The Presidency

The President of the United States is one of the most powerful officials in the world. Harry Truman in his usual blunt style, once said: “Neither Genghis Khan, nor Alexander the Great, nor Napoleon, nor Louis XIV of France had as much power as the President of the United States, whose acts or utterances might affect as many as one and one-half billion people. “ At the same time, all Presidents learn that there are limits to what they can get done. Limits on presidential power often come from a Congress or powerful interest groups.

The President is the head of the executive branch of the national government. As such, the person who holds the Presidency has enormous power and responsibility. The President must send to the Congress a program that is intended to foster the nation’s strength and prosperity. The President is called upon to act as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces in peace and war. The President is expected to symbolize what the nation stands for to the world and to the American people. In the light of the powers of the Presidency, our governmental system is often called ‘presidential government’.

When the Presidency was created in 1787, the United States was a new nation of only 4 million people. No one was quite sure what a President should do or accomplish. People were not even sure how to address the first President. One suggestion was ‘His Excellency’. Another was ‘His Mightiness’. As it turned out, George Washington came to be called simply ‘Mr. President’. Since then, all other individuals have held that special title.

The President’s Term

The President is elected for a term of four years. The same person may be elected to the Presidency only twice. Originally, the Constitution did not specify how many terms a President may serve. However, George Washington set the two-term pattern when he served for eight years and refused to run for a third term. Because of this precedent, two terms became the tradition. For almost 140 years, all Presidents followed Washington’s example and refused to run for a third term. However, in 1940, Franklin D Roosevelt broke this tradition when he ran for a third term. Then, in 1944 Roosevelt won a fourth term.

Limitations set by the 22^nd Amendment

Many people thought four terms were too long for one person to be President. Consequently, in 1951, the 22^nd Amendment, which set limits on how many terms a President may hold office, was added to the Constitution.

The 22^nd Amendment provides that no person may be elected for more than two terms as President. The amendment provides that if a Vice-President takes over the Presidency and serves two years or less of the former President’s term, then that Vice-President may, in addition, be elected for two terms as President. Thus, it is possible for a President to serve up to 10 years.

Salary and Benefits

The Constitutional Convention decided in 1787 that Presidents should receive ‘compensation’ for their work. The amount of compensation, or salary, was not specified in the Constitution. Congress sets the salary the President receives, and it cannot be increased or decreased during a President’s term. Today, the President receives $200,000 a year in salary and $50,000 a year for travel, entertainment, and other official expenses.

Many special benefits also go along with the Presidency. Presidents have the use of a special fleet of jetliners, helicopters, and limousines. They receive free medical, dental, and health care. They live in the White House, where there are a swimming pool, tennis courts, a bowling alley, and a private movie theater. The White House domestic staff of over 80 persons does the cooking, shopping, cleaning, and other chores for the President’s family.

When Presidents retire, they get a lifetime pension of $69,000 a year. They also have free office space, free mailing service, and about $90,000 a year for office help. When Presidents die, their spouses are eligible for a pension of $20,000 a year.

Qualifications for the Presidency

A person who wants to become President has to meet certain qualifications. Some of these requirements are set by the Constitution. Others are personal qualities that Americans expect their Presidents have.

Constitutional Requirements:

The Constitution (Art. II, Sect. 1) sets the formal rules for who can be President. These requirements actually are very simple. The President must be:

1) a natural-born citizen of the United States, 2) at least 35 years old, and 3) a resident of the United States for at least 14 years before taking office. The same requirements apply to the Vice-President. Over eighty million Americans can meet these formal requirements for the Presidency. Yet, very few people ever have the opportunity to run for the Presidency.

Government Experience:

Experience in government is an unwritten but important qualification for the Presidency. Since 1868, only five major party candidates for the Presidency had not previously served in government. In this century, individuals who have served as U.S. Senators and as governors of states have most often been nominated for the Presidency. Politics enables public officials to become known to the public. This is usually an extremely important factor in winning election as President. Politics also gives public officials the opportunity to form the political alliances that are necessary to obtain the nomination of a political party. Moreover, public officials have the time and resources to build a political following and to campaign.

Presidential Powers

The Founders of the Constitution believed that a central purpose of government was to protect the people’s liberty and their private property. Consequently, they wanted the legislative branch, which could be influenced by the people, to be held in check by a strong executive branch. A strong executive or President would help to protect liberty, private property, and businesses. Therefore, after much debate, the Founders created a single executive to head one of the three separate branches of the government. The result of the Founders’ efforts appears in Article II of the Constitution. This article grants the President broad but vaguely described powers. Though the Founders agreed that the executive office should be strong it should be, or on exactly how much power to give the Chief Executive. As a result, the exact meaning of the President’s power in specific situations is left open to interpretation.

Article II begins simply by stating:

The Executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.

Some scholars call this sentence the ‘wild card’ in the deck of presidential powers. What they mean is that this particular sentence may be ‘played’, or interpreted, in different ways, like the wild card in a card game. The sentence gives the President a broad and general ‘executive power’. But because this power is not precisely defined, its meaning can change from circumstance to circumstance. The sentence also can be used in many different situations. For example, under the ‘executive power’, the President can fire officials in the executive branch, make agreements with foreign nations, or take emergency actions to save the nation, even though none of these powers is specifically mentioned in the Constitution.

Sections 2 and 3 of Article II go on to list specific presidential powers. These sections give the President authority to take action no other citizen can take. They state that the President:

Is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces (now the Army, Navy, and Air Force) and the state militias (National Guard) when they are called into federal service.

Appoints – with Senate consent – heads of executive departments (like the Department of Labor).

May pardon people convicted of federal crimes, except in cases of impeachment, or reduce a person’s jail sentence or fine.

Makes treaties, with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Appoints ambassadors, federal court judges, Justices of the Supreme Court, and other top officials, with Senate consent.

Delivers an annual State of the Union message to Congress and sends other special messages to Congress from time to time.

Calls Congress into special session when necessary.

Meets with heads of state, ambassadors, and other public officials of foreign countries.

Commissions all military officers of the United States.

Insures that the laws passed by Congress are ‘faithfully executed’.