Political Science: Chapter 13 Review

With the adoption of a scheme of indirect election through an electoral college in which the electors would be selected by the state legislatures (and close elections would be resolved in the House of Representatives), the framers hoped to achieve a "republican" solution: a strong president responsible to state and national legislators rather than directly to the electorate. This indirect method of electing the president probably did dampen the power of most presidents in the nineteenth century.

Expressed powers, specific powers granted by the Constitution to Congress (Article I, Section 8), and to the president (Article II), cannot be revoked by Congress or any other agency without an amendment to the Constitution. Expressed powers include the authorization to make treaties, grant pardons, and nominate judges and other public officials, the power to receive ambassadors, and the command of the military forces of the United States. Delegated powers are constitutional powers that are assigned to one governmental agency but that are exercised by another agency with the express permission of the first. For example, if Congress determines that air quality should be improved, it might delegate to a bureaucratic agency in the executive branch the power to identify the best means of bringing about such an improvement as well as the power actually to implement the cleanup process. Inherent powers of the presidency, powers claimed by a president that are not expressed in the Constitution but are inferred from it, are most often asserted by presidents in times of war or national emergency. For example, after the fall of Fort Sumter and the outbreak of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued a series of consecutive orders for which he had no clear legal basis. Lincoln asserted that these extraordinary measures were justified by the president's inherent power to protect the nation.

Only Congress can declare war, but past presidents have executed many campaigns sending troops out across the world, without Congress officially declaring war. Congress tried to reclaim their authority by presenting the War Powers Resolution: a resolution of Congress that the president can only send troops into action abroad with authorization of Congress (a declaration of war), or if American troops are already under attack or serious threat. The president, however, can send troops to war on his decision alone, but he must notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days without an authorization of the use of military force or a declaration of war from Congress.

Until the ratification of the Twenty-fifth Amendment in 1965, the succession of the vice president to the presidency was a tradition, launched by John Tyler when he assumed the presidency after William Henry Harrison's death, rather than a constitutional or statutory requirement. The Twenty-fifth Amendment codified this tradition by providing that the vice president would assume the presidency in the event of the chief executive's death or incapacity and setting forth the procedures that would be followed. In the event that both the president and vice president are killed, the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 establishes an order of succession, beginning with the Speaker of the House and continuing with the president of the Senate and the Cabinet secretaries. This piece of legislation was adopted during the Cold War and prompted by fear of a nuclear attack. It has, however, taken on new importance in an age of global terrorism.

The Cabinet is the traditional but informal designation for the heads of all major federal government departments. The Cabinet has no constitutional status. The American Cabinet is not a collective body. It meets but makes no decisions as a group. Each appointment must be approved by the Senate, but Cabinet members are not responsible to the Senate or to Congress at large. Cabinet appointments help build party and popular support, but the Cabinet is not a party organ. The White House Staff is composed mainly of analysts and advisers, who are often given the title "special assistant". The type of judgments they are expected to make and the kinds of advice they are supposed to give are way broader and more generally political than those coming from the Executive Office of the President or from the Cabinet departments. The Kitchen Cabinet is an informal group of advisers to whom the president turns for counsel and guidance.

The Executive Office of the President (EOP) is a major part of what is often called the "institutional presidency"—the permanent agencies that perform defined management tasks for the president. The most important is the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Its roles include preparing the national budget, designing the president's program, reporting on agency activities, and overseeing regulatory proposals. The staff of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) constantly analyzes the economy and economic trends and attempts to give the president the ability to anticipate events rather than waiting and reacting to events. The National Security Council (NSC) is made of designated Cabinet officials who meet with the President to give advice on the large national security picture. The staff of the NSC assimilates and analyzes data from all intelligence-gathering agencies.

The vice president exists for two purposes only: to succeed the president in case of death, resignation, or incapacitation and to preside over the Senate, casting a tie-breaking vote when necessary. Traditionally, most first lady limited their activities to the ceremonial portion of the presidency. They greeted foreign dignitaries, visited other countries, and attended important national ceremonies. These roles have changed a lot throughout time.

Roles of the vice president can vary from presidency to presidency. President Clinton for example, relied greatly on his vice president, Al Gore. Gore's most important task was to oversee the National Performance Review (NPR), an ambitious program to "reinvent" the way the federal government conducts its affairs. The presidency of George W. Bush resulted in unprecedented power and responsibility for his vice president, Dick Cheney, who helped shape the war on terror. The First Lady is now also very much involved with social issues, but they are not allowed to get involved with politics.

During the nineteenth century, Congress was America's dominant institution of government, and members of Congress sometimes treated the president with disdain. Today, however, no one would assert that the presidency is an unimportant institution. Presidents seek to dominate the policy-making process and claim the power to lead the nation in time of war. The expansion of presidential power over the course of the past century has not come about by accident but as a result of an ongoing effort by successive presidents to enlarge the powers of the office.

Generally, Presidents can expand their power in three ways: party, popular mobilization, and administration. In the first instance, presidents may construct or strengthen national partisan institutions with which to exert influence in the legislative process and through which to implement their programs. In addition, presidents may use popular appeals to create a mass base of support that will allow them to subordinate their political foes ("going public"). Third, presidents may seek to bolster their control of established executive agency or to create new administrative institutions and procedures that will reduce their dependence on Congress and give them a more independent governing and policy-making capability.

The American president doesn't have too much power. The president has enough power to satisfy the public's expectations of their performance. This is true because the president has veto power over legislation, including those mandated by Congress, can remove all subordinates in the executive branch, and can direct those same subordinates to do any particular action within the executive branch. The public expectation is that the current president should maintain national security, peace, and domestic stability.