A2 Government & Politics Unit:4a, Topic:3 (Executive Branch)

• First President = George Washington 
• Policy is formed and execute here 
• USA = Presidential executive
• Article 2 
• Popular election in US unlike UK, medium of Electoral College (need 270 of 538 on offer)
• Fixed term of 4 years - unlike UK, no fixed term, max. of 5 years per term 
• Only possibel removal of Pres. by a successful impeachment and trial by House and Senate 
• Restriction of Pres to two terms of office in the XXII amend. 1951 
• Presidential leadership only possible when extraordinary temperament and experience = pres 
• E.g. Depression or war F.D. Roosevelt, or G.W.Bush 9/11
• Seen as the most powerful person in the world - not true! only an illusion, restricted esp. in domestic policy 
• Causes executive paradox - seen as a lot of power on the world stage, not much at all 
• Asquith - paraphrased - "the office of the president is whatever the holder is able, or chooses, to make of it" 

• Neustadt - 'power to persuade' is the only power of pres. in the severity of separation of powers and checks and balances 
• Inc. bargaining and compromise 
• Also argued pres. was an office of inherent weakness not strength. 
• Imperial presidency - acting above one's constitutional powers e.g. Nixon and L.B. Johnson, theory created by Schlesinger in 1973  - shown clearly in abuses of power in Watergate 
• Imperilled presidency - Ford and Carter, as Congress became the 'resurgent Congress' power of president down. LBJ claimed not to even possess his constitutional powers as pres. 
• Bifurcated presidency - weak in domestic policy - stronger in foreign 

• Formal enumerated powers: 
  • Chief exec. - exec. power only to the president - e.g. federal budget, policy agenda, powers of patronage and pardon 
  • Commander-in-chief -  Leader of US armed forces - e..g Bush Jnr took adv. of this 
  • Chief diplomat - 'executive agreements' 
• Implied roles: 
  • Chief legislator - no formal leg. power - yet does have const. power of the veto - lacks line-item veto (dismissed in 1998) 
  • World leader - international status - e.g. Bush Jnr - war on terror 
  • Party leader - not elected as a party leader as in UK sense - need to win support of party 
  • Head of state - only national symbol - performs roles of Queen in UK 

• Has the power to defeat the pres's leg. proposals 
• Exercise full oversight over his actions and activities 
• Refuse to fund any of his proposals (e.g. his budget was rejected in 1989 and 1995) 
• OVerride his veto 
• Refuse to confirm appointments 
• Impeach him for "high crimes and misdemeanors"

Supreme Court:

• Oversight through judicial review. 
• G.W.Bush - Clinton v City of NY 1998 - line-item veto unconstitutional 

• Power of persuasion - tough for Washington outsiders e.g. Carter 
• Use of Congressional Liaison Office 
• Inviting Congressmen whose votes he needs to the WH 
• Campaigning for re-election of imp. members of Congress if popular 
• Media appeal - e.g. Roosevelt's fireside chats - called using the 'bully pulpit' to inspire support
• Success depends on: 
  • If the pres is in the honeymoon stage (first 100 days) or 'lame-duck' - final period of office 
  • If he has clear priorities, leadership vision
  • His public approval ratings - e.g. Bush jnr - 9/11 = 90% when 2009 - 26% 
  • If he has majs. in Congress 
  • If he has a strong mandate 
  • If he is a Washington Insider - e..g Obama 
  • Events and circumstances e.g. 9/11 2001

• Aftermath of 9/11 - allowed for strong presidency 
• War on terror - came to dominate the political agenda 
• G.W. Bush - "war president" - hypocritically nominated for Nobel Peace Prize 
• Congress made more docile - refrained from entering controversial cases 
• Helped by Repub. control of Congress from 2000-2006 
• Passage of Patriot Act - controversial - "security state" through domestic surveillance and wire tapping 
• Guantanamo Bay establishment - ignoring habaes corpus 
• Setting up Homeland Security Department 2002 
• Iraq 2003 
• Bush also started signing statements practically line-item veto all but in name 

:) 

• Strong Democrat majs. in Congress in 2008
• Promised a bipartisan, pragmatic approach 
• Had a huge personal mandate 
• High approval ratings 
• Sky-high expectations 
• Charisma like Clinton and the power to persuade 

:( 

• BUT - continuing war in Afghanistan 
• Severe economic crisis + depression 
• Criticism from right for being too left, from the left for being too right 
• Lack of a filibuster-proof Senate of 60 Democrat votes - 2013 nee super maj. or 3/5 to override a filibuster - not easily achievable 

• Huge resources are necessary 
• Huge growth of gov't activity in both domestic and foreign affairs 
• More responsibility 
• E.g. Truman - "the buck stops here" 

• 'Balances the ticket' 
• Be the power behind the throne 
• 'Heartbeat away from the presidency' 
• Most powerful VP in history = **** Cheney 
• Current VP = Joe Biden 

• President may take advice from the cabinet 
• Fenno - "institutionalised by usage alone" 
• Singular exec. as opposed to UK's plural exec with cabinet 
• 15 federal gov't departments 

Functions: 

• Implement the pres's agenda - in specialist areas 
• Appear before congressional committees to represent pres's wishes and plead for funding 
• Attend meetings w/ the pres - full an dbilateral 
• Assist the pres 

How is it selected: 

• No shadow cabinet like in UK - cannot select from Congress due to sep of powers 
• Policy specialists 
• Confirmed by the Senate after hearings 
• Can consturct a cabinet that 'looks like America' e.g. Obama - also "cabinet of rivals" 
• Choose political allies  or demonstrate bipartisanship 

How important is the cabinet:

• Power is not fixed and unchanging 
• Originally 3 fed departments no 15 - top ones are State, Treasury, Defence and Justice 
• May be a Washington-insider like Kennedy who rarely called a cabinet meeting
• No set pattern - and importance can be determined based on events - e.g. 9/11 or recession 
• Feared they can be captured in 'iron-triangles' 
• This is why pres's may turn to their political 'cronies' and advisers in EXOP 

• Created after 1937 Brownlow Committee "the Pres needs help" 
• Pres's personal bureaucracy 
• New parts have been aded 

White House Office (WHO)

• Tension between the WHO and the Cabinet 
• Act as gatekeeper - e.g. Nixon's key aides nicknamed the Berlin Wall
• Invisible presidency 
• Decide policy strategy and priorities 
• Manage the news
• Build support 
• Chief of Staff - Denis McDonough 

National Security Council (NSC) 

• Advises the president on domestic, foreign and military matters 
• 'Ear of the president' 

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 

• Constructs the fed budget 
• Provides different advice on the budget 

Why is the EXOP so imp? 

• Pres relies on its advice and expertise as an alternative to cabinet secretaries who can have conflicting interests 
• Loyal only to the pres - and follow his agenda 

Criticisms: 

• Pres can become isolated, remote and overprotected - listening only to his 'political cronies' 
• E.g. David Axelrod for Obama (close adviser) 
• EXOP is unelected and unaccountable despite its huge power and influence 
• 'Policy drift' occurs - disputes between cabinet and EXOP - 'Obama's Wars' book - deep policy disputes between foreign and security policy advisers on Iraq and Afghanistan 

• Organisations are created and funded by Congress 
• Lacks legitimacy - no election and no electoral responsibility 
• 15 fed gov't departments - headed by cabinet secretaries 
• Permanent status gives bureaucrats detailed policy knowledge and expertise 
• In theory, the fed bureaucracy works under direction of the pres, but in practice it is difficult 
• President cannot fully 'command and control' and make the bureaucracy do what he wants 
• Truman - "I thought I was the Pres, but when it comes to these bureaucracies I can't make 'em do a damn thing" 
• Annual payroll for whole bureaucracy $14 billion 
• Top 3% of fed bur are pres appointees 
• Around 11% of 3 million fed bur work in Washington D.C.