Lecture #10

The Problem of Presidential Power

I. The Framers and the Presidency

A. Why just one?

B. Oneness as a check

C.“Energy in the Executive”—Federalist Papers #70

D. The presidency as an executor, crisis manager

II. Article II Powers--Presidential power on paper

A. Commander and chief

B. Pardons

C. Receive ambassadors (foreign policy)

D. Executive power (take care that laws be faithfully executed)

E. Make Treaties

F. Appoints ambassadors, executive agency heads, cabinet, judges

G. Veto

III. Growth of Presidential Power

A. Emergence of U.S. as world power

--Theory of the Two Presidencies

B. Growth of federal government after New Deal

C. Growth of electronic media

-- "Going Public"—The Plebiscitary Presidency

D. The “Imperial Presidency”?

(Has presidential power grown too great? Bush Administration’s attempt to unilaterally decide questions about detention, wiretapping, torture, warmaking)

E. Growth in "The Presidential Branch"

  1. OMB--Office of Management and Budget

a. budget analysis, writes budget proposal

b. preclearance review of testimony, legislation,

c. gathers agency opinion on bills at president's desk

d. regulatory review

2. White House staff

a. acts like a kind of kingly court

b. who's up, who's down, whose memo is being read

c. pyramid versus circle versus work teams approach

IV. President and Executive Branch

A. Presidential Branch

--for the most part, president hires and fires as he wishes

1. Problem of divided loyalties

  1. Cabinet

--president nominates, Senate must confirm; can be fired

1. Less important in U.S. than parliamentary nations

2. Declining importance to "presidential branch" in advising president

3. Main role now to supervise bureaucracies

4. Secretary and a few undersecretaries try to control thousands of bureaucrats; tough job (see Reich article)

5. "Going Native"

C. Independent Agencies

--president appoints with senatorial approval, can’t fire

1. Example: Federal Reserve

a. controls money supply

b. runs the economy?

c. board members have 14-year terms

V. Presidential Power

A. Presidents as Clerks (Neustadt)

B. The Myth of Mandates

C. Resources for leadership

(see Neustadt, case studies of presidential persuasion, failure to persuade)

D. Factors affecting presidential power

Party control of Congress

Popularity

Time in term (22nd Amendment)

E. The Howell Challenge: Power Without Persuasion

What can the president do unilaterally?

--a quasi-legislative power

others?

F. Wildavsky: Is Foreign Policy Different?

G. Does the example of the Bush Presidency support the theories of Neustadt, Howell, Wildavsky?

Have checks and balances designed to restrain executive power broken down?