Unit 2 Test Study Guide

• Presidential Audiences:
o His Washington D.C. audience: consists of fellow politicians and leaders
o Party activists and officeholders outside Washington- the partisan grassroots
o “The public”: each with a different set of views and interests
• Presidential Coattails: The charismatic power of a president which enables
congressional candidates of the same party to ride into office on the strength of the
president's popularity
• Presidential Popularity:
o A president’s personal popularity may have a significant effect on how much of his
program Congress passes, even if it does not affect the reelection chances of those
members of Congress. Though they do not fear a president who threatens to
campaign against them, members of Congress do have a sense that it is risky to
oppose too adamantly the policies of a popular president.
 The more popular the president, the higher the proportion of his bills that
Congress will pass.
 Though presidential popularity is an asset, its value tends inexorably to
decline.
o In Richard Neustadt’s Presidential Power he said, “Presidential Power is the power
to persuade.”
o Popular presidents are more persuasive than an unpopular one
o Ability in bargaining, dealing with adversaries, and choosing priorities separate
above-average presidents from mediocre ones
• Success with Congress:
o Failure to set and lead the legislative agenda and build coalitions in Congress can
doom presidents, particularly when there is divided government (when one or both
houses of the legislature are controlled by the opposition party).
o The ability of a President to communicate well with the American people is a very
powerful tool for pressuring Congress. Communicating with Congress is also very
important.
• Veto Power: return the bill to house it originated (no action within 10 days – bill
becomes law)
o In fact two types of veto exist. The first is the regular veto in power, through which
the president returns the legislation to the Congress unsigned, usually with a
message setting out reasons for this action. The second is a quieter, more discreet
form of the veto known as the "Pocket Veto,” in which the president fails to sign a
bill within the ten days allowed by the Constitution before Congress adjourns. A
veto can be overridden by a 2/3rds majority in both the House and the Senate.
• Executive Privilege: A claim by the president that consultations with advisers are
confidential and need not be disclosed to the courts or Congress.
o Justification: Separation of powers prevents branches from sharing internal
workings, Privacy is needed for candid advice from advisors without political
pressure
• Pocket Veto: One of two ways for a president to disapprove a bill passed by Congress; if
the president does not sign the bill within 10 days of receiving it, and Congress has
adjourned within that time, the bill does not become law
• Line-Item Veto: This allows the president to approve some provisions of a bill and
disapprove others; ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in Clinton v. NYC
• Impoundment of Funds: The refusal of the president to spend money appropriated by
Congress; limited in the Budget Reform Act of 1974 (A congressional effort to control
presidential impoundments; requires the president to spend all appropriated funds unless
Congress is notified by the president and agrees to delete the items)
• Key Issues for Presidents:
• Legislative Veto: A method by which Congress delegates’ authority to the executive
branch while retaining oversight power; either house of Congress may block a proposed
executive action; declared unconstitutional in 1981 in Immigration and Naturalization
Service v. Chadha
• Term Limits:
o Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than
twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President,
for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected
President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.
• Who Becomes President:
o Art. II:
“Natural-born citizen,” 14 years of US residency, 35 years of age
• Presidential Disability: The 25th Amendment basically lays out a plan for the Vice
President to assume power, taking it from the President when such action is required.
Nothing is automatic except what was before: upon death, resignation, or impeachment,
the Vice President is the President. But in a case of disability short of death, the wheels
can be set in motion under the 25th Amendment. The vice president becomes “acting
president.”
• If the President is not physically disabled, such as being in a coma, he may disagree with
the actions of his Vice President and department secretaries. If he does disagree and is
able, he can send his own message to the Speaker and President Pro Tem, stating that his
is able to perform as President. In this case, the President is immediately restored to full
power as President. If within four days of the President's objection the Vice President and
the department secretaries again declare the President disabled to the Speaker and the
President Pro Tem, the decision of disability falls to the Congress.
• Line of Succession:
o 22nd Amendment – limited President to 2 terms, serving no more than 10 years
o 25th Amendment – If the VP office is vacated, then the President can select a new
VP
• Impeachment: A form of indictment voted by the House of Representatives against the
president, vice president, and all civil officers of the federal government
o The Constitution gives Congress the power to remove the president from office for
“treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
o Judges most frequent targets of impeachment: 7 judges have been removed by the
impeachment process by the Senate. One of them is Alcee Hastings who is now a
member of the House of Reps that impeached him.
 Indictment by the House, conviction by the Senate
 House impeaches, Senate tries the prez, Chief Justice presides over the trial
 Two presidents impeached, neither removed (Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton)
• US vs. Nixon: Nixon refused to hand over recorded conversations, claiming Exec.
Privilege, Court ruled in favor of US
o EP can’t be used to block the function of the federal court procedures
• Checks and Balances:
 o By Presidency to other branches
 He can force Congress into session, must brief Congress on the “state of the
nation,” and can veto legislation and grant reprieves and pardons.
 Executive agreements, between heads of countries to initiate foreign policy.
 Can deploy troops even if Congress hasn’t declared war.
o By other branches to Presidency
 The president’s appointment of federal judges, Supreme Court justices,
ambassadors, and department secretaries all require Senate approval.
 The president negotiates treaties, but they must be ratified by two-thirds of
the Senate.
 Congress can override the president’s vetoes.
 President is at mercy of Congress for the money to wage war.

Vocabulary
• Parliamentary system – A system of government in which the legislature selects the
prime minister or president.

• Presidential ticket – The joint listing of the presidential and vice presidential candidates
on the same ballot as required by the Twelfth Amendment.

• Treaty – A formal, public agreement between the United States and one or more nations
that must be approved by two thirds of the Senate.

• Executive agreement – A formal agreement between the U.S. president and the leaders
of other nations that does not require Senate approval.

• Congressional-executive agreement – A formal agreement between a U.S. president

and the leaders of other nations that acquires approval by both houses of Congress.

• Veto – A formal decision to reject the bill passed by Congress.

• Pocket veto – A formal decision to reject a bill passed by Congress after it adjourns – if
Congress adjourns during the ten days that the president is allowed in order to sign or
veto law, the president can reject the law by taking no action at all.

• Take care clause – The constitutional requirement (in Article II, Section 3) that
presidents take care that the laws are faithfully executed, even if they disagree with the
purpose of those laws.

• Inherent powers – Powers that grow out of the very existence of government.

• State of the Union Address – The president’s annual statement to Congress and the
nation.

• Impeachment – Formal accusation against a president or other public official, the first
step in removal from office.

• Executive privilege – The right to keep executive communications confidential,

especially if they relate to National Security.

• Executive orders – Formal orders issued by the president to direct action by the Federal
bureaucracy.
• Impoundment - A decision by the president not to spend money appropriated by
Congress, now prohibited under Federal law.

• Line item veto – Presidential power to strike, or remove, specific items from a spending
bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

• Chief of staff – The head of the White House staff.

• Executive Office of the President – The cluster of presidential staff agencies that help
the president carry out his responsibilities. Currently the office includes the Office of
Management and Budget, the Council of Economic Advisers, and several other units.

• Office of Management and Budget (OMB) – Presidential staff the agency that serves
as a clearinghouse for budgetary requests and management improvements for
government agencies.

• Cabinet – Advisory council for the president consisting of the heads of the executive
departments, the vice president, and a few other officials selected by the president.

• Rally point – A rising public approval of the president that follows a crisis as Americans
“rally ’round the flag” and the chief executive.

• Mandate – A president’s claim of broad public support.

• Cycle of decreasing influence – The tendency of presidents to lose support over time.

• Cycle of increasing effectiveness – The tendency of presidents to learn more about

doing their jobs over time.