the ones who ratify treaties and basically end wars.
3. A number of factors enable Presidents to exert influence over Congress in the area of domestic policy. However, Presidents are also limited in their influence over domestic policymaking in Congress. (a) Describe two formal (enumerated) powers that enable the President to exert influence over domestic policy. (b) Choose two of the following. Define each term and explain how each limits the President's ability to influence domestic policymaking in Congress. -Mandatory spending -Party polarization -Lame-duck period.
(a) The State of the Union Address because he is able to address the people and Congress and speak about his plan for domestic policy. Legislative powers such as veto, pocket veto, and signing legislation because he then has some sort of influence over what happens with domestic policy. (b) Mandatory spending - Spending not controlled by annual budget decisions. Budgetary constraints make it difficult to apply policy goals. Lame-duck period - The period of time in which the President's term is coming to an end. The President's power is perceived as diminished and Congress is less responsive to the President.
1. Congress and the president both have a role in making foreign policy. Despite recent expansions in presidential power, there are still limits on presidential decision making in foreign policy. (a) Describe two enumerated powers Congress has in making foreign policy. (b) Describe two expressed powers the president has in making foreign policy. (c) Explain how executive agreements expand the president's ability to implement foreign policy. (d) Explain how one of the following can limit the president's ability to implement foreign policy. • Elections • Presidential approval ratings
(a) Two enumerated powers of Congress has in making foreign policy are declaring war and ratifying treaties. (b) Two enumerated powers the President has in making foreign policy are Commander in Chief (highest power in the military) and he makes treaties. (c) Executive agreements passed without Congress' approval, which makes it easier for the President to implement them into foreign policy. (d) Elections - The President has to run for re-election because he can be voted out of office in the first term. Elections can shift agenda.
2. The Constitution of the United Sates creates a government of separate institutions that share power rather than a government that delegates power exclusively to a single branch. Frequently, this means that the Presidents and Congress struggle with each other. (a) For each of the presidential powers below, explain one way that congressional decision making is affected by that power. -Veto power -Power to issue executive orders -Power as commander in chief (b) For each of the congressional powers below, explain one way that presidential decision making is affected by that power. -Legislative oversight power -Senate advice and consent power -Budgetary power
(a) Veto power - Prevents or discourages congressional action if the President makes a statement of clear opposition or threatens the veto. Power to issue executive orders - Congress avoids taking action on controversial issues. Power as commander in chief - Congress clarifies its role associated with the power to declare war. (b) Legislative oversight power - Presidents limit the number or extent of actions that might draw congressional observation. Senate advice and consent power - Presidents use executive agreements to avoid the need to have treaties ratified. Budgetary power - Presidents consider budget items or programs that are important to Congress.
4. Presidents are generally thought to have advantages over Congress in conducting foreign policy because of the formal and informal powers of the presidency. (a) Identify the formal constitutional powers of the President in making foreign policy. (b) Identify the formal constitutional powers of Congress in making foreign policy. (c) Identify the informal powers of the President that contribute to the President's advantage over Congress in conducting foreign policy. (d) Explain how each of the informal powers identified in (c) contribute to the President's advantage over Congress in conducting foreign policy.
(a)Make treaties and Commander in Chief; power to commit troops. (b)Declare war and ratify treaties. (c)Access to media/bully pulpit and recognized as a global leader. (d) He gets the information from the media first, and has leverage over Congress in conducting foreign policy. Congress is not recognized as a global leader, which makes it easier for him to conduct foreign policy.
7. Presidents must demonstrate many characteristics while serving the nation. 'Great' Presidents successfully demonstrate these characteristics while responding to major challenges of the day. (a) Identify and describe how each can contribute to a president's success. a. Crisis Manager b. Ability to work with Congress c. Agenda Setter (b) FDR is considered to be a great president. Explain a major crisis or challenge he faced and how he responded effectively. (c) Based on your response to (b), identify and describe 2 formal constitutional powers that he utilized in responding to the crisis.
a) -Crisis manager: Reagan restored faith in the American dream by his speeches. He came into office in a time where people did not have much confidence. Bush was also a crisis manager because of 9-11 -Ability to work with Congress: Johnson because he had been a senator before he became president. He knew how Congress worked, and how to flatter people in Congress so he could get what he wanted and to also give them what they wanted. He also knew how to persuade Congress to get them to pass laws and programs he wanted passed. -Agenda setter: FDR because of his New Deal and his fireside chats that informed the people about what was going on. b) A crisis was when the economy almost collapsed in the start of the great depression. He responded by taking action as fast as he could and making clear speeches over the radio. He took action that was realistic by putting people back to work. (he did not face a divided government) c) Roosevelt appointed people to be in the cabinet, to give people jobs. He also made speeches to congress and the country to put forth a sense of energy and recovery to give the people hope of reform. He could also appoint heads of departments and created whole new agencies to expand the power of the executive branch to bring about economic relief, recovery, and reform. For example new government programs like social security.
8. While the media can be used as a tool to increase Presidential power, the media can also serve as a check on Presidential power. (a) Explain how a President's effective use of the media can increase the power of the presidency. (b) Explain how the media can serve to limit the power of the Presidency. (c) Give a historic or current example that supports (a) and (b).
a) For example, FDR used fireside chats to get people to trust him and the presidency and people could trust him. He becomes familiar to them, and when the president tries to appeal to congress, they will pass legislation that the people will agree with, and the president will get what he wants. b) The media can limit the president's power because they always provide the public with information about what the president is doing. If the president does or says anything wrong, it will be released to the public and they could lose their supporters. c) FDR and Nixon, pentagon papers released to the people