presroles

Presidency, Part II

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 historica' 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

The President

The Inner Ring

(A purely analytic concept referring to the closest associates of the President)

The White House Staff

Office of Management and Budget

Primary functions are:

1) the preparation of the budget,

2) legislative clearance; and

3) program performance evaluation

Advisory Councils

Council of Economic Advisors

National Security Council

National Economic Council

Office of Science and Technology Policy

U.S. Trade Representative

The Vice-President

The Cabinet

The Bureaucracy

14 Execuitve Departments

Independent Regulatory Boards and Commissions

(Federal Communications Commission, National Labor Relations Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission)

Independent Agencies

( NASA, General Services Administration)

Government Corporations

(TVA, AMTRAK, COMSAT)

differences between them

Presidential Commissions