CYBERLAND UNIVERSITY OF NORTH AMERICA
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr.
University President & Professor of Political Science
POLITICAL SCIENCE 201B:
AMERICAN NATIONAL GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
OUTLINE & STUDY GUIDE, LECTURE TOPIC C,
THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY & NATIONAL LEADERSHIP
TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENTS:
Chapter 11, "The Presidency: The Leadership Branch," pages
284-309.
U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1, Paragraph 1, &
Sections 2 & 3.
OUTLINE & STUDY GUIDE:
I. The Constitutional Powers and Duties of the President
[U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 1, Paragraph 1,
& Sections 2 & 3]
A. The Executive Power of the National Government
1. Article II, Section 1, Paragraph 1
a. The Office in Which the Executive Power is
Vested
B. The Powers and Duties of the President Enumerated
(Expressly Assigned)
1. Article II, Section 2
2. Article II, Section 3
3. Presidential Powers and Duties--A Summary
II. The President and the Politics of Shared Powers [Textbook,
pages 285-287]
A. Original Intent--The Design of the Framers of the U.S.
Constitution [285]
1. The Office of President--Characteristics
a. Limited Powers
b. Nonpartisanship
c. Duties and Functions
d. Dual Constitutional Roles
(1) Ceremonial and Symbolic Chief of State
(2) Actual Head of Government
(a) Top Executive Officer in the National
Government
(b) Top Officer in Charge of Foreign
Affairs and International Relations
(c) Top Civilian Head of the Armed Forces
of the Nation
2. Decisionmaking Power Shared with Congress
a. The President's Major Appointments
b. The President's Veto Power Over Legislation
c. The President's Treatymaking Power
d. The Resulting Need for Cooperation and Con-
sultation Between the President and Congress
3. Broad Outline of Presidential Powers in the Con-
stitution
a. The President's Powers Deliberately Outlined
Broadly
b. Reason
(1) Discretionary Power to Act
(a) Under What Circumstances
(2) Power of Congress to Impeach the Presi-
dent and Remove Him from Office
(a) On What Grounds
B. Divided Powers in the National Government--The Design
of the Framers [285-286]
1. The National Government--A Government of Divided
Powers as Well as Shared Powers
a. Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances
(1) The Need for Disagreement and Conflict as
Well as Cooperation
(2) How Disagreement and Conflict Were Made
Inevitable
(a) Different Constituencies
(b) Different Terms of Office (Different
Lengths of Service
2. The National Government--Neither a Legislature-
Dominated Government Nor an Executive-Dominated
Government
a. National Leadership and Public Policy
(1) What the Constitution Plainly Invites
(2) When Leadership and New Policy Initiatives
Are Encouraged
3. Divided Government
a. Definition
(1) The Two Major Political Parties and
Divided Government
4. Divided Powers and Divided Government
a. What Makes Divided Government Possible at the
National Level in the U.S.A.
b. What Has Been the Norm in American National
Government During Recent Decades
C. The Evolution of Presidential Power and Influence
[286-287]
1. The Formal Powers Vested in the Office of Presi-
dent by the U.S. Constitution--Unchanged
2. Variables Determining the Actual Power and In-
fluence of a Given President
a. The Incumbent's Character and Energy
b. The Needs of the Time
c. The Party Balance in Congress
d. The Values of the Citizenry
e. The Challenges to Our Nation's Survival
3. The History of Presidential Power and Influence
a. The History of Steady, but Uneven, Growth
b. Examples of Individual Presidents Who Have
Enlarged the Power and Influence of the
Office Of President
c. How Have the Institution of the Presidency
and Many of Its Powers Been Redefined by
Individual Presidents
d. The Roles of Congress and the Federal Courts
in the Growth of Presidential Power and In-
fluence
(1) Recurrent Crises and Congressional Dele-
gation of Discretionary Authority to the
President
(2) The U.S. Supreme Court
(a) An Expansive Interpretation of Presi-
dential Power Under the Constitution
(b) Giving Legitimacy to the Growth of
Presidential Power
e. Factors That Strengthened the Presidency in the
Twentieth Century
(1) The Danger of War and the Destructive Po-
tential of New Weaponry
(a) What Invited Presidential Leadership
in National Security Matters
*The Cold War
(2) Television
(a) Presidential Access to Prime-Time TV
*Ability of the President to Take His
Case Directly to the People
*Invitation to Bypass Congress, the
Washington Press, and Party Leaders
*Weakening of the Checks on the
Presidency
(3) Growth of the Role of the National Govern-
ment in Domestic and Economic Matters
(a) Why So Many Problems Get Pulled up
into the White House
(b) The Purposes of Central Review and
Coordination Units Established by
the President
(4) Public Expectations
III. A Contemporary Job Description of the Office of President--
The Many Jobs of the President [Textbook, pages 289-297]
A. The Traditional Responsibilities of the President
[289]
1. A List of the Traditional Responsibilities [289]
B. Additional Roles yhe President Is Expected to Perform--
Leadership Responsibilities Not Spelled out in the U.S.
Constitution [289-297]
1. The President as Crisis Manager [290-291]
a. Crisis Manager in National Security Affairs
(1) What the President Is Expected to Do
When Crises and National Emergencies
Occur in the Area of Foreign Affairs
and International Relations
(2) The Primary Factor Underlying the Trans-
formation in the President's Function as
Commander-in-Chief
(a) The Changed Role of the U.S.A. in the
World, Especially Since the Second
World War
(b) The Consequence--Presidential Discre-
tion in the Area of Foreign Policy
and International Relations
b. Crisis Manager in the Domestic Sphere
(1) What the President Is Expected to Do When
Crises and Emergencies Occur in the Area
of the Internal Affairs of the U.S.A.
(a) Presidential-level Planning, Deci-
sionmaking, and Action to Solve the
Problem
(2) The President's Limitations as Crisis
Manager in the Domestic Sphere
(a) The President as Little More Than a
Victim of Fast-breaking Events and
Forces Outside of His Control
c. The Presidential War Power
(1) The Power of Congress to Make War
(a) The Constitutional Authority to
Declare War
(2) The Power of the President to Start a War
or Take Military Action That Leads to War
(a) Ordering the U.S. Armed Forces into
Military Action Abroad
(b) The Importance of Domestic Political
Support for Such Action
(3) The War Powers Act (War Powers Resolution)
of 1973
(a) The Circumstances Under Which the
President Can Legally Commit the
U.S. Armed Forces Abroad
*Congressional War Declaration
*Congressional Statutory Authoriza-
tion
*National Emergency Created by an At-
tack on the U.S.A. or on Its Armed
Forces
(b) The Reporting Requirement
(c) When the Troop Commitment Must Be
Ended
(d) The Obligation to Consult Congress
(e) Military Disengagement by Concurrent
Resolution of Congress
(f) The Statute's Impact on Presidential
Behavior
2. The President as Morale Builder [291]
a. Presidential Leadership at Its Finest
(1) Radiation of National Self-Confidence
(2) Unlocking the Possibility of Good That
Exists in the Nation
3. The President as Recruiter [291-292]
a. How a Shrewd and Effective President Uses His
Appointment Power
(1) Rewarding Campaign Supporters
(2) Enhancing Ties to Congress
(3) Communicating Priorities and Policy Direc-
tions
b. The Difficulty of Keeping the Most Talented
Officials in Government Service
c. The Lasting Impact of Judicial Appointments
4. The President as Priority Setter [292-293]
a. The Real Source of Most Presidential Policy
Initiatives
b. National Security Policy
(1) The Framers' Perception of the Need for
Speed and Unity in Dealing with Other
Sovereign States
(2) The U.S. Constitution
(a) The President's Command of the Two
Major Instruments of U.S. Foreign
Policy
(b) The President's Responsibility for
Negotiating Treaties and Other Com-
mitments with Other Sovereign States
(3) Congressional Statutes and Presidential
Discretion
(4) The U.S. Supreme Court and Strong Presi-
dential Authority
(a) UNITED STATES V. CURTIS-WRIGHT EX-
PORT CORPORATION (1936)
(5) When in Conflict with the President, What
Can Be Done by a Determined Congress That
Knows What It Wants and Can Agree on Ac-
tion
(a) The Source of Congressional Ability
to Effectively Oppose and Block
Presidential Policy in the Area of
Foreign Affairs and International
Relations
*Power to Authorize and Appropriate
the Funds to Support U.S. Foreign
and Military Policy
c. Economic Policy
(1) Widespread Public Expectations
(2) Incentives for the President to Act in
Accordance with Public Expectations
(3) Chief Advisers to the President on
Economic Policy
d. Domestic Policy
(1) What the President Cannot Long Ignore
5. The President as Moulder of Public Opinion {293-
294]
a. The President's Use of the Media
6. The President as Party Leader [294]
a. The Advantage of the Party Leadership Role
7. The President as Administrator [295-297]
a. The White House Staff, or White House Office
b. The Executive Office of the President
c. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
d. The Cabinet
IV. Working with Congress--Essential to Presidential Effective-
ness [Textbook, pages 298-306]
A. Devices Employed by the President [298-300]
1. The Message and Recommending Power
2. Political Coalition Building
3. Bargaining and the Power to Persuade
4. The Presidential Veto
B. The Item Veto--Its Rise and Fall [300-301]
1. Definition of Relevant Terms
a. Item Veto
b. Pork-Barrel Legislation
c. Rider
2. Congressional Legislation Authorizing Presidential
Exercise of the Item Veto
3. Constitutional Challenge to the Item Veto Statute
a. CLINTON V. CITY OF NEW YORK (1998)
(1) Ruling of the U.S. Court
C. Causes of the Inevitable Balancing and Checking Per-
formed by Congress in Dealing with the President
[301-303]
1. Constitutional Ambiguities
2. Different Constituencies
3. Varying Terms of Office
4. Divided Government
5. Weak Political Parties
6. Fluctuating Public Support
D. Cooperation Between Congress and the President [303]
1. Surmounting the Constitutional Barriers to Coopera-
tion
V. Constraints on the President [Textbook, pages 303-306]
A. A Watchdog Media as a Constraint [304-306]
B. Impeachment, Conviction, and Removal--The Ultimate
Constraint [306]
C. International Pressures as a Set of Constraints [306]
Return to Unit Four,
MAJOR POLICYMAKING INSTITUTIONS
IN THE U.S. NATIONAL GOVERNMENT:
LEGISLATIVE, EXECUTIVE, & JUDICIAL