Huntingdon College | Political Science | Courses | What's New?
PSC 305: Presidency and Congress.
Spring 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 & 2008 Students' Notes on
George Edwards III, & Stephen J. Wayne, Presidential Leadership.

• A comprehensive update on the Bush Presidency and the 2004 presidential election.
• An expanded chapter 15 on the president's unilateral powers.
• A discussion of methodology and a recent rational choice literature on the presidency.

Chap. 1: Presidential Leadership (2000, 2002)
Chap. 2: Evolution of the Nominating Process (2002, 2006) .  .
Chap. 3: Part 1: The Presidential Election (2000)
Chap. 3: Part 2: PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN (2000)
Chap. 3: Part 3: MEANING OF THE ELECTION (2000)
Chap. 4: President and the Public (2000)
Chap. 5: President and the Media (2000)
Chap. 6: President’s Office (2000)
Chap. 7: Presidential Decision Making (2000)
Chap. 8: Psychological Presidency (2002) .  .
Chap. 9: President & Executive Branch (2002) .  .
Chap. 10: President & Congress (2004) .
Chap. 11: President & Judiciary (2002) .
Chap. 12: Domestic Policymaking
Chap. 13: Budgetary & Economic Policymaking (2008) .
Chap 14: Foreign & Defense Policymaking
Chap 15: The Unilateral Presidency NEW to 7e

     What makes an ineffective president is the system, mostly its constitutional, institutional and political structures
              This has been since the 1970's, a gap has widened between expectations and performance

Creation of the Institution
     Should the leader be one person or several persons?
     What responsibilities could it posses and still be energetic, but safe?
     Solution
          James Wilson - 1 person
               Critics - 1 person is dangerous, "foetus of monarchy"
          James Madison
               Wanted to contrast the powers of the "American" leader with that of the king
               Develop the job responsibilities before deciding # of leaders
          Wilson (cont'd)
               The leader should only have the power to execute laws and make appointments
                    He helped develop "checks and balances" by the phrasing in the constitution

Scope of Article II
     Description of executive power very general, unlike Article I
     Scholars question, does this generalization give the president an undefined grant of authority
     Because the legislature of the Articles of Confederation was unable to respond to emergencies, the framers found it necessary
     to give the president some sort of emergency powers (John Locke - Second Treatise of Government)
     The President is also limited in foreign affairs
         The wording suggest the Senate is suppose to be in on the negotiation of treaties
          Executive powers expanded during emergency but still had limits
               Has to report on special sessions at the state of the union
               In the case of veto, 2/3 of both houses have the last word

Policy Making Roles
     Powers have grown dramatically
          Washington and Jefferson helped define what the war policy would actually be
     The want of a more activist government made McKinley and T. Roosevelt worked more closely with Congress in making
     major policy

Organizational Structure
     1939 - executive office of the president was created
          Constitution did not provide for an administrative structure
          During the 19th century, Congress ran the administrative side of government
               Changed at the beginning of the 20th century - president had more influence in Congress
               Taft helped organize government by forming the Committee on Economy and Efficiency, to recommend
               improvement
                    It suggested a more hierarchical structure with the president having a larger role.
                         Congress agreed only after WWI, when they needed help with the deficit and budget

Public Dimensions
     News gathering organizations and newspapers helped contribute to the president being more public
          T. Roosevelt used it to put focus on his policies and activities
          FDR held more press conferences than anyone before
               He had regular meetings with reporters in the oval office and radio "fireside chats"

Problems of Contemporary Leadership
     Institutional growth (staff and agencies)
     Policy making has been institutionalized
     Selection process in campaign more individualized
     Media is more critical
     Interest groups are professionalized
     Due to scandals of the late '60's to the present, no more "benefit of the doubt" for presidents

Thinking about leadership: Two Perspectives
     Director of Change - President is moving force of the system and the initiator of change
     Facilitator of Change - President pushes the government in which roles, responsibilities and powers are shared

Conceptual Focus
     Despite the writings on the presidency, the understanding of it is not like the Supreme Court or Congress, because the
     presidency operates mostly behind closed doors.
     Decision makers - Not accessible, reluctant to reveal information
     Journalist - Event oriented do not cover the president long enough so that a generalization can be developed
     No overall theory of behavior - literature does not say why the president does what he does or the consequences.

A. Historical Contrast:

Early Government had weaker executive, more accountable legislature

Hamilton fought for power of the president – lost.

A. Three Models of Power of the Office of the Executive:

a. Power is on a constant rise
b. Variable increase in the power, after president such as Lincoln and FDR
c. Power in president began to grow around the time of FDR and WWII

Budget making is one of the most important powers
Nixon creates OMB
President has his budget, which allows him to impact agenda and policy issues
1981 Reagan gives OMB policy power
Clinton loosened the regulatory ties of the OMB

President expected to handle too much stuff
Media pressure is increased due to watergate
Congress is more turbulent, and difficult to deal with
Although the Office of the president has grown, it has come under many more constraints as well

EVOLUTION OF THE SYSTEM
-began to evolve after the writing of the Constitution and the first two presidential elections
-1796: party leaders gathered informally to agree on candidates
-1800: partisan congressional caucuses began to meet
-1830s: national nominating conventions were held
-20^th century: movement towards primaries in order to permit greater public participation

CHANGES IN THE POLITICAL ARENA
Party Reforms
-The Goals: greater public participation in party activities
-Because of primaries, the power of party leaders has weakened, competing candidate organizations were produced that can rival those of the party, and interest groups have gained leverage.
-A candidate’s personality has become more important.
-Front-loading forces candidates to begin their campaigns earlier, which in turn ends the competitive phase of the process sooner and extends the period during which the winning candidate and party must engage in campaign activities and advertisements before the national nominating conventions are held.
-A two-year quest for a party’s nomination has become almost standard; one year is the absolute minimum.

Campaign Finance
-The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), enacted in 1974, provided for public disclosure, contribution ceilings, campaign spending limits, and federal subsidies for the nomination process.
-The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002 prohibited the major parties from soliciting or spending soft money in federal elections and raised the contribution limits that individuals could contribute to candidates and their parties.

Public Relations
-Candidates use polls to determine how they concentrate their time, effort, and money.
-The use of visual and audio media has made image creation more important, brought public relations specialists into candidate organizations, and siphoned off a relatively large proportion of the campaign budget for television and radio.
-political commercials
-candidates still need to organize at the grassroots

THE QUEST FOR THE NOMINATION: A STRATEGIC GAME PLAN
1. sufficient time and energy; 2. Strong field organization; 3. Firm financial base;

4. Rules must be understood; 5. Groups must be targeted and appeals must be made
-non-front-runners need recognition and momentum
-front-runners have to maintain credibility, not establish it

THE NONCOMPETITIVE PHASE OF THE NOMINATION PROCESS
-This is the period during which candidates need to maintain media attention, improve their presidential image, broaden their issue appeals, and set the stage for launching their "official" campaign at their party’s nomination.
-Today, conventions are all show and little substance.

Characteristics of the Nominees
-usually well known
-had promising political careers
-health, age, finance, and family life are factors
-family ties have affected nominations
 
 

-Nominating process has evolved over the years
-The nominating process is developed for 2 reasons
    1.To influence the electoral selection
    2.To permit the public to affect that selection
-The evolution of the nomination of the president
    -because of political parties the caucus system broke down and was replaced by national nominating conventions
         -within the convention power has shifted from political leadership within states to party activist and members of the general public who participate in caucuses and primaries
-These changes have made the nomination process far more democratic
-Because of the evolution of the nomination process, campaigns have become more onerous and exspensive
     -also after hearing promises and appeals for so long the public becomes numbed by the campaign and consequently indifferent to the results.

The Strategic Environment

The Electoral College

• created to protect the president's independence
• meant as a way to choose the most qualified person, not most popular
• original methods to electing Pres.: selection by legislature- threat to Presidential  independence
• : election by voters -- public can't choose   the best qualified

Electoral College compromise- electors chosen by states

       - # of electors equal to # of senators & reps
       - each had 2 votes but could only cast one  for person of own state
       - person receiving majority in college is  Presidential and second is vp
 

• 10 yrs after fed Gov. begin operation, parties developed and electors  were caught up in party politics
• 1804 Constitution was amended to allow for separate election of Presidential  and vp
• college works to the detriment of third and independent candidates
• proposals to reform college: 1) allocate states electoral vote in  proportion to its popular vote

The Polity
need to study public political attitudes and  patterns of social interaction

Partisanship

• party ID operates as a filter to public, providing clues for interpreting  issues, judging candidates, and deciding if and how to vote
• less voters know about candidates & issues, more likely to vote party  lines
• when party ID is weak, personalities and issue positions count
• knowing how a candidate stands on issues, allows voters to decide if  they want to elect them
• issues must stand out from campaign rhetoric
• most committed voters are most informed & use knowledge to support  their party

Turnout

• weakening of party affiliation has decreased turnout
• "motor voter" bill hoped to increase turnout by making it easier to  register, has not happened
• education play important role in turnout .... better educated = higher turnout

Electoral Coalitions

• Democratic Coalitions
• Hispanics, African Americans, Jews, unmarried women, young  voters, large industrial states
• Republican Coalitions
• business and professional people, white Protestants, white collar  workers, upper & middle- class, Sunbelt, West, Rocky  Mountain states, Christian fundamentalists

Financial Considerations

major candidates receive funding from government; third party candidates get  funding if they receive 5% of of presidential vote -- get $ in proportion  to popular vote
national parties spend $.02 for every citizen of voting age in support of their  nominees
Fed Election Campaign Act allow state & local parties to spend unlimited  amount on funds for voluntary efforts to turn out vote -"soft  money"

News Coverage

voters follow campaigns on TV
policy questions receive less coverage than events surrounding  campaign
first time candidate states a position it is news
average length quote in ‘68 was 42.3 seconds; ‘92- 8.4 sec; ’96-8.2
commentators and anchors tell story of election, not candidates
TV influence independents by exciting interest, arouse concern, improve  knowledge, affect decision to vote

-  campaigning by presidential candidates began in 1840 with the candidacy of General William Henry Harrison.

-  however, campaigning soon faded, before resurfacing in the 1880’s with the campaign of James Garfield.

-  the advent of television created both opportunities and obstacles for candidates  (focus on candidate's personal image;  be able to both make broad public appeals and target specific groups in the electorate; development of campaign organizations)

I.  Creating an Organization

-  political organizations have many responsibilities in a presidential campaign (i.e. advance work, press arrangements, research, advertising, etc.)

-  historically, Democratic campaign organizations have been more decentralized and less rigid than those of their Republican counterparts (the Clinton campaigns were exceptions)

-  in addition to helping a candidate win an election, campaign organizations also make the transition to government and provide a preview of the new administration (Reagan’s passive style vs. Clinton’s more direct involvement)

-  many campaign personnel are later selected to serve in many administrative positions.

II.  Designing an Image

-  in order to be elected, candidates need to exhibit the characteristics of an ideal president (act "presidential")

-  candidates need to display such traits as strength, boldness, decisiveness, honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness.

-  however, it is also important that a candidate must at least have the appearance of possessing the skill and knowledge necessary to hold the office.

-  incumbency has both strengths and weaknesses in a campaign - presidents  usually receive blame for the nation's problems and will often receive more credit than they deserve for the nation's successes.

-  more difficult as a challenger - must be able to "discredit" the incumbent while maintaining a "presidential" persona.

-  candidates tend to associate themselves with the traditional "platforms" of their  respective parties:  Democrats usually emphasize such economic issues as jobs, wages, and benefits;  Republicans focus on "family values"

*  however, in 1992 and 1996, Clinton achieved great success by taking the "middle  road" on a number of issues that the republicans had hoped to use as ammunition against him (i.e. family values, personal safety, etc.)

-  emphasizing the negative:  belief that, the more negative the perception of a candidate is, the less likely his chances are of winning the election (this strategy backfired for Rep. candidate Bob Dole in the 1996 election)

IV.  Building a Winning Coalition

-  it is essential for candidates to form solid coalitions in order to win an election (often includes determining both their bases of support and the states with the most electoral votes.

-  three primary goals of political coalitions:  revive partisan loyalty, appeal to independents, and encourage a sizable voter turnout.

-  in the nomination process, candidates usually focus on party activists in an attempt  to gain the party nomination;  they must broaden their focus, however, in the general election to include the most diverse group of potential voters.

-  campaigns also focus their resources on specific geographic regions, namely  those states with the most electoral votes (this hurt Dole in 1996 - couldn’t decide where to allocate resources)

V.  Media Tactics
 

a.  News Coverage

 -  control over media coverage is very important in a campaign.

 -  speeches, press releases, and advertisements are geared to strengthen the appeal of a candidate (i.e. sound bites, symbols, constant presentation of campaign themes, etc.)

 -  candidates hope that their coverage in the media centers around their agenda, issues, and policy positions, not topics selected by the media for the entertainment of their audience.

b.  Debates

 -  debates have become of vital importance to the presidential campaign

 -  candidates often view debates as an opportunity to improve their image, while damaging the image of their opponent

 -  "spin doctors" are usually available to speak to the media following the debates, hoping to improve the press's evaluation of their candidate.

 -  debates usually help the challenger by providing national exposure, but rarely have a major impact on the perceptions of voters;  in fact, they often simply reinforce the views of those who watch them.

c.  Ads

 -  ads must seem truthful, convey relevant info., and be interesting in order to be effective

 -  ads usually target a specific group of people or geographic region in an attempt to associate with the needs of the people in a given area.

 -  negative advertising is also frequently used, but can be excessive (George Bush in 1988 and 1992)

 -  quick response to ads is also important in the shaping of voter perceptions and attitudes

I.  Polling of the People

-  since 1916, nationwide polls have been taken in order to evaluate the opinions and  sentiments of the American electorate towards a given election;  however, polls  are not always accurate indicators of the results of the election (i.e. Landon and  Dewey)

-  perhaps the most accurate poll is the exit poll, a survey taken once voters leave the  voting booth;  however, in the hands of the media, the accuracy of exit polls can often adversely affect those who have yet to vote by prematurely predicting the winners

II.  Analyzing the Results

-  the results of an election can reflect the electorate’s expectations for the new president

III.  Assessing the Mandate

-  presidents are rarely given a clear mandate for governing.

-  in order for a mandate to exist, candidates must take distinct and compatible positions on the issues, and must be elected on these issues;  also, the party of the president needs to be consistent with the majority party in Congress

-  nonetheless, presidents are expected to keep the promises they make during the campaign

IV.  Converting the Electoral Coalition for Governance

-  it has become much more difficult for a successful electoral coalition to achieve the same degree of success as a governing coalition (i.e. decline of party leaders, autonomy of state and congressional electoral systems, etc.)

-  it is important for presidents to exhibit strong leadership ASAP; also, they need to establish priorities consistent with their campaigns and the will of the people

-  furthermore, presidents must take advantage of their opportunities (i.e. create policy alliances, rally supporters, etc.)

-  presidents usually suffer a decline in popularity over time which can inhibit their  ability to accomplish their objectives

-  thus, presidents are relegated to being facilitators when they might wish to be the  agents of change

- Presidents lead the general public towards their goals not push the goals on the public.

- There are two types of presidents;

- Public opinion polls tell what the majority of the public wants.

- Despite the several ways to inform the president of public opinion, it is not always followed

- Reasons for presidents not following public opinion include:

Public’s goals from the president:

- leader, statesman, open-minded, and relate to average person.

Evolution of Media Coverage

Relations between the President and the Press

Press Corps

journalists from major news organizations. covering the White House

1/3 White House staff involved in media relations

Press Secretary

must be credible 1) credibility and 2) access to & respect of president

help reporters gain access to staff members

explain needs of press to pres.

give pres. advice on image presented to press

Services for the Press: briefings, backgrounders, interviews, cultivation

Managing the News: briefing, press releases used to divert attention from embarrassing matters

Press Coverage of the President

- Leaks: trial balloons, info leaked to cause favorable stories, send other nations signals of US attitude,

influence personal matters

- Superficiality: short run, instant history

- Bias, Distortion

- Themes

- simplify complex issues and events and provide continuity of persons, institutions and issues

- emphasizes some info at expense of other data

Media Activism: Somalia

Negativity: scandals -- Monica

Media Effects

media has little or no influence on public opinion, just reinforce existing attitudes

Media Priming

• influence perceptions rather than attitudes
• those with little concern for politics susceptible to media more because have no other means of education on issues

Limits on Media Effects

characteristics of readers and viewers limit impact of media

ability of people to reject or ignore evaluations in stories

great volume of info available

time to absorb info

superficial coverage

disconnected snippets in TV and papers

visuals distract verbal messages

The President’s Office
 

* presidency is too complex for one man to handle alone.

* executive agencies and departments intended to provide help but they answer to congress also so they don’t always help the president.

* president needs own advisory bodies and institutional structures.

* 3 reasons: 1) to obtain information on people and policies 2) to maintain linkage to the constituencies 3) to ensure priorities are clear, decisions are implemented, interests are, protected.

* presidents need good staff support but also need staff to tell them what they might not want to hear.

Organizing Executive Advise

The evolution of the cabinet.
 

* constitution did not create separate advisory council for the president, because of fear that president would blame them Ex: King could do not wrong (his advisors made the wrong decisions)

* originally planned to use secretaries a both administrative and advisory councils.

* personal relationships with congress put Secretaries in better shape than president so strong cabinets and weak presidents represented most of the 19^th century

* 20th century presidents influence increases

* FDR cabinet meetings became more of a discussion.

* Eisenhower cabinet resurgence 230 times year

* after Eisenhower presidents met with cabinet because they were expected to do so.

* cabinet decline because of need of specialized information and Secretaries lack of it.

The Development of Cabinet Councils
 

* This need of specialized information led to organizations of cabinet councils on certain issues; domestic, economic, and national security.

Creation of presidential Bureaucracy
 

* (EOP) Executive office of the President -- 1939

* misnomer -- not primarily executive nor a single office

* principle objective- help presidents perform non delegable tasks.

* 1st EOP -- Bureau of Budget and the White House

* now 12 offices, 2 Executive residences, 1800 staff, budget of 253 million.

* evolved in size but not function

* EOP is product of historical accidents and the needs of different administrations

NOTE: most extensive reorganization , Nixon

Consequences of Structural change
 

* structural changes produced instability in organization, irregularity in operations, turmoil in personnel.

* development of institutionalized presidency has enhanced President’s power but may also make it more difficult to ensure influence because of large size of staff.

* president can resolve this by two means

1) immerse themselves in administration and consume time and energy.

2) delegate authority and risk misuse

I Influences on Presidential Decision Making
A Previous Commitments

Presidents have severe constraints, regardless of approach

Institutional capability restrictions

diverse obligations

very rarely can predict upcoming and new issues

deadlines may make it necessary to make decision without time to fully study

less controversial parts of policies get little attention

• no common way to ideally organize for every president
• reflects the personality of both the incumbent and the current president
• may use several styles of decision making at one time
• two most common: hierarchical and spokes of the wheel
• need staff to give time and info to focus on issue – screen issues

• Written vs. Face-to-Face
• Nixon and Carter liked pros and cons written down
• Eisenhower, Kennedy, Bush, Clinton use open settings with advisors
• Reagan talked to small number of aides
• written saves time and give more access to research, but it may be distorted
• face to face allows ideas to be fleshed out, but limits the number of topics heard

• president cannot depend on one channel of information, needs diversity of views
• will also force larger number of issues to the top
• but can increase staff conflict
• "devils advocate" scheme works, but difficult when by not true opponent

• presidents must ensure that all options are investigated thoroughly
• consequences of acting without all info: Clinton on homosexual ban

• aides find it difficult to disagree due to strong, dynamic personality
• Aides are dependent on the president for their job

• reluctance to disagree enforced by president who punish for disagree
• strong presidents may tell aides what advice to give
• may place loyalty over competence in decision making

• conformist thinking that results from intensely involved decision making group

• aides fight each other for access to president and power
• time wasted on making others look bad

• narrowing of viewpoints may result from conforming with surroundings

• conceptions of job influence may determine involvement in decision making

E Bureaucratic Politics and Decision Making

• selective recruitment serves to develop homogenous attitudes
• agencies prefer like-minded people
• each organization also focuses only on what it needs

• policy makers only gather information that advocates their view - limits info
• there is a dominant view of an organizations mission and attitude
• organizations will vigorously resist efforts of opposing groups

• in the pursuit of power by individuals, the process of researching info is distorted
• deference to expertise has become the most efficient way of resolving conflicts
• organizations seek to prevent opposing ideas from their experts

Social and Political Background
- American Presidents have been advantaged by virtue of their wealth, the professional
positions they have held, and the personal contacts they have made.
- Born into families of high social status and considersable economic means ( higher educationa
and professional opportunities)
- eight of our presidents were the product of only four  families
- Only Calvin Collidge, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan might be said to have suffered from
poverty in their youths
- Education has been used as a springboard for professional careers that have culminated in
public service

Physical Attributes and General Health
- Information about the medical pathologies of presidents has been extremely limited
- Presidents and their advisors want to prevent precipitous public relations to an illness or injury
to the president and  desire to maintain continuity of policy both within the government and
between it and other governments.
- Given th magnitude of their task and the stress they are under, presidents need excellent and
continuous medical care
- Studies have shown that presidents who served more than four years in office have had more
serious health problems and shorter life spans than those who completed on term or less
- The duties and responsibility of the office also aggrevate the ageing process

Psychological Orientation
 Psychobiograph- seek to explain presidential behavior on the basis of a comprehensive
psychological analysis of a presidnet's life

Presidential Character
    Barber's Presonality Traits
        -character, style, worldviews
Presidential Character Types
    *Active Positive
    *Active Negative
    *Passive Positive
    *Passive Negative

Cognitive Dimensions
    - Impacto of Worldview
        * identifying problems           * determining objectives
        * raising options                   *  managing inconsistency
    - Managing Inconsistency
        * inference mechanisms

Presidential Style
- Presidnet set the tone for the white house
- Some presidnets feel the need to dominate relationships with their subordinates
- some presidents need to operate in a very protective environment

White House Staff  Relationships
- The work is arduous and the hours, extensive
- Aids usually arrive before the president and depart after he leaves (60-80 standard week)

Conclusion
- Social background, physical well-being, presidnetial character, cognitive views, and personal
style and staff interaction all condition the president  performance in office
- If socialization, physical condition, and psycholigical orientation- which includes character,
worldviews, and style- affect behavior, then they must hve a impacto on the president's capacity to lead
- In conclusion is that leadership is not only a consequence of who the leader but of how that
leader interacts with others in the changing social economic, and political milieu of the presidency
 
 
 

lack of attention—presidents face many obligations, which implementing policy is only one

lack of experience in administration on large scale

foreign affairs are always a top priority

incentives to invest time in implementation are few

presidents usually receive little credit

Transmission-before decision can be implemented, subordinates must be aware that the decision has been made and an order to implement it has been issued

• sometimes aids and other officials ignore presidential directives which they disagree with
• implementers have discretion in implementation-orders aren’t always specific
• the more decentralized the implementation , the less likely it is to be transmitted accurately
• Clarity-must not only be received, but clear as well
• Complexity of policy making
• Difficulty in reaching consensus on policy goals
• Problems of starting up new programs
• Consistency
• The complexity of public policies, the difficulties in starting up new programs, and the multiple objectives of many policies all contribute to inconsistency

Money-sometimes the problem the president faces in implementation is lack of money

Staff

Insufficient staff is especially critical to implementation when the policy involved imposes unwelcome constraints on people

Lack of staff makes compliance data hard to receive

Sometimes the necessary personnel are very difficult to hire

Needed staff may not exist

Authority

Formal authority is mistaken for effective authority

The desire for self-preservation keeps many of the president’s agencies from withdrawing funds

Lack of authority of public officials is small compared to the lack of authority for in the private sector

Facilities and Equipment

Frequently a shortage of sophisticated equipment

Congress often prefers to spread resources over many policies rather than to fund fewer programs adequately

how they exercise the discretion in the implementation depends on their dispositions about the policies and rules they administer

implementers may oppose policy-opposition can prevent a policy option from even being tried

defeat immediate goals

cooperation between agencies is lost due to differences in viewpoints

Staffing the bureaucracy

Appointments-president appoints less than 1 percent of appointees under the executive branch and are constrained politically

Civil Service-if they don’t carry out implementation then it’s hard for president to dismiss of them

Incentives-manipulation of incentives

Standard Operation Procedures

• Routines that enable public officials to make numerous everyday decisions
• Benefit in saving time
• SOPs bring uniformity to organizations
• SOPs may hinder policy implementation by inhibiting change because they are designed for typical situations
• Fragmentation
• The dispersion of responsibility for a policy area among several organizational units
• Dispersion responsibility also disperses "turf"
• Implies diffusion of responsibility which makes coordination difficult

• presidents usually too busy to follow-up
• they lack systematic information about performance
• increasing personal staff is technique of follow-up
• increasing number of management layers in government can also hamper follow-up

• Only four duties and responsibilities were designated by Article 2:
• 1) to inform Congress from time to time on the state of the union
• 2) to recommend necessary and expedient legislation
• 3) to summon Congress into special session and adjourn it if the two houses cannot agree on adjournment
• 4) to exercise a qualified veto

• The bicameral structure of Congress ensures the President’s need to build two coalitions.
• Constituencies – Federalist 46 focuses on the conflicts arising from Congress’s attachment to local objects rather than national prosperity.
• Internal Structures – Congress is decentralized while the Presidency is more centralized.
• Information and Expertise – Congress members tend to hire generalists as opposed to the legislative branches hiring experts for particular fields.
• Time Perspectives – Presidents must be quick on policy changes due to the short nature of the presidency.  However, congressional members tend to be careerists and have a sluggish approach to negotiating and compromising important issues.

• Party Support for the President – The Table 10.2 shows that presidents can count on their own party members for support only two-thirds of the time even on key votes.
• Leading the Party – Many party members have personal loyalties to the president because their jobs may be at stake if the President does not look good.
• Obstacles to Party Unity – Presidents cannot rely on party loyalty to pass legislations.
• Midterm Election Campaigning – Depending on public support, a president may or may not support their party candidates for House and Senate spots.
• Presidential Coattails – Change in party balance following a presidential election are surprisingly small gains, but some even lose seats in the House or the Senate.

• 1) The opposition party may control one or both houses of Congress.
• 2) The president cannot depend on all the members of their party to support them on all issues.
• However, there are some disadvantages in trying to solicit bipartisan support.
• 1) The president is pressured into being a “president of all the people” which makes it difficult to be a party leader.
• 2) The president may face heavy opposition to his or her idea which will strengthen the opposing party against the president’s legislation in the future.
• 3) Opposing parties are usually not willing to support an opposing president, but cannot be ignored because even a few votes may be enough to be a majority.

• Public Approval – Trends show that public support, or opposition, towards the president is closely linked to public support, or opposition, for members of Congress.
• Mandates – Presidential mandates are determined by the margin of victory most of the time and the public’s support of the incoming president.

• Presidents must realize that they have a unique chance to have legislation passed early right after they take office and are able to exploit conditions for change.

• Congressional Liaison – In order to assist the President with proposed legislations and enacting them into laws, a congressional liaison staff has operated since 1953
• Personal Appeals – When a member of Congress is needed for support on important legislation, often times the President will personally call him or flatter him to win his vote.
• A president may also bargain and use his service and amenities to influence support for legislation.  He may also put pressure or have supporters put pressure on non-supporting congressmen for their support.
• Consultation – Giving advance warning of presidential proposals, the President is more likely to remain supported when legislation is passed if congressmen are given a proper consultation
• Setting Priorities – It’s important for the president and staff to be prepared when taking office so that their main objectives will be presented well for a good first impression.
• Moving Fast – It’s important for the President to take advantage of his honeymoon atmosphere during his first few months in office.  During this period, proposals have a higher chance of passing Congress.  However, rushing out a poorly thought out proposal may result in the public and Congress thinking that the proposals were not well conceived.
• Structuring Choice – Portraying policies in terms of criteria where there is consensus rather than divisive issues help make passing bills through Congress easier.
• The Context of Influence – The economy determines changes that the president needs to be made
• The Impact of Legislative Skills – It is important not to rely solely on affecting the voting of Congress, because ideology, personal views, and commitments to specific policies have just as much if not more influence on a vote.

• The veto used by the president can be used to stop legislation from passing a bill all together or it can use the veto’s leverage to reshape the bill to his or her liking.  Presidents sometimes use the pocket veto by taking no action and waiting for Congress to go to recess and he will use that recess as an excuse to not sign the bill at that time.

-The Presidents primary means of exercising leadership is through the nomination of federal judges.

SELECTION OF LOWER COURT JUDGES
-The President nominates judges for the federal district courts, as well as the courts of appeals

-persons are nominated for lifetime service, and must be confirmed by a senate vote

-Senatorial Courtesy is the customary manner in which the Senate disposes of state level federal nominations for such positions as judgeships and U.S. attorneys.

Nominations for these positions are not confirmed when a senator from the state in which the nominee is to serve opposes
-If Presidents want to they can refuse to appoint anyone to the position in an attempt to pressure a senator into supporting their nominee in order to avoid a backlog of federal cases in the state.

(1) When there is a vacant judgeship, the senator of the President's Party in the state in which the judge is to serve suggests one or more names to the attorney general and the president.
(2) If there is no senator of the President's party, the state reps of the President's party might suggest.
(3) THe DOJ and the FBI then conduct competency and background checks
(4) Finally the President selects a nominee from those who survive the process
- Presidents have more influence in the selection of judges to the federal courts of appeals than to federal district courts;
- individual senators are not in the position to recommend, because appellant courts cover more than one or two states

- All lawyers, overwhelmingly white and male
- Only Bill Clinton, George Bush, and Jimmy Carter have appointed a substantial # of women to the bench
-Only Clinton and Carter appointed minorities
-Presidents rarely appoint someone that is not of their ideology

-When the position of Chief Justice becomes vacant, the president usually nominates someone from outside the court.
- The President is interested in the Court because of the importance of its work...The Court rules on the scope of Presidential powers.
- Presidents also rely on the Attorney general and the DOJ to identify and screen candidates for the Court
-Supreme Justices themselves have often tried to influence decisions of the Court
-The American Bar Association's Standing Committee is really irrelevant, evaluating Justices after nomination
-Through 1998, 108 have served out of 148 nominations (Presidents have failed 20% of the time)
-Presidents survey candidates decisions (speeches, political stands, writings, and other expressions of opinion)

-Competence, ethical behavior, as well as skilled and honorable justices
-All are lawyers, and all but 4 have been white males
-Overwhelmingly have been in fifties and sixties, from the upper to middle classes, and Protestants
-Race and gender have become more salient however,
-Partisanship remains important - Only 13 out of 108 members were nominated ny president's of differing party
-90% of a President's judicial nominations are members of his party
-Most judges have had some experience as a judge, often at the appellant level, or the DOJ
*Eisenhower appointed Earl Warren as Chief Justice as political pay back for the crucial role he played in his attaining the Republican nomination for President

-One of the President's most significant powers is molding the Court through nominations
-They also turn to people they know well for advice
-Bill Clinton differed in strategy when identifying persons with strong legal credentials, especially women and minorities
        He was however, reluctant to appoint mostly Democrats to judgeships like his predecessors of the same party- instead he cashed in political favors with the Senate Republicans. ["Triangulation"]

-Solicitor General
        -presidential appointee who must be confirmed by the Senate , and who serves in the DOJ
        -Supervises the litigation of the Federal Executive Branch, so plays a major role in determining the agenda of federal appellate courts
        -Decides which of the cases lost by the federal government in the federal district courts will be appealed.
        -Solicitor General files amicus curiae (friend of the court briefs)
        - The federal government wins the majority of its cases

-The Constitution gives the President jurisdiction to make sure that the laws are faithfully executed

On some occasions, the President has deployed federal troops to ensure that the laws are followed, as deemed by the court

Though the Court is said to be the Supreme interpreter of the law of the land, the constitution, it is weak bc it cannot enforce the laws.

As far as Presidential compliance is concerned, the Court found in Mississippi v. Johnson that it lacked jurisdiction to stop the President from performing official duties that required executive discretion; consequently, the issue failed to come to a head.

There is rarely a problem for the President as far as a checking of his actions is concerned - there are few instances which the SC has ruled Presidential acts unconstitutional.

In the areas of Foreign Policy and Defense, the Court has interpreted the Constitution and its statutes so as to give the president broad discretion to act.

- Budgetary problems are made worse by a weak economy and lessened by a strong one. Large and continuing budget and trade deficits (or surpluses) can have long and short-term effects on the economy.

- The budget predicts revenue and estimates expenditures of the federal government for a fiscal year—beginning October 1 and continuing until the following September 30.

- Presidential budget has been required since 1921—The Budget and Accounting Act. Costs of WWI increased the federal government expenditures, produced budget deficits, and encouraged Congress to give the president budget authority.

- In its early years the budget was small, oriented toward executive agencies, and used primarily for controlling federal spending.

- FDR’s New Deal programs followed by WWII and the Cold War accelerated spending in domestic and defense areas—expanding the size of the budget and moving it into an incremental phase (existing programs were maintained with a budget that included an increment to cover increased costs, including inflation).

- During the incremental phase, the budget highlighted new programs and supported existing ones.

- Since the 1970s entitlement programs—Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, etc—have consumed a mounting proportion of government expenditures. Today, they make up 2/3 of the total budget.

- Interest on the national debt makes up 8% of the total budget. Payments for agricultural commodities and government support programs are also required by law.

- President’s have only a limited discretion over a relatively small portion of the total budget—those who want to reduce government expenditures have little leverage to do so.

- Political ramifications of the budget constrain public officials; instead of primarily affecting departments and agencies, the budget has a direct impact on many people and groups outside the government. As a consequence, constituencies have organized to protect and extend their benefits.

- The regular involvement of interest groups on budgetary politics has made it more difficult for the president and Congress to use the budget to control spending.

- Budget battles between Congress and the president broke out in the 1980s over the large deficit. These tensions eased during the 90s with the new balanced budget, but in 2001 new tax cuts along with the costs of the Iraq war, improving homeland security, etc. have returned Congress and the presidency to the partisan budgetary politics that large deficits produce.

- Presidents and Congress are constrained by previous commitments, existing legislation, and their campaign promises but they are also subject to strong clientele and constituency pressures, as well as fluctuations in the economy that may prevent them from imposing spending discipline or repealing popular tax benefits. Negotiation and compromise describes the relationship between Congress and the presidency dealing with the budget.

- The OMB is a principle player in the budgeting process—working with the president to allocate funds from agency to agency in order to produce his desired budget.

- Departments and agencies are asked to submit yearly estimates for their programs and operational costs and have to defend these before the OMB and Congress.

- The president and his advisers establish the guidelines, the departments and agencies make their estimates, and the OMB evaluates those estimates, but Congress must appropriate the money as required by the Constitution.

- The economic policy makers are: The Department of the Treasury (represents the financial community), The Federal Reserve Board (principle function is to regulate monetary policy), The Council of Economic Advisors (advises the president on macroeconomic policy), The Office of Management and Budget (advises the president on economic matters, handles departmental budget requests), and the International Economic Advisors (includes The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, The State Department…all other departments who deal with overseas economic affairs).

- Budget legislation—The Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 etc—has created a joint process in which both the president at Congress work together. Both have their own constituencies and agendas, even when the same party controls them both.

- The politicization of economic decision making has made long-range planning more difficult and economic decisions less stable over time; the election cycle must be considered when calculating the effect of policy change.

- President’s are more likely to strive for what is politically feasible rather than what may be theoretically optimal or ideologically desirable.

- The president’s ability to affect budgetary and economic matters has not kept up with growing expectations.

- Presidents need crisis as action-forcing and coalition-building mechanisms to do; this need raises the stakes, delays solutions, and frequently shortens the time frame in which those solutions are developed and implemented. The best a president can do is facilitate.

- To do so effectively, they have to give more time to budgetary matters and selectively involve themselves in economic issues.

I. Constitutional and Statutory Authority
  - the presidents powers in foreign affairs and national defense have expanded beyond their original design
  -the president initiates treaties in conjunction with Senate
  -the performance of the ceremonial duties of the head of state and the conduct of foreign policy were seen as executive responsibilities
-to obtain the Senate consent has encourage recent presidents to enter into executive agreement in order to avoid the formal treaty ratification
-an executive agreement concluded by the president on behalf of the United STates with the head of government of another country, it does not require two- third votes of the Senate
-the president can initiate or terminate relations with other countries partinship has evident in foreign and defense policy making presidential
dependence on legislative policy making
                    -Congress effect foreign policy in a variety of ways

                        1.  its direct impact be exercised through legislation
                        2. Senate confirms the ambassadors and ratification of treaties
                        3. Congress enacts laws to regulate foreign commerce, military affairs and international environmental matter
- partisanship is a factor that affects presidential success in congress, party unity in congressional roll calls has increased and
partisan divisions have become more evident on foreign policy issues
 

I. decentralized political parties, a balance of powers and a federal government make it hard for the president to lead alone therefore they need to be able to persuade though it alone may not be enough

II. They can use Executive Authority and power as Commander in Chief and in times of emergency their power expands as the country looks to them for leadership

III. In exercising their unilateral powers presidents direct more than facilitate

IV. Executive Orders and Proclamations
a. Can order subordinates to perform a task in a specific manner through

i. executive orders
ii. memorandums
iii. proclamation
iv. or directive that has force of law as long as it doesn’t conflict with previous law or the Constitution

i. Emancipation Proclamation
ii. Truman’s desegregating the military
iii. Eisenhower’s federalizing the AK National Guard to enforce school segregation in Little Rock.
iv. More recently Bush’s order on stem cell research and his setting of air and water standards

i. expanded the amount of national monuments by including millions of national forest acreage
ii. he heightened environmental standards
iii. ordered the FDA to consider tobacco as a drug and provide regulations on its sale and labeling- each could have been reversed by Congress or the next president, but haven’t

i. Bush ordered the Justice Department to investigate lapses in U.S. intelligence and security right after 9-11
ii. Orders have been issued to prevent White House staff from testifying before Congress

i. Clinton banned assault weapons, declared tobacco a drug, and issued new and higher standards for air and water purification
ii. Congress has infrequently overridden executive orders, most are not even scrutinized by Congress
iii. The thought of congressional override does constrain the president at times such as when Clinton did not remove the ban on homosexuals in the military for fear of Congress overturning his order
f. Divided governments give incentives to presidents to produce more orders but it also creates a greater likelihood that Congress will reverse or modify them; therefore, the numbers of orders tend to decline during divided government
g. The judiciary gives the president large leeway in order not to damage their reputation as a nonpartisan body or their stature as final constitutional interpreters, and they are dependent on the executive to enforce their judgments
h. The bottom line is that the judiciary and Congress can limit the presidential unilateral power, but rarely do so
i. The overuse of the power can also undermine a president when it may upset members of Congress

a. Presidents have negotiated directly and concluded agreements with other heads of state and reinterpreted treaties ratified by the Senate

i. Reagan said the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty did not apply to the development and testing of space missiles, only to their deployment
ii. W. Bush declared the ABM treaty obsolete

b. Without a formal agreement or declaration the president can make policy by just announcing it

c. Diplomatic doctrines issued by presidents have also served to guide the country’s foreign policy decisions such as the Monroe Doctrine warning European countries not to interfere with the interests of the US in the Western Hemisphere, and the Truman Doctrine (to contain the spread of communism in Europe)

a. President can summon Congress into special session, issue the state of the union to give the legislature the information it needs, and recommend necessary and expedient legislation

b. Historical Precedents

i. The Whiskey Rebellion
ii. Madison ordered troops to SC to gain compliance with a tariff law
iii. Polk backed up his expansionist policy by ordering troops to Mexico
iv. Lincoln’s broad use of power at the onset of the Civil War such as the suspension of Habeas Corpus
v. During periods of war most court decisions have validated expansion of the presidential powers such as:

1. The Prize Cases where Lincoln ordered ships to take enemy cargo as prizes of war
2. Ex Parte Milligan- allowed the president to establish military tribunals for those accused of aiding and abetting the enemy
3. Korematsu v US- Roosevelt’s internment of Japanese during WWII

i. Veto threats are more common than actual vetoes
ii. Andrew Jackson was the first president to use a veto threat to gain leverage over Congress
iii. Out of 2500 vetoes only 107 have been overridden
iv. Charles M. Cameron did a study and found that a majority of vetoes are performed when government is divided- the reason of this is because presidents have less influence in times of divided government.
v. Bush did not use a veto in his first term in office and he used the veto threat only sparingly
vi. Clinton vetoed 38 bills and used the veto threat often during his term
vii. Vetoes are used for presidents to prevent Congress from enacting legislation they oppose, and veto threats are bargaining tools to increase a president’s influence in Congress

VIII. Judicial Pardons

i. Pardons spark considerable controversy
ii. Andrew Johnson’s amnesty to Civil War resisters and Carter’s to draft dodgers
iii. with the exception of these blanket amnesties, pardons usually have little impact