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Can anyone be the President of
the U.S.?
Constitutional Requirements:• Must be at least 35 years
old• Must have lived in the
United States for 14 years• Must be a natural born
citizen
Unofficial:• Ability to win party
nomination• High office holder• Family name• Money
Demographic Characteristics of U.S. Presidents
• 100% male• 97% Caucasian• 97% Protestant• 82% of British
ancestry• 77% college
educated
• 69% politicians• 62% lawyers• >50% from the top 3%
wealth and social class• 0.5% born into
poverty• 69% elected from
large states
Presidential Benefits
• $400,000 tax-free salary• $50,000/year expense account• $100,000/year travel expenses• The White House• Secret Service protection• Camp David country estate• Air Force One personal
airplane• Staff of 400-500
Christmas at the White House, 2004
Formal Powers of the President
• Constitutional or expressed powers of the presidency
• Found primarily in Article II of the Constitution (the Executive Article)
Formal Powers: Military Powers
• Commander in Chief of the Army & Navy
• Making undeclared war– Limited by War Powers Act
1973• President can commit troops
for 90 days
Executive Powers
Formal: Expressed in Constitution
• “Faithfully execute” the laws• Direct the administration• Appoint and remove
many officials
Informal Powers: Those powers not explicitly written in the Constitution but
inferred – expanded during modern presidencies
Executive Orders• Orders issued by the President
that carry the force of law– Clinton’s “Don’t ask don’t tell”
gays in the military policy– FDR’s internment of Japanese
Americans– GWB trying suspected terrorists in
military tribunalsNotice for Japanese “relocation,” 1942
Executive AgreementsInternational agreements, usually related to trade, made by a president that has the force of a treaty; does NOT need Senate approval• Jefferson’s purchase of Louisiana in 1803 • GWB announced cuts in
the nuclear arsenal, but not in a treaty; usually trade agreements between
US and other nations
Executive Privilege
• Claim by a president that he has the right to decide that the national interest will be better served if certain information is withheld from the public, including the Courts and Congress
• United States v. Nixon (1973) – presidents do NOT have unqualified executive privilege (Nixon Watergate tapes)
Diplomatic Powers• Appoint ambassadors,
ministers and consuls• Make treaties subject to
Senate confirmation• Receive ambassadors• Diplomatic Recognition –
acknowledging the legal existence of a country/state
Legislative Powers• Give State of the Union
address to Congress
• Recommend “measures” to the Congress or veto legislation
• Upon “extraordinary occasions” convene both houses of Congress
Head of State
Queen Elizabeth and President Reagan, 1983
President Kennedy speaks at Berlin Wall, 1963
The President is chief of state. This means he is the ceremonial head of the government of the United States, the symbol of all the people of the nation.
Chief Diplomat
President Lincoln during the Civil War, 1862
President Roosevelt and the “Bully Pulpit,” 1910
As the nation’s chief diplomat, the President is the main architect of American foreign policy and chief spokesperson to the rest of the world.
Chief Legislator
President Clinton delivers the State of the Union Address, 1997
President Roosevelt signs into law the Social Security Act, 1935
The President is the chief legislator, the main architect of the nation’s public policies.
Leader of the Political Party
President Reagan & Vice-President Bush accepting their party’s nomination in 1980
The President acts as the chief of party, the acknowledged leader of the political party that controls the executive branch.
Commander-in-Chief
President Bush aboard U.S.S. Lincoln, May, 2003
President Johnson decorates a soldier in Vietnam, October, 1966
The Constitution makes the President the commander in chief, giving him or her complete control of the nation’s armed forces.
Chief Executive
President Bush holds cabinet meeting in October, 2005
President Clinton with Janet Reno, the first female Attorney General,
February, 1993
The Constitution vests the President with the executive power of the United States, making him or her the nation’s chief executive.
Chief Administrator
Vice-President Johnson sworn in aboard Air Force One
after President Kennedy’s assassination, 1963
President Bush at Ground Zero after 9-11
The President is the chief administrator, or director, of the United States government.