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Summary A-Level Edexcel Paper 3 US Presidency notes
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1US PRESIDENCY
3.1 FORMAL SOURCES OF PRESIDENTIAL POWER AS OUTLINED IN THE US
CONSTITUTION AND THEIR USE
The role of the Head of State and as the Head of Government - the significance and of these powers with
reference to presidents since 1992
Formal Constitutional powers
Head of State
- The President’s role as Head of State traditionally encompasses the idea that he is the living symbol of
the nation, representing a unifying figure around which Americans rally after the divisive process
of elections. In recent years this has not been the case.
- Donald Trump is a highly divisive president like Obama before him. Many Americans didn’t recognise
George W Bush as a legitimate after the controversial 2000 election and resented him following the
close 2004 election.
- However, both Obama and Bush, on occasion, spoke effectively on behalf of the nation, expressing its
hopes and fears, or capturing its mood: for example, Bush’s speech at Ground Zero in the aftermath of
the 9/11 attacks and Obama in the aftermath of the Newtown Massacre in December 2012.
- Ronald Reagan had a remarkable ability to present partisan Republican policies as being the benefit of
all Americans leading to him being dubbed “the Great Communicator”.
- The President is also able to use the discretion available over how and where federal resources go,
forge alliances and build congressional support for proposals (pork barrel).
- Contrarily, if a President tries to use his status as Head of State for political advantage or presidential
conduct sullies the office, the administration’s entire political program and even the powers of office
can be damaged.
- Bush’s unpopularity with Democrats was increased by his active campaigning for Republican
candidates during the 2002 congressional elections, repeatedly questioning the patriotism of
Democrats and arguing that a Republican majority in Congress was essential to the “War on Terror”.
- Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky tarnished the whole administration, contributed to Gore’s defeat
in 2000 and paralysed the domestic policy agenda of the Clinton administration for the rest of his time.
- On occasions Presidents may be damaged by being held responsible for parts of a system he has no
political control over e.g., the criticism of Obama in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon explosion
in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
- The Head of State in other countries typically has a role which includes being head of armed services,
head a diplomatic corps and having the power of pardon; all of these are included in the office of
President of the United States.
- As Head of State, the President also represents the collective image of the USA which is presented to the
outside world.
- Obama is well regarded around the world particularly in Europe; the same could be said for Bill Clinton
and JFK. In contrast Ronald Reagan who won a landslide victory in 1984 by appealing to many natural
Democrats, was regarded with suspicion and even fear as a warmonger.
- As a rule, Europeans in particular find it difficult to warm to Republican President’s from the American
heartlands
- In 2016, there was a shock, dismay and disbelief following the election of Donald Trump – shock has not
faded
- FDR stated that the presidency is “pre-eminently the place of moral leadership”. In effect, he is a
popular leader.
- The implication of this role is that the president works for the national interest, rising above competing
private interests. In return, the public invest their trust in him and respond positively to strong
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leadership. Unfortunately, this role has been seriously undermined by the deep-seated partisanship of
the last two decades.
- The best example of the ideal in the last 40 years was Ronald Reagan as his 1984 election landslide
demonstrated.
- George W Bush enjoyed outstanding support in the aftermath of 9/11 but then squandered it;
Clinton was a popular and well-liked President but lost trust and personal respect over his affair
with 24-year-old, White House intern, Monica Lewinsky; Barack Obama is a decent man but had the
misfortune to preside over a polarised America in which substantial number of Americans were
never willing to give him a fair chance.
- Clearly, Trump could not be considered a moral role model, nor did he seek to be one. During the
election, his remarks on women and the disabled were insulting; Mexicans and Muslims, racist; he failed
to condemn the right-wing extremism in Charlottesville in August 2017; in 2018 he authorised what
many regarded as an inhumane policy of separating immigrant children from their parents and
debating them in camps at the IS border. He is a divisive figure who plays to his base rather than
seeking to be the leader of all American
Head of Government
- As Chief Executive, the President is responsible for, according to section 3 of the constitution , “he shall
take care that the laws be faithfully implemented”.
- Consequently, the President is responsible for the bureaucracy which carries out the laws - in 1800 this
was about 3000 strong but is now around 4 million.
- Originally there were three executive departments: state, treasury and war; now there are 14. There are
also Independent Executive Agencies such as the CIA and Independent Regulatory Committees such as
the Securities and Exchange Commission and, to help coordinate the rest of the bureaucracy, there is
the Executive Office of the President.
- To enable the President of control the civil service, the Constitution empowers the president to appoint
“public ministers”; the President has the power that enables them to make appointments to executive
offices. Thus, posts in the top four layers of government departments – Cabinet, Executive office of the
Presidency, the independent executive agencies and the independent regulatory commissions - are all
appointed by the president together with hundreds of other high-ranking officials.
- Because Senate ratification is required for appointments to the Cabinet and the federal judiciary the
constitution places limit on the ability of the president to shape his administration to suit his wishes
and views. However, there are various ways around this:
Appointments do not require Senate ratifications
In addition, the president solely appoints certain other officials including aides and advisers; as
these people work in close proximity to the president, their influence is very significant.
- The Pendleton Act 1883 established a professional career civil service - known in US terms as the
Federal Bureaucracy - but it was decided that the president should retain control over certain
appointments, thus allowing him to have supporters in key positions within the federal bureaucracy
whom he can rely on to carry out his wishes. In 2016 this amounts to a 3% of all posts.
- The majority of the president’s executive powers are subject to constitutional checks: he should
implement only laws and policies approved by Congress; all nominations for official positions in
government departments need Senate ratification; the powers invested in Congress to scrutinise the
executive gives the legislature the right to question members of the bureaucracy.
- The federal bureaucracy itself acts as a constraint on the president given that it is large, powerful,
difficult to manage and frequently has its own agenda.
- Finally, as chief executive the president is also in power to grant a full or conditional pardon to
anyone convicted of breaking a federal law, with the exception of impeachment.
- The most controversial and high-profile example of this was General Ford pardoning his predecessor
Richard Nixon in 1974.
- Obama was prolific in this area granting clemency to over 1000 federal drug offenders, a third of whom
were serving life sentences. His total exceeds that of the previous 11 presidents combined.
- In August 2017 Trump formally pardoned Joe Arpaio, an Arizona sheriff, whose hard-line policies of
immigration have led to his defying a court order banning racial profiling of Hispanics through traffic
patrols. Arpaio had become notorious for his policy of humiliating undocumented immigrants by
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