The U.S.

Presidency
I. Constitutional Provisions: Exogenous Rules
A. Organizational Structure
1. Separate Branch/Separately Elected Autonomy
2. Unitary Actor (vs. Plural Presidency) Decisiveness
3. Election Rules
a. Elected Separately from Congress
b. Fixed Four-Year Term
c. Indirect Election: Electoral College
d. Difficult to Remove: Impeachment

I. B. Important Powers
* Strong (Checking/Blocking & Foreign Policy Powers)
1. Veto (general and conditional) Checks Congress
2. Pardon Checks Courts
3. Commander-in-Chief of Military
4. Negotiate Treaties - Senate Ratifies
5. Receive Ambassadors
* Weak (Leadership & Domestic Powers)
6. Nominate Executive/Judicial Officers - Senate Confirms
7. Inform Congress & Recommend Bills
8. Require Opinions of Departmental Officers
9. take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed
10. Convene Special Sessions/Adjourn Congress

II. Development of the Presidency

Overview: Three Models of Presidential Behavior
1) Restricted Model William Taft
2) Stewardship Model Theodore Roosevelt
-relies on Implied Powers Doctrine
3) Prerogative Model Abraham Lincoln
A. Pre-Modern Presidency (1789-1932)
1. Baseline: Restricted passive, reactive to Congress
- sign or veto bills
- execute laws
2. Exceptions: Stewardship proactive leadership
- in response to crises
- in foreign policy matters
3. Unique: Prerogative unilateral command power
- in response to Civil War
- no other president made these claims

Models of Boundaries on Presidential Power

Restricted
Model
(Taft)
Hypothetical Space Encompassing
All Possible Presidential Powers
Stewardship
Model
(T. Roosevelt)
Prerogative Model
(Lincoln)

II. B. The Modern Presidency (1933 present)

1. Franklin Roosevelt Deals with Two Crises
1) Great Depression economic crisis
- Response: First 100 Days
FDR calls a Special Session of Congress,
lasts three months
Congress enacts 15 major laws, creating the
New Deal Programs
- 1932 = Realigning Election: Democratic Majority
New Deal Coalition
2) World War II justifies third and fourth elections
2. FDRs Legacy: The Modern Presidency
1) Institutionalizes New Source of Authority:
Public Approval
2) Institutionalizes New Role Expectations:
The Stewardship Model

III. The Presidential Selection Process: Old and New Styles

A. First Stage Nominations:
- Candidates elected by delegates who are selected
to attend at National Party Conventions
- Delegates are selected state by state
1. Old Style Delegate Selection: Caucus/Convention
System (1830s-1968)
- most states: party elites nominate candidate
- a few states: nonbinding primaries
2. New Style Delegate Selection: Direct Primary
System (1970s-present)
- voters nominate candidate by voting
- voters choice is binding on delegates
- candidates become self-starters
- role of media becomes more important

Changes in Presidential Nomination Rules

The Caucus-Convention System

The Direct Primary System

Rank and file voters
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Candidates

A: 10%
B: 40%
C: 50%

III. B. Second Stage General Election: Old and New Styles

Transition occurs during 1960s and 1970s
1. Campaign Organization:
Old Style: Party-centered, State-oriented
New Style: Candidate-centered, National-oriented
2. Campaigning Strategies:
Old Style: Canvassing: volunteers, personal contact
- low cost
New Style: Marketing: television ads, impersonal
- expensive
The New New (2000s): Canvassing and Advertising

III. B. 3. Campaign Finance (3 phases)

1) Old: Unrestricted (through 1972)
- Individuals can contribute as much as they want
- Candidates can spend as much as they collect
- Elections get more expensive due to TV (1960s)
- 1971 Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)
- Donor identities made public
- No effect on 1972
2) New: Regulated: (1976-2000) key provisions
1974 FECA Amendments:
- Mandatory Contribution Limits: Hard Money
- Voluntary Spending Limits: Federal Subsidy
nomination: matching funds (2012: $44.2m)
general election: 100% public funds (2012: $88.5m)
Buckley v. Valeo (1976): Independent Spending

III. B. 3. Campaign Finance (continued)

3) Deja New: Regulatory Rollback (2000-present)
Practical: Candidates develop new techniques
- big donors: bundlers (Bush 2000+)
- small donors: internet (Dean 2004+)
Legal: Courts expand independent spending
Citizens United (2010): corporations
Speechnow.org (2010): individuals
- Unlimited contributions
- SuperPACs and 501c(4)s
Spending Grows Dramatically
Candidates decline federal subsidies
Independent Expenditures increase

2012 Presidential Spending

Source: http://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/index.php accessed 4/16/13

III, C. Third Stage: The Electoral College

1. Rules: 538 votes, winner must get majority (270)
- Votes Cast by States: most use unit rule
- No Majority: President selected by H.R., VP by Senate
2. Consequences:
- Small State Advantage: Each state gets 2 electors
regardless of population
Big State Advantage: Unit Rule exaggerates large
population states impact on outcome
3. Effects:
- Usual: Bonus
Electoral College Margin of Victory >
Popular Vote Margin of Victory
Perception of Landslide, Mandate Claim
- Rare: Undemocratic
Electoral College Victor Loses Popular Vote
(1888, 2000)
*

IV. The Presidential Institution

A. Powers of the Presidency
1.Defined in the Constitution
- relatively few, checking powers, often ambiguous
- examples: veto, nomination, treaty-making
2. Defined in Laws passed by Congress
- Congress often delegates duties and powers
- example: 1921 Budget and Accounting Act
central legislative clearance/budget making
3. Defined by Precedent
- One president asserts the right to exert a power
- If it is unopposed, succeeding presidents use it too
- examples: executive privilege, executive orders,
bill-signing statements
*

The Presidencys Central Legislative Clearance

and Budget-Making Power
Post-1921
Pre-1921
Requests for
Authority
Government
Government
Govt
Agencies
Agencies
Agencies
Requests for
Money

The
Presidency
Approved
Agenda
Bureau
of the
Budget
(BOB)*

Congress
Executive
Budget

* in 1970, BOB was reorganized and renamed

the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

IV. B. Structure of the Presidency

1. Pre-FDR (1789-1939)
- small staff, temporary and informal arrangements
2. FDR (1939) the Executive Office of the President (EOP)
- permanent specialized structure with:
- small staff of political advisors
- larger permanent staff of neutral policy experts
3. Post-FDR (1940-present)
- Changes in Size:
1940s-70s: Growth; 1974-77: Decline
1978-present: Stability
- Functions:
Policy Advice, Political Advice, Administrative Help
4. Composition: umbrella organization
*

2007 Employment
EOP Total: 1707

OMB Total: 476

WHO Total: 419

Composition of the EOP, 2009

President
Office of
Management
and Budget

White
House
Office
Office of
the Vice
President

Office of the
U.S. Trade
Representative

Office on
National Drug
Control Policy

Office of
Administration

National
Security
Council

Domestic
Policy
Staff

National
Economic
Council

Council on
Environmental
Quality

Council of
Economic
Advisers
Office of
Science and
Technology
Policy

IV. C. Operation of the Presidency

1. Presidential Management Styles
- Pyramid Model
- Spokes of the Wheel Model
- Patterns in Use: Wheel Pyramid
2. Staff Orientations to Work
- Institutional Service to the Presidency
Civil Service career term in office
Emphasizes protecting integrity of the office
Views Legal Constraints as Guidelines to Follow
- Personal Service to President
Political Appointees short-term in office
Emphasizes loyalty, responsiveness
Views Legal Constraints as Barriers to Overcome
- Patterns in Use: Politicization
*

Presidential Management Styles

SPOKES OF THE WHEEL

PYRAMID

Staff

President
Staff

Staff

Chief of Staff
Staff

Staff

President

Staff

Staff
Staff

Staff

Staff
Staff

V. The Presidency Within the Political System: Leadership

A. The Nature of Presidential Leadership: Conditional
1. Separated Institutions Sharing Power:
Interdependence
2. Different Constituencies Have Different Goals:
Conflict
3. Leadership: Getting Others to Choose to Follow
B. Leadership as Persuasion: Bargaining Cooperation
(Richard Neustadt)
1. Inter-personal, Intra-elite Process
2. Find Areas of Mutual Benefit
3. Overtime, On Accounts Process
*

The Conflictual Nature of the Presidential Context *

V. C. Leadership as Going Public: Coercion

1. Political Changes Make Bargaining Difficult
Beginning in 1970s:
- More Divided Government Less Mutual Benefit
- More Open Process in Congress Less Anonymity
- More Scrutiny by Press Less Discretion
- Result: Others Are Less Willing and Able to Bargain
2. Presidents Adapt by Appealing for Public Support
- Outside vs. Inside Strategy
- Mobilize Public to Pressure Politicians
- Used More Frequently Over Time
3. Impersonal, Mass Appeals Criticize Opponents
4. More Conflictual Relationship with Other Politicians

*
Divided Government:
When one party controls the
presidency and the other party
controls (has a majority of the
members in) the House of
Representatives, the Senate,
or both.

Inside vs. Outside Strategy

The Bargaining Model:

Congress

President

Public

The Going Public Model:

President

Congress

Public
- general public
- special interests

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