Government: Unit 6 Chapter 13 The Presidencey
Understand the purpose of the 22nd Amendment.
- 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1944, limits Presidents to no more than two full elected terms in office.
Chief citizen
the representative of all the people and the champion of public interest
Keynote address
the speech opening a national convention
Battleground state
a State in which either candidate could win
Understand the constitutional provisions relating to presidential disability.
- 25th Amendment addressed the disability issue. - VP becomes Acting President if: - President informs Congress, in writing, that he or she cannot carry out the powers and duties of the office, OR VP & a majority of the members of the Cabinet inform Congress, in writing, that the President is incapacitated.
How did the process of choosing a President change over time?
- At first electors cast two votes for president, each for a different candidate. - Winner became President & runner-up became VP. - 12th Amendment added separate electoral votes for President & VP. - Electors also pledged to vote for their party's candidates.
Describe the President's pay and benefits.
- Congress decides the President's annual salary. - Salary cannot be changed while a President is in office. - Current salary, set in 2001, is $400,000 a year plus $50,000 a year for expenses. - Constitution forbids the President from receiving any other pay from the government or the States while in office. - President also receives many benefits, including the White House, Air Force One, Camp David, a fleet of cars, a large staff, a suite of offices, excellent healthcare, and many other fringe benefits.
Describe the role of the Vice President.
- Constitution gives VP 2 formal duties: 1) to preside over the Senate, 2) to help decide if the President is disabled (under the 25th Amendment). - VP must be ready to assume the duties of the presidency if necessary.
Explain how the President's term of office has changed over time.
- Constitution sets no term limits for the presidency. - George Washington set the custom of serving two terms. - Franklin Roosevelt broke this custom by being elected to four terms from 1932 to 1944. - Many people, including some Presidents, have argued that the two-term rule unfairly limits the right of the people to choose their President. - Some say it also weakens a President's influence at the end of the second term in office. - Supporters say the amendment protects against abuse of executive power. - Some have argued for a single six-year term, which would free the President from worrying about reelection.
Outline the events that take place during a national convention.
- Conventions meet for 3-4 days, organized around many speeches by party leaders, adoption of the party platform, and the keynote address celebrating the party and its candidates. - Convention closes with the State delegations voting for the presidential nominee and the nominee's acceptance speech
Explain the Framers' original provisions for choosing the President.
- Framers agreed on a plan put forth by Alexander Hamilton. - Created the electoral college, a special body of presidential electors representing each state. - Each state would have as many electors as it had senators and representatives in Congress. - State legislatures would decide how presidential electors would be chosen in each state. - Each elector would cast two electoral votes, each for a different candidate. - Candidate with the most electoral votes would become President. - Candidate with the second-most votes would become VP. - Framers did not anticipate the rise of political parties competing for the presidency.
Does the nominating system allow Americans to choose the best candidate for President?
- widely used presidential primary system does force candidates to prove their political abilities before moving on in the nominating process. - Whether the current system produces the most skilled candidates remains a matter of debate.
Understand the caucus convention process.
- In States that do not hold primaries, caucuses choose the delegates to the national convention. - Party voters attend local caucuses where they vote for delegates to attend district conventions. - The district conventions choose delegates to the State convention, which then selects the State delegates who will represent the party at the national convention.
Describe the features of the presidential campaign.
- Presidential campaigns now begin long before the party conventions. - Candidates focus their time and money on battleground States and swing voters, trying to persuade uncommitted voters to support vote for them. - Voters are bombarded with ads, interviews, speeches, and press releases. - Since the 1960s, candidates also routinely debate each other in nationally televised events.
Explain how the Electoral College provides for the election of the president.
- Presidential electors cast the actual votes for President and Vice President. Electors are chosen by the results of the State popular vote on election day. - Electors meet at their State capital after the election and cast one electoral vote for President and one for Vice President. The results are sent to Washington and tallied. - Framers expected electors to use their own judgment, but now electors are expected to vote for their party's candidates.
Evaluate the importance of presidential primaries.
- Primaries force potential nominees to test their political strength and prove their worthiness as main contenders. - Primaries also make the nomination process more democratic. - Primaries are less important to the party in power, which typically will either nominate the sitting President or the candidate endorsed by the President.
Does the election process serve the goals of American democracy today?
- Question is still widely debated. - Critics note that the current electoral process does not always elect the winner of the popular vote. - Supporters note that the winner of the popular vote usually wins the presidency and that the current process preserves the influence of the individual States.
Describe the role of conventions in the presidential nominating process.
- Republican Party leaves the process of picking delegates largely up to State laws. - Democratic Party also enforces some national party rules to promote participation by minorities, women, and grass-roots
Examine the characteristics that determine who is nominated as a presidential candidate.
- Sitting presidents eligible for another term are usually nominated. - Nominees have almost always held elected office, with governors being the most common nominees. - A long public record is common but not a necessity. - overwhelming majority of nominees have been white, male, Protestant, and married. - Women and minorities had not been serious major party candidates until 2008, with Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama vying for the Democratic nomination and Obama winning the presidency. - Republican nominee John McCain was the oldest major party presidential candidate in history.
Explain how the Constitution provides for presidential succession.
- VP succeeded the President 9 times in U.S. history, beginning with John Tyler replacing William Harrison in 1841. - At first, the VP technically assumed only the powers and duties of the presidency. However, the custom was that the VP took the presidential office as well. - Under the 25th Amendment, adopted in 1967, the VP now formally assumes the office of President.
Describe some criticisms of the Electoral College system.
- Winner-take-all system and the unequal distribution of State electoral votes means that the winner of the electoral vote might lose the popular vote. - This has happened four times. Fifteen Presidents have won with less than a majority of the popular vote.
Proportional representation
- a system that gives a primary candidate a proportion of delegates equal to their percentage of the vote
Presidential primary
- an election in which a party's voters choose state delegates to the national convention and/or express a preference for their party's presidential nomination
Describe the President's many roles.
- chief of state, the ceremonial head of the U.S. government and the symbol of the American people. - chief executive, holding the nation's executive power in domestic and foreign affairs. - chief administrator, directing the more than 2.7 million civilian - chief diplomat, the main architect of American foreign policy and the nation's chief spokesman to the rest of the world. -commander in chief of the 1.4 million men and women of the nation's armed forces. - chief legislator, proposing laws that set the congressional legislative agenda. - unofficial head of the political party that controls the executive branch. - unofficial chief citizen, expected to champion the public interest and be the representative of all the people.
Winner-take-all
- contest where the candidate who wins gets all the delegates chosen at the primary
Presidential Succession Act of 1947
- current law fixing the order of succession to the presidency after the Vice President
Electoral college
- group of people chosen from each State and DC to formally select the President & VP
Understand the formal qualifications necessary to become President and why the Framers chose these qualifications.
- must be a natural born citizen of the United States. - must be at least 35 years of age. - must have been a U.S. resident for at least 14 years.
Presidential elector
- one of a group of individuals who cast the formal votes that choose the President
Balance the ticket
- practice of choosing a vice presidential running mate who can strengthen the presidential candidate's chance of being elected
Presidential succession
- scheme by which a presidential vacancy is filled
What occurs when the President is unable to perform the duties of the office?
-If a President dies, resigns, or is removed by impeachment, the Vice President succeeds to the presidency. - If the President is temporarily incapacitated, the Vice President becomes Acting President until the President can resume office.
What are the roles and qualifications of the President?
The President's roles include: Chief of state Chief executive Chief administrator Chief diplomat Commander in chief Chief legislator Chief citizen Qualifications: - 35 years old or older - a natural born U.S. citizen - lived in US for 14 years.
Electoral college
a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.
Caucus
a closed meeting of party members who select delegates to a national convention
Platform
a party's formal statement of principles
Elector
a person who has the right to vote in an election.
National convention
a quadrennial (every 4 years) meeting where major parties select their presidential ticket
Electoral vote
a vote cast by a member of the electoral college.
Swing voter
a voter who has not made up his or her mind at the start of a campaign
Electoral vote
one of two votes cast by an elector, one for President and one for Vice President
Chief of state
the ceremonial head of government
Chief administrator
the director of the executive branch
Chief executive
the leader of the executive branch and holder of executive power under the Constitution
Commander in chief
the leader of the nation's armed forces
Chief of party
the leader of the political party controlling the executive branch
Chief diplomat
the main architect of the nation's foreign policy and its chief spokesperson to the world
Chief legislator
the main author of the nation's public policies
