Ch14: The Presidency
Presidents and Prime Ministers (pp. 368-370)
1. What are the major differences between a presidential and parliamentary political system?
2. What countries have presidential political systems?
3. Why are Presidents often outsiders?
4. Who do Presidents usually choose to head cabinet-level departments?
5. How does the constitutional principle of separation of power affect the President?
Divided Government (pp. 370-372)
1. What is the difference between a divided and unified government?
2. According to the text, what are the two things wrong with the complaints about the failures of divided government?
3. Why do divided governments produce about as much important legislation as unified ones? Examples?
4. When is the only time there really is a unified government? Examples?
5. Would there be gridlock in a direct democracy?
Explain.
The Evolution of the Presidency (pp. 372-379)
1. What types of powers did the executive branch of most states have during the Constitutional Convention?
2. Why was it decided to allow the President to have significant powers?
3. What were the main concerns of the founders with the executive branch? Were these concerns realistic?
4. Why was the electoral college invented? (Do YOU think it was a good idea?)
5. Why did many at the Constitutional Convention think that most presidential elections would be decided in the House of Representatives? Why did it NOT work out this way?
6. What has limited president’s to two terms throughout American history?
7. What were the responsibilities of the first Presidents?
8. Why did George Washington not turn to the Senate for advise more often?
9. How was Andrew Jackson’s relationship with the Senate different than that of George Washington and other early Presidents?
10. Why is it difficult to remember the names of Presidents between Andrew Jackson and Teddy Roosevelt?
11. How could Lincoln justify the increase of presidential powerduring his presidency?
12. How did the role of President (and his/her relationship with Congress) change in the 1930s?
13. Is the President the central figure in the national government?
The Electoral College (pp. 376-7)
1. How many electoral votes does each state receive?
2. How many total electoral votes are there? How many does it take to win an election?
3. Do YOU prefer the winner-take-all system of electoral college voting or do YOU prefer the systems in place in Maine and Nebraska?
4. What is a “faithless elector”? (What do YOU think about their role?)
5. What happens if no one wins a majority of electoral votes?
6. When has the House of Representatives had to decide the President?
7. What was the “defect in the language of the Constitution” that affected the election of 1800? How was this problem corrected?
8. How many states would a candidate have to be on the ballot in to be able to win a current Presidential election (i.e. Man of the Year?
9. If you were running for President where would you spend most of your time campaigning?
10. How would abandoning the electoral college affect third parties?
11. What would happen if states allocated electoral votes proportional to their states popular vote?
The Powers of the President (pp. 379-380)
1. What are the two types of legislative powers set forth in Article II of the Constitution? (Look over 3 lists in text)
2. What are the qualification and benefits of being the President?
3. Why is the phrase from Article II of the Constitution, “take care that the laws be faithfully executed” considered an elastic phrase?
The Office of the President (pp. 380-5)
1. What is the rule of propinquity?
2. What are the three degrees of propinquity?
3. What are the three ways that a president can organize her/his personal staff? Which would YOU prefer if YOU were president? Briefly explain your answer.
4. Why do the president’s staff members want the office closest to that of the president?
5. How is the executive office of the president different from the white house office?
6. In your own words, explain the role and structure of the OMB.
7. What is the role of a cabinet member?
8. What are the 15 cabinet departments?
9. Who gets to sit next to the President in meetings?
10. What are independent agencies? Who are they responsible to?
11. Who else can the president appoint?
Who Gets Appointed (pp. 385-8)
1. Where do cabinet officers usually come from?
2. What does it mean to be an “in-and-outer”? Do these people exist in a parliamentary system?
3. Why is there sometimes a rivalry between the White House staff and the department heads?
Presidential Character (pp. 388-9)
1. Which president discussed in the text do YOU most identify with?
The Power to Persuade (pp. 390-4)
1. What are the three audiences that the president’s persuasive powers are aimed at?
2. Why do President’s rely on prepared speeches more today than in the past?
3. How does the President make use of the bully pulpit?
4. What is the purpose of the President’s use of her/his persuasive powers?
5. How much influence does a president have over congressional elections?
6. Do Congressmen/women seem to benefit much from riding a president’s “coattails” into office today? Explain.
7. How does a president’s popularity seem to affect their ability to get legislation passed?
8. Do President’s usually gain or lose popular support after their inauguration?
9. What does a presidential “honeymoon” period refer to? Do most President’s have one?
The Power to Say No (pp. 394-7)
1. What are the two ways that a president can veto a bill? Briefly explain each.
2. How did the Supreme Court rule concerning the presidential power of “enhanced rescission”?
3. What percent of presidential vetoes are overridden?
4. What often happens to vetoed legislation?
5. What are the two grounds that presidents have claimed the privilege of confidentiality?
6. How did the Supreme Court case Nixon v. United States (1973) change a presidents privilege of confidentiality?
7. How did Paula Jones suing President Clinton affect executive privilege?
8. What does the constitution say about the President’s spending of appropriated money?
9. How did the Budget Reform Act of 1974 affect presidential power?
The President’s Program (pp. 397-400)
1. What are the two ways that a president can develop a program?
2. What are three constraints on a president’s ability to plan a program?
3. What is the result of these constraints?
4. Do you prefer the trustee approach or the delegate model to making decisions? Explain.
5. What must happen for presidential reorganization to take place since the Supreme Court struck down legislative vetoes in 1981?
Presidential Transition (pp. 401-406)
1. How often are Presidents re-elected? How often do they die in office? How often are they assassinated?
2. What conditions have been best for re-election?
3. What is the only official task of the Vice President?
4. What is the order of succession to the presidency according to the 25th amendment of the Constitution?
5. Who are the only two presidents to be impeached?
6. What is the fundamental problem with trying the president on impeachment charges?
How Powerful is the President? (p. 406)
1. What are the three “rules of thumb” that the text suggests for presidents trying to deal with political problems?