The Executive Branch

“No man will ever bring out of that office the reputation which carries him into it. The honeymoon would be as short in that case as in any other, and its moments of ecstasy would be ransomed by years of torment and hatred.”

—Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

Executive PowersThe “executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States” Commander-in-Chief Grant reprieves and pardons Make treaties (with the “advice and consent” of the Senate) Nomination power (cabinet members, ambassadors and judges, although many appointments are subject to Senate approval)Give to the Congress information on the State of the Union from “time to time”Power to convene Congress “on extraordinary Occasions”Commissions “all the Officers of the United States,” which implies removal power as wellThe President is to recite an oath of office that reads “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States”

Is this an impressive list?

Does it equal the reality of presidential power in the modern age?

Some Examples of Presidents Who Expanded the Executive

Power1793 - George Washington and the “Neutrality Proclamation” 1803 - Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase 1846 - James Polk and the Mexican War1861 - Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War2001 - George W. Bush and the war on terror

The Emancipation Proclamation

Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three… order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons… And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.

President Bush and the War on Terror

The president authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to spy on Americans without warrants, bypassing the procedures of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Does the president, as Commander in Chief, have the right to override our country's laws in the interests of national security?

“The modern presidency, as expressed in the policies of the administration of George W. Bush, provides the strongest piece of evidence that we are governed by a fundamentally different Constitution from that of the framers.”

— Noah Feldman “Who Can Check the President” (2006)

The 1996 Schlesinger Poll on “Presidential Greatness”

Where do our most recent presidents fall on this list?

GREAT: Lincoln, F. Roosevelt, Washington NEAR GREAT: Jefferson, Jackson, Wilson, T. Roosevelt, Truman, Polk AVERAGE: Eisenhower, L. Johnson, Kennedy, J. Adams, Cleveland, McKinley, Madison, Monroe, Reagan, J.Q. Adams, Carter, Clinton, Van Buren, G.H.W. Bush, Taft, Hayes, Arthur, B. Harrison, FordBELOW AVERAGE: Coolidge, Tyler, Taylor, Fillmore FAILURE: Hoover, Nixon, Pierce, A. Johnson, Grant, Buchanan, Harding

According to the Schlesinger poll, we have been wallowing in mediocrity for years. Why?

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Percent responding "approve"

Scandal over Monica Lewinsky erupts

Clinton delivers State of the Union address, denies relationship

Clinton denies Kathleen Willey's claims made on 60 Minutes

Judge dismisses Paula Jones case

Lewinsky immunity deal reached

President testifies, addresses nation

Starr Report released

Clinton impeached by House

Starr testifies before House Judiciary Committee

Midterm election

Videotape released

Senate trial begins

Trends in President Clinton’s Job Approval

"Do you approve or dispprove of the way George W . Bush is handling his job as president?"

Trends in President George W. Bush’s Job Approval, 2001-2008

September 11 terrorist

attacks

Start of Iraq War Capture of

Saddam Hussein

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2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

The 1996 Schlesinger Poll on “Presidential Greatness”

GREAT: Lincoln, F. Roosevelt, Washington NEAR GREAT: Jefferson, Jackson, Wilson, T. Roosevelt, Truman, Polk AVERAGE: Eisenhower, L. Johnson, Kennedy, J. Adams, Cleveland, McKinley, Madison, Monroe, Reagan, J.Q. Adams, Carter, Clinton, Van Buren, G.H.W. Bush, Taft, Hayes, Arthur, B. Harrison, FordBELOW AVERAGE: Coolidge, Tyler, Taylor, Fillmore FAILURE: Hoover, Nixon, Pierce, A. Johnson, Grant, Buchanan, Harding

According to the Schlesinger poll, we have been wallowing in mediocrity for years. Why?

Why Great Men are Not Chosen Presidents

““Europeans often ask, and Americans do not always Europeans often ask, and Americans do not always explain how it happens that his great office, the explain how it happens that his great office, the greatest in the world, unless we except the papacy, greatest in the world, unless we except the papacy, to which anyone can rise by his own merits, is not to which anyone can rise by his own merits, is not more frequently filled by great and striking men….more frequently filled by great and striking men….””

The safe candidate may not draw in quite so many The safe candidate may not draw in quite so many votes from the moderate men of the other side as the votes from the moderate men of the other side as the brilliant one would, but he will not lose nearly so brilliant one would, but he will not lose nearly so many from his own ranks. Even those who admit his many from his own ranks. Even those who admit his mediocrity will vote straight when the moment for mediocrity will vote straight when the moment for voting comes. voting comes. Besides, the ordinary American Besides, the ordinary American voters does not object to mediocrityvoters does not object to mediocrity. He has a lower . He has a lower conception of the qualities requisite to make a conception of the qualities requisite to make a statesmen than those who have direct public opinion statesmen than those who have direct public opinion in Europe have. He likes his candidate to be in Europe have. He likes his candidate to be sensible, vigorous, and above all, sensible, vigorous, and above all, what he calls what he calls ‘‘magnetic,magnetic,’’ and does not value, because he sees no and does not value, because he sees no need for, originality or profundity, a fine culture or a need for, originality or profundity, a fine culture or a wide knowledge.wide knowledge.””

James Bryce, The American Commonwealth (1888)

Why Great Men are Not Chosen Presidents

““It must also be remembered that the merits of a president It must also be remembered that the merits of a president are one thing and those of a candidate are another thing….are one thing and those of a candidate are another thing….””

——James Bryce, James Bryce, The American Commonwealth The American Commonwealth (1888) (1888)

What kind of president do Americans want?

What kind do we get?

2012 Election Results by 2012 Election Results by StateState

Habemus Papam!

ELECTORAL COLLEGE (First Monday after second Wednesday in December)

HOUSE

SENATE

Voters cast ballots for

electors

Electors vote for president and vice president respectively

Top presidential candidate receives 270 votes or more

Vice presidential candidate receives 270 votes or more

President elected

Vice President elected

If top presidential and vice presidential candidates receive fewer than 270 electoral votes, decisions are made in the House and Senate.

Representatives vote for president (from top 3 candidates) by state. A majority of votes (26) is needed to win.

Senators vote for vice president (from top 2 candidates). A majority of votes (51) is needed to win.

GENERAL ELECTION (first Tuesday after the first Monday in November) How

Presidents and Vice

Presidents are

Chosen

Are electors bound by law to cast their vote for a specific candidate?

• Yes in these states: AL, AK, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, HI, ME, MD, MA, MI, MS, MT, NE, NV, NM, NC, OH, OK, OR, SC, VT, VA, WA, WI, WY. (those in yellow are bound by “party pledges”)

• No in these states: AZ, AR, DE, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MN, MO, NH, NJ, NY, ND, PA, RI, SD, TN, TX, UT, WV.

Arguments Against the Electoral College

• The possibility of electing president receiving a minority of the popular vote;

• The risk of so-called “faithless” electors;

• The possible role of the Electoral College in depressing voter turnout;

• Failure to accurately reflect the popular will;

Consequences

Reforming the Electoral College

Do nothing—maintain the status quo.Abolish the electoral college outright and use a direct popular vote to determine outcomes—weigh individual votes equally everywhere: one person, one vote.Retain the apportionment of the electoral college but allow for a proportional allocation of electoral votes.Retain the apportionment of the electoral college but allocate one electoral vote for every congressional district a presidential candidate carries plus two more for each state. Adopt a national bonus plan that would maintain the Electoral College but add 102 electoral votes to the existing total of 538 and award all of the bonus votes to the national popular-vote winner.

Year CandidateElectoral College

Proportional Plan

District Plan

Direct Popular

Vote

1960 Nixon 219 266.1 278 49.5

Kennedy 303 265.6 245 49.8

Byrd 15 5.3 14 0.7

1976 Ford 240 258.0 269 48.0

Carter 297 269.7 269 50.1

Others 1 10.2 0 1.9

2000 Gore 266 258.4 267 48.2

Bush 271 260.2 271 48.0

Others 0 19.4 -- 3.8

Four Methods for Aggregating Votes

Formal powers of Congress during times of war

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water; To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years; To provide and maintain a navy; To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions; To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

An “invitation to struggle…”

Informal Sources of Presidential Power

POSITION - appointment power, control of national security apparatusPRESTIGE - bully pulpit, agenda-setting, national interests vs. parochial interestsPOPULARITY - “going public,” rally-’round-the flag

The Role of Commander-in-Chief

“If you interpret the Constitution’s saying that the president is commander in chief to mean that the president can do anything he wants and can ignore the laws you don't have a constitution: you have a king… They're not trying to change the law; they're saying that they're above the law and in the case of the NSA wiretaps they break it.”

—Grover Norquist

The “war on terror” is open-ended, with no time limit on expanded presidential powers.