Ch10 Wilson Brief 10e Script
This chapter concerns the presidency.
The separation of powers in the American system means that a president, however personally popular he may be, must deal with a political competitor, Congress, in setting policy and managing the executive branch.
The constitutional basis of presidential power is modest; the great growth in that power since the 1930’s has resulted from the growth in the size and scope of the federal government, the increased importance of foreign affairs, and the president’s enhanced ability to communicate directly with the people through radio and television.
Every president can depend on some support from his party’s members in Congress, but not enough to guarantee success even when his party is in the majority in both houses. To increase his power, the president depends on personal popularity and on the bargaining power he has by virtue of his ability to veto bills.
In foreign affairs the president has substantial power and, in a crisis, popular support. But Congress has reasserted some of its powers by bringing the CIA under congressional scrutiny and by passing the War Powers Act.
In economic policy the president has less power, but the public expects more from him. Elections often turn on economic issues, yet the president rarely has the knowledge, advice, or power to shape the economy to his liking. Congress is an especially important rival in this area because it controls the power of the purse.
While the Founders desired “energy in the executive,” they expected Congress to be the first branch of government because of its ability to approve expenditures, confirm high appointments, and pass laws over the president’s veto. For well over a century, Congress was the leading branch except in periods of crisis, but starting in the 1930’s, the presidency became a somewhat more powerful branch.
The popularity of the president is important for his success and the size of his party’s majority in Congress. Presidents Reagan and Clinton were very popular, but in their second terms they did not get much done in Congress. Congress and the White House are often enemies, and though presidential character makes a difference, it is usually not a decisive one.
Most Americans think we should abolish the Electoral College, but most probably do not know the consequences of such a change. The system strengthens federalism, and hence the power of the states, and helps maintain a two-party system. With direct elections, we would have more and more powerful third parties and possibly the kind of weak coalition politics one sees in Italy and Israel.
An American presidential candidate is nominated through primaries and conventions. Presidential candidates often have no experience in Congress. The president of the United States selects his cabinet officers and advisers not to control Congress but to reward personal followers, recognize important constituencies, and mobilize nongovernmental expertise; and he never has to answer hostile questions before Congress.
The President of the United States occupies an office with powers derived from the Constitution, and he may have great difficulty in exercising any legislative leadership at all owing to his inability to control Congress. The president’s formal powers are few and vaguely defined; they are set forth in Article Two of the Constitution.The Powers of the President Alone are:
Serves as commander in chief of the armed forces
Serves as Commissions officer of the armed forces
Grants reprieves and pardons for federal offenses except impeachment
Convenes Congress in special sessions
Receives ambassadors
Takes care that the laws be faithfully executed
Wields the “executive power”
Appoints officials to lesser offices
The president has powers that he shares with the Senate.
He makes treaties with their consent
He appoints ambassadors, judges, and high officials
The president also has powers he shares with Congress as a whole, approving legislation
Interpreted narrowly, this list of powers is not very impressive. Obviously the president’s authority as commander in chief is important, but most of the other constitutional grants amount to making the president a kind of chief clerk of the country. The greatest source of presidential power, however, is found not in the Constitution at all but in politics and public opinion. Moreover, the American people look to the president, always in time of crisis, but increasingly as an everyday matter for leadership, and hold him responsible for a large and growing portion of our national affairs.
The president is elected by the Electoral College and needs 270 electoral votes.
The Executive Office of the President is composed of the Office of Management and Budget, the Council of Economic Advisers, the Office of the US Trade Representative, the Council on Environmental Quality, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. These agencies report directly to the president and perform staff services for him but are not located in the White House itself. In terms of the president’s need for assistance in running the federal government, probably the most important of these agencies is the Office of Management and Budget.
Cabinet officers are the heads of the fifteen administrative departments that, by custom or law, are considered part of the cabinet. Though the president, with the consent of the Senate, appoints the heads of these cabinet departments, his power over them is sharply limited.
The president also appoints people to four dozen or so agencies and commissions that are not considered part of the cabinet and that by law often have a quasi-independent status.
The president also appoints federal judges, subject to the consent of the Senate; they serve during “good behavior”. They can be removed only by impeachment and conviction. This tenure is required by the Constitution and is necessary to preserve the independence of the judiciary.
Every president strives for personal popularity because it is the key to congressional support and improved chances for reelection. It is not obvious, of course, why Congress should care about a president’s popularity.
Nonetheless, a president’s personal popularity may have a significant effect on how much of his program Congress passes. Though members of Congress may not fear a president who threatens to campaign against them, they do have a sense that it is risky to oppose too adamantly the policies of a popular president. Other things being equal, the more popular the president, the higher the proportion of his bills Congress will pass. Though presidential popularity is an asset, its value inexorably tends to decline.
Because a president’s popularity tends to be highest right after an election, political commentators like to speak of a “honeymoon,” during which the president’s love affair with the people and possibly with Congress can be consummated. The midterm decay in the reputation of the president and his party is evident from the pattern of off-year elections.
Every president brings to the White House a distinctive personality; the way the White House is organized and run reflects that personality. Moreover, the public judges the president not only in terms of what he has accomplished but also in terms of its perception of his character. Thus personality plays a more important role in explaining the presidency than it does in explaining Congress.
If a president disapproves of a bill passed by both houses of Congress, he may veto it in one of two ways. One way is by sending a veto message to Congress within ten days explaining his objections. The other way is by exercising a pocket veto; that is, by refusing to sign it within a ten-day period, during which time Congress adjourns. A bill that is neither signed nor vetoed within ten days while Congress is still in session becomes a law automatically, without the president’s approval. A bill that has been returned to Congress with a veto message can be passed despite the president’s objections if at least two-thirds of each house votes to override the veto. The president must accept or reject the entire bill; unlike most governors, he cannot exercise a line-item veto, which rejects some provisions and accepts others.
Presidents can and have been impeached. Animpeachment is like an indictment in a criminal trial: it is a set of charges against somebody that is voted on by a majority in the House of Representatives. To be removed from office, the impeached officer must be convicted by a two-thirds vote of the Senate. Article Two, Section Four, of the Constitution specifies “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” as impeachable offenses. But no clear definition exists of what acts do qualify as high crimes and misdemeanors, leaving Congress to decide as it wishes. Only two presidents have been impeached, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. The Senate did not convict either Johnson or Clinton by the necessary two-thirds vote. The case against Clinton was more serious. The House Judiciary Committee, relying on the report of independent counsel Kenneth Starr, charged Clinton with perjury, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power.
Most of the examples of the exercise of great presidential power given at the beginning of this chapter came from the area of foreign affairs. Because the president is commander in chief of the armed forces, because he appoints and receives ambassadors, and because Congress recognizes that it cannot negotiate with other nations, the president tends to be stronger in foreign than in domestic policy.
A final word on the difficulty of making changes. After he took office, President Obama found out that he could not close Guantanamo as soon as he had wanted because it was hard to find places to send its many prisoners. He allowed the Patriot Act and FISA to be renewed without any important changes. Despite his announced opposition to the surge, he kept American forces in Iraq well into 2010. He also authorized sending more troops to Afghanistan. Foreign and military policies, as all presidents discover, have a compelling quality that makes quick changes difficult. Read more about the president and his challenges in this chapter.