|
As discussed in class last time, we will
explore the presidency from
the "presidential power equation perspective"
this perspective demands that we look "wholistically", but
where to begin?
First, some basic terminology:
The President
is the person who occupies the office and the role(s) ascribed to that
office
so we will have to look at the constitutional roles (plus others) and
the person (individual) who occupies the office
The Presidency
is the complex series of organizational structures which comprise the
Executive branch of government
we'll look at this as the concentric circle approach to the presidency
The Constitutional
Presidency
Reflective of the legal and
historical roots of the political science, one
approach to the study of the presidency is the
"constitutional" approach.
There are really three "components" to the
constitutional presidency.
The Constitution
prescribes presidential qualifications, behavior, powers
1) attribute statements of characteristics/qualifications
that are clear and unchanging:
35 years
of age natural born citizen
2) attribute
statements whose meaning becomes clear through
history, action, precedent
generally
rather nebulous phrases which presidents have viewed as the source for
prerogative powers. These phrases, alone or in combination become the
key(s) to claiming various presidential powers
"laws be faithfully executed" + commander-in-chief = war
powers
3) attribute
statements that depend more on the "vagaries
of individual choice and environmental circumstance"
"Recommend to (Congress's)
consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and
expedient"
Constitutional
Roles of the President
1)
Commander-in Chief
Art II, Sec. 2: Power as head of
armed forces
2)
Chief Diplomat
Art II Sec 2: Power to negotiate
treaties and executive agreements
Art II Sec 2: Power to nominate
ambassadors
Art II Sec 3: Power to receive
ambassadors
3)
Chief of State
Art II Sec 2: Power to grant
reprieves and pardons
Art II Sec 2: Power to
commissions officers
4)
Chief Legislator
Art II Sec 3: Power to convene
and adjourn Congress
Art II Sec 3: Power to address
Congress on the State of the Union Art II Sec 3: Power to
recommend legislation
Art I, Sec 7: Power to veto
legislation
5)
Chief Administrator
Art II Sec 2: Power to nominate
judges
Art II Sec 2: Power to
command the executive branch
Art II, Sec 2: Power to appoint
top administrators
The
Supra-Constitutional Roles of the Presidency
Supra-constitutional roles refer to roles which
have "accrued" to the presidency but are not discoverable in
the Constitution:
1) Chief of Party
Source: dominance and
expansion of the presidency/ power of appointment/ media coverage
2) Protector of the Peace/ Global
Leader of the Free World
Source: US emergence during and
after World War II/ US economic dominance
3) Manager of the Economy
Source: Aftermath of stock
market crash and depression/ US global economic dominance
4) Voice of the People/ Opinion
Leader/ Moral Leader
Source: media coverage of
president
The
Concentric Circle Approach to
the Organization of the Presidency
We have to distinguish between
the President (the person who occupies the office) and the presidency (the
office and all its attendant parts)
Envision these rings as
concentric circles which expand outward from the president.
The closer to the President, the
more power and influence, the farther away, the less power and influence
|
