George W. Bush's presidency had an inauspicious beginning. He took office following a disputed election, where he won by a razor-thin margin in the Electoral College only after Supreme Court intervention; and even lost the popular vote to Al Gore, becoming the first President since 1889 to assume the presidency under such circumstances. He appeared to have no mandate to govern, and faced a divided Congress and nation with weak legitimacy. To make matters worse, early administration actions on environmental and social issues were controversial, his bumbling style as a speaker became the target for jokes, the Senate switched hands to the Democrats when moderate Republican Sen. James Jeffords quit his party, the economy slipped into recession, and Bush's popularity began to fall.
All this changed dramatically after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S.A. With great skill and determination, Bush rallied the nation together, taking swift action against perceived terrorist threats, building an international coalition against terrorism, and taking the war to the perpetrators of the acts in Afghanistan. His job approval ratings soared to record levels, and he gained new respect from leaders and the public.
The opening vignette thus illustrates how external events influence the presidential office. Especially during times of war and national crisis, the natural capacities of the institution are enhanced, as the public looks to the President during emergencies, and the person holding it has their power increased, more easily overcoming the constraints placed upon it by the Constitution and other structural and political factors. In wartime, presidents generally have their way with Congress on defense and foreign policy matters, and are tempted to govern by executive orders and agreements, with minimal consultation with Congress.
In this case, Bush responded to the attacks by taking independent, unilateral action on a number of different fronts. He used his commander-in-chief powers to formulate a military response, taking the war deep into Afghanistan; his diplomatic powers in forging an international coalition against terrorism with allies and former hostiles alike; and his police and administrative powers to ferret out potential terrorists and create a new agency on Homeland Security. When the president required Congressional action on related matters, Congress responded quickly (if not happily). The USA Patriot Act, passed in record time, gave Bush almost everything he wanted: expansion of the government's police, surveillance, and legal powers. Congress likewise reacted quickly and favorably on the President's terror-related emergency budget requests.
This chapter shows how the president works within a framework determined by the constitutional design and evolution of the office, a particular governmental and political environment, and a larger context of economic, social, cultural, and international structure. The decisions and choices made by the president profoundly affect the nature of our political life, but individual presidents are also constrained in what they can do by other institutions such as Congress, and even by the executive branch itself. Moreover, the kinds of presidents we get are largely determined by such political-level factors as public opinion, interest groups, and political parties. This chapter focuses on the interplay among individual presidents, the office of the presidency, and the spheres of government, along with political linkage and structural level influences.
THE EXPANDING PRESIDENCY
There has been an obvious increase in presidential responsibilities, burdens, power, and impact since the nation's founding. The Founders' conception of the office of president was much more limited than what we see in the modern presidency, but the vague language of the Constitution has been flexible enough to include the great expansion of the presidency that has occurred. Until the end of the nineteenth century, the presidency conformed basically to the designs and intentions of the Founders. Policymaking at the federal level tended to be located in Congress, and the presidency did not dominate the political life of the nation. Presidents saw their responsibility as primarily involving the execution of policies that were decided by Congress.
It was not until the late nineteenth century that the American economy was transformed from a simple, free market economy of farmers and small firms to a corporate-dominated economy, with units so large that their actions had social consequences. This eventually led to demands for more government supervision of the American economic system. As this role of government grew, so did that of the president. Only in the twentieth century did the United States become a world power involved in military, diplomatic, and economic activities around the globe. The power and responsibility of the presidency developed along with these structural changes. Events and actions of several presidents during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries formed expectations and established precedents. The text provides thumbnail sketches of individual presidents that show the evolution of the institution of the presidency.
Franklin Roosevelt presided over the most significant expansion of presidential functions and activities in American history. Most observers consider this to be the beginning of the modern presidency, reflecting Roosevelt's response to the Great Depression and World War II. By the end of the 1930s, a whole new structure was in place to coordinate government agencies, and the Executive Office of the President was established in 1939 to help the president oversee the federal bureaucracy. The biggest changes resulted from World War II when government mobilized the entire population and the economy for the war effort. World War II brought unprecedented governmental involvement in the economy, with temporary war agencies. Although the agencies were dismantled after the war, they set precedents for presidential and governmental actions. The aftermath of World War II established the United States as a military superpower, and all U.S. presidents since the time of Roosevelt have administered a huge national state with large standing armed forces, nuclear weapons, and bases all around the world.
THE POWERS AND ROLES OF THE PRESIDENT
Since Franklin Roosevelt's day, the American presidency has involved powers and duties - unimaginable to the Founders - that touch the daily lives of everyone in the United States. Clinton Rossiter's symbolism of the many "hats" worn by the president is used in this chapter to illustrate the powers and duties of the office, such as chief of state, commander in chief, joint chief legislator, and chief diplomat, and as head of the political party. Scholars sometimes question whether the job of the president is too much to handle: each of the presidential functions is demanding. Together, they are overwhelming, but presidents have gradually acquired many aides and advisers to assist them.
THE PRESIDENT'S STAFF AND CABINET
The White House staff includes a number of key aides who are the president's closest and most trusted advisers, but the exact shape of the White House staff changes from one presidency to another and is used by different presidents in a variety of ways. Members of the White House staff generally have access to the president, and the key offices often include positions such as the chief of staff, national security adviser, domestic policy adviser, and a press secretary. Nearly all presidents have a legal counsel and special assistants to act as a liaison with Congress, to deal with interest groups, handle political matters, and oversee intergovernmental relations. Several presidents' wives - including Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosalyn Carter, Nancy Reagan, and Hillary Rodham Clinton have served as informal but influential advisers on a wide range of affairs.
The Executive Office of the President (EOP) is a group of permanent presidential staff organizations that perform specialized functions. The EOP has a measure of independence, but employees are generally loyal and responsive to the president. The exact composition of the EOP changes from one administration to another. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) advises the president on how much the administration should propose to spend for each government program and where the money will come from. The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) consists of a small group of economists who advise the president on economic policy. The National Security Council (NSC) is a body of leading officials for the Department of State, Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the military, and other agencies who advise the president on foreign affairs.
The vice-president has no constitutional powers or duties except to serve as president of the Senate (a ceremonial function of no real power). The primary responsibility is to serve in the capacity that historians once referred to as "a heartbeat away from the presidency." Any function other than presiding over the Senate is at the discretion of the president, and vice-presidents often spend their time running minor errands of state or carrying out limited diplomatic missions. Many vice-presidents have been virtually frozen out of the policymaking process, but recent presidents have begun to make more use of their vice-presidents and to see the office as potential training ground for those who may take over the presidency. The vice-presidency is the best available stepping stone for becoming president. In the twentieth century, five vice-presidents assumed office when the president died or resigned; and two others were elected to the presidency on their own after having served as vice-president.
The cabinet is not mentioned in the Constitution, but all presidents have had one. George Washington established the practice of meeting with his top executive officials as a group to discuss policy matters. Later presidents continued the practice; some held frequent meetings, while others had only occasional meetings. In recent times, the cabinet has consisted of the heads of the major executive departments plus the vice-president, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and other officials that the president designates. Most recent presidents have only infrequently convened the cabinet as a collective body and have rarely done serious business with it. The cabinet is a highly visible symbol of the executive branch, but it is a relatively weak body. Its members do not have the type of access to the president that is enjoyed by members of the White House staff, and presidents usually have not relied upon it as a decision making body.
THE PRESIDENT AND THE BUREAUCRACY
Presidents have significant controls with regard to the bureaucracy, but the president's ability to give orders and to gain bureaucratic acquiescence is limited. The bureaucracy is itself a partly independent governmental actor, and it is subject to influences from the political linkage factors (especially from public opinion and organized interests, often working through Congress). Many people erroneously assume that the president has firm control over the executive branch of government. However, direct command is seldom feasible in the day-to-day operation of government. Presidents cannot keep personal track of each of the millions of government officials and employees, but can only issue general guidelines (sometimes in the form of executive orders) and pass them down the chain of subordinates. Moreover, lower-level officials, protected by civil service from being fired, may have their own interests. To a large extent, presidents must persuade other executive branch officials to take certain actions - political scientist Richard Neustadt said that "presidential power is the power to persuade."
THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS: PERPETUAL TUG-OF-WAR
It is a structural fact of American politics that the president and Congress are frequently in an adversarial relationship. It was intended by the Founders when they created a system of checks and balances in the Constitution, setting ambition to counter ambition (in Madison's words). Our constitutional structure means that presidents are limited and affected in what they can do by Congress, an institution that itself reflects various political forces.
The uneven expansion of the presidency has meant that there has been a shifting ascendancy of one branch over another, with different branches dominant from time to time. Presidents tend to dominate during times of national crisis. When the crisis is over, there is often a reaction against crisis management, a reduction in federal government activity, and a return to a more relaxed system of congressional government. Since World War II and the increased international role of the United States, all presidents have been active in foreign affairs.
THE PRESIDENT AND THE PEOPLE: AN EVOLVING RELATIONSHIP
The Founders thought of the president as an elite leader, relatively distant from the people. Their view was that the president would interact frequently with Congress but only rarely with the people. Most nineteenth-century presidents and presidential candidates believed and practiced this ideal, but the system quickly evolved into a more democratic one, in which the people played a more direct role. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the presidency had undergone a basic transformation. Theodore Roosevelt gave a series of speech-making tours in order to win passage of legislation to regulate the railroads, and Woodrow Wilson created an entirely new constitutional theory advocating close connections between the president and the public.
All presidents now attempt to respond to public opinion, and all try to speak directly to the people about policy. Contemporary presidents frequently go public by using television to bypass Congress and the press in order to speak directly to the public about policy. Modern presidents have used television to enhance their power to shape public opinion. Although presidents often have to compete with others who influence the public (and tend to lose their audience if they are too persistent), the effect is enough to confirm Theodore Roosevelt's claim that the presidency is a bully pulpit.
Presidents are close to the public: they both lead public opinion and respond to it. At the same time, presidents have occasionally misled the public and have manipulated public opinion; sometimes they ignore public opinion or defy it. Consistent with the general theme of the text, your authors question whether democracy is advanced or retarded by developments within the presidency. The text notes that the power to lead the public also implies a power to manipulate public opinion, particularly in foreign affairs where presidents can most easily control information. Some safeguards can be found in the capacity of the public to judge character and the ability of other national leaders to counteract a deceitful president. The most serious threats to democracy may come when leaders of both parties are united and no one challenges falsehoods, as sometimes occurs in cases of nationalist and apparently patriotic acts of foreign policy.
THE INFLUENCE OF INTEREST GROUPS, POLITICAL PARTIES AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
In addition to the public, presidents are also influenced by other political-level factors such as interest groups, political parties, and social movements. Interest groups influence presidents through helping them get elected; moreover, presidents must deal with interest groups because in some policy areas it is necessary to gain their cooperation in order to govern. Interest group connections to political parties also mean that which party controls the White House affects which interest groups have influence. Political parties influence presidents not only through the nomination and election process, but also through policies in party platforms. Republican presidents tend to favor different kinds of policies than Democratic ones. Social movements also at times influence presidential behavior. Disruptions caused by mass demonstrations may be difficult for presidents to ignore, or mass movements may cause changes in public opinion which in turn affect presidents.
STRUCTURAL INFLUENCES ON THE PRESIDENCY
We can speak of an enduring presidency, a presidency that does not merely fluctuate with the whims of whoever holds office but that reflects the goals and preferences of the people, groups, and institutions that make up American society. Even major changes from one president to another usually reflect the nature of party coalitions in the nation and changes in public opinion. Presidents are affected by such structural factors as the nature of the American economic and social systems and the U.S. role in the international system and the world economy. The presidency - like all other institutions of our national government - reflects influences at the political level (interest groups, political parties, and public opinion) and also structural influences (especially from the international system and the U.S. economy).
