Presidency

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Presidency

• 3 December, 2007

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The President As LegislatorThe Veto

• Perhaps the presidents most formidable tool in
  dealing with Congress is the veto.
• Constitution defines the veto precisely.
• Used relatively rarely most used by Gerald
  Ford. In the past 50 years, the average is fewer
  than 10 vetoes a year.
• The veto allows the president to block
  congressional action, but does not allow the
  president to substitute his own policy
  preferences.

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Presidential Vetoes Over Time
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The Process Reviewed
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Presidential Power

• Leadership gravitates to presidents during
  crisis, but then dissipates quickly as the
• crisis recedes.
• Source of Power - Delegation of power from
  Congress and successful presidential assertions
  of authority (e.g. War Powers Act 1973)
• President as commander in chief and head diplomat

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Presidential Popularity
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Bushs Approval Ratings
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Bushs Approval Ratings
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Approval by Party Identification
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The Economy
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Voters Focus on Presidents

• Voters expect president to act in area of foreign
  affairs.
• Support the president in crisis situations.
• Rally round the flag effect The tendency for
  the public to back presidents in moments of
  crisis.
• While voters are supportive initially, they tend
  to demand quick results, and often forget foreign
  policy accomplishments, particularly if domestic
  economic issues become concerns.

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Handling Situation with Iraq
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Terrorism
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How popularity can influence Congress

• Opposition party can substantially increase
  support (1/3rd of total support)
• Presidents may behave differently (less willing
  to compromise?)
• Who gets credit

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Reasons for Influence on Own Party Members

• Policy agreement
• Successful president helps party
• Small favors
• Fundraisers, photo op

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Reasons for Less Influence on Own Party Members

• No sanctions
• Little personal contact between president and
  rank and file members
• Different constituencies
• National vs. district/state

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War Power

• Presidents have more constitutional discretion
  with respect to foreign policy. But, presidents
  may not act contrary to the expressed will of
  Congress.

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War Power

• Prior to Civil War presidents seldom acted on
  their own on military matters.
• Abraham Lincoln first to action based on an
  expanded interpretation of commander in chief.
• Theodore Roosevelt sent ships to Japan without
  Congressional approval of cost
• Not since WWII has Congress officially declared
  war.
• Truman fought the Korean War without any
  congressional declaration at all.

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Vietnam

• Focused attention on the issue of executive
  authority
• Eisenhower and Kennedy sent advisors
• Johnson asked for Tonkin Bay Resolution
• Authorized response to attack with armed force
  (was told that U.S. had NOT invaded N. Vietnams
  territorial waters but in reality they had)
• Gave president the authority to take all
  necessary measures to repel any attacks and to
  prevent further aggression.
• Resolution was legal basis for a war that would
  last 8 more years but based on misinformation
  from the Johnson administration.

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War Powers Resolution

• 1973 congressional resolution requiring the
  president to notify Congress formally upon
  ordering U.S. troops into military action.
• Troops must be withdrawn unless Congress approves
  the presidential decision within 60 days after
  notice of the military action has been received.

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War Powers Resolution 9/11

• At Bushs request passed war on terrorism
  resolution.
• One dissenting vote in the House.
• President authorized to use all necessary and
  appropriate force against those nations,
  organizations, or persons he determines planned,
  authorized, committed or aided the terrorist
  attacks that occurred on Sept 11, or harbored
  such organizations or persons, in order to
  prevent any future acts of international
  terrorism.
• No limit placed on time period in which president
  may act.
• Second resolution focused continuing threat posed
  by Iraq. But required Bush to exhaust diplomatic
  or other peaceful means of resolving the
  conflict prior to resorting to force.

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Treaty Power

• Treaties are official agreements with foreign
  countries that are ratified by the Senate (by
  2/3rds).
• Because a small number of Senators can block a
  treaty, Presidents opt instead for executive
  agreements
• These are agreements with foreign countries that
  require only a presidential signature. Power not
  found explicitly in the Constitution.
• Most executive agreements either are extensions
  of treaties ratified by the Senate or involve
  routine presidential actions that have been
  authorized by Congress.

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Policy Responses to 9/11
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• Military Response
• Invasion of Afghanistan
• War in Iraq
• Economic
• Airline relief bill (October 2001)
• National Security
• Joint resolution on 14 Sept. to use all
  necessary and appropriate force against
  nationsthat he determines plannedthe terrorist
  attacks
• Patriot Act (October 2001)
• Department of Homeland Security

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Patriot Act Provisions
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• Relaxes restrictions on information sharing
  between U.S. law enforcement and intelligence
  officers about suspected terrorists.
• Makes it illegal to knowingly harbor a terrorist
• Authorizes "roving wiretaps,"
• Allows the federal government to detain non-U.S.
  citizens suspected of terrorism for up to seven
  days without specific charges.
• Allows law enforcement officials greater subpoena
  power for e-mail records of terrorist suspects.
• Triples the number of Border Patrol, Customs
  Service Inspectors and Immigration and
  Naturalization Service inspectors
• Expands measures against money laundering
• Eliminates the statute of limitations for
  prosecuting the most egregious terrorist acts

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The Patriot Act A Threat to Civil Liberties?
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• Change in protections from unreasonable search
  and seizure
• Detention of non-citizens, immigrants
• Racial profiling

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Civil Liberties

• We classify as civil liberties the Constitutions
  protections from government power.
• Freedom of speech, religion and the right to
  privacy are examples.
• Typically violations of these liberties occur
  when some government agency, at any level,
  oversteps its authority.

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Who protects civil liberties?

• Does the constitution guarantee certain absolute
  civil liberties?
• Truth is that our interpretations of these
  freedoms constantly change.
• Question of how to balance individual liberties
  with societal rights

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Courts and Civil liberties

• What power does the Supreme Court have?
• Judicial Review
• Marbury v. Madison (1803)
• The midnight appointments by Adams, Jeffersons
  response, the request for writ of madamus (a
  court order) under the Judiciary Act of 1789 and
  the decision.

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SC hears cases on Enemy Combatants

• Hamdi v. Rumsfeld and Rumsfeld v. Padilla
• The key figures in the cases are both American
  citizens Yaser Hamdi is a U.S.-born
  Saudi-American who was captured during fighting
  in Afghanistan in 2001 and Jose Padilla is a
  former Chicago gang member who traveled to
  Afghanistan and Pakistan before being arrested at
  a Chicago airport in 2002 on suspicion of
  plotting to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb"
  in the United States.
• At issue is Habeas Corpus an individuals right
  not to be imprisoned unless charged with a crime,
  except in time of rebellion or invasion

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Supreme Court Decision

• On Hamdi, the Court (8-9 decision) agreed that
  the Executive Branch does not have the power to
  hold indefinitely a U.S. citizen without basic
  due process protections enforceable through
  judicial review.
• The Court did not reach a decision in the Padilla
  case because it found that it was improperly
  filed. On April 3, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court
  declined to hear Padilla's appeal that the
  President had the power to designate him and
  detain him as an "enemy combatant" without
  charges and with disregard to habeas corpus.

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Cases Involving Civil Liberties

• Free Speech, Schenck v. United States (1919)
• clear and present danger
• Freedom of Press, New York Times v. Sullivan
  (1964)
• Libel violates 1st Amendment
• Obscenity, Roth v. United States (1957)
• Court attempts to define obscenity
• Establishment Clause, Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
• Three part test for judging constitutionality of
  division between church and state
• Gun Control, United States v. Miller (1939)
• 2nd Amendment does not provide for absolute
  guarantee
• Right to Privacy, Roe v. Wade (1973)
• Landmark case on abortion

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Checks on the Judiciary

• Executive Checks
• Appointments
• Legislative Checks
• Appropriation of funds
• Constitutional amendments
• Amending laws to overturn courts rulings
• Public Opinion
• Influence judicial opinions
• enforcement
• The Court
• stare decisis
• Judicial restraint