Final Exam Review - Political Science PDF

**[Final Exam -- Political Science]** **[Module 7 -- The Presidency and Module 8 - Congress]** **[We are dealing with both a unique individual (the President and a] [constitutionally defined office (the presidency]).** **[The Ambiguity of Article II:] ** The opening line of **Article II states th...

**[Final Exam -- Political Science]** **[Module 7 -- The Presidency and Module 8 - Congress]** **[We are dealing with both a unique individual (the President and a] [constitutionally defined office (the presidency]).** **[The Ambiguity of Article II:] ** The opening line of **Article II states that "The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America."** **[Literalists]** (Or Constructionists) **such as Taft or Buchanan believed that the President has counted powers only. ** **[Stewardship:] Presidents like T. Roosevelt believed that the opening sentence of Article II gave them vast implied powers.** **[The Personal Presidency (Lowi):] According to the personal presidency people now expect the president to get us what we want from government.** How powerful an office is the Presidency? **[Hoxie claimed that Presidential power is the power to command.] Hoxie claimed that the President has both the power of the sword as Commander** **In Chief and is the leading budgetary actor in the country** (power of the purse, drafting the executive budget). **[Wildavsky formulated his famous "Two Presidencies Thesis". Wildavsky claimed that there is a very strong foreign policy presidency and a much weaker domestic policy presidency.]** **[Neustadt claimed that Presidential power was essentially the power to persuade.] ** **The most famous study of presidential personality was a 1972 book by James David Barber called The Presidential Character.** 1. **Barber made a very straightforward claim that certain types of personality types were better suited to be President than others.** 2. Barber only looked at 2 variables while stating that in reality are very complex creatures. The **2 variables** that Barber looked at were **Activity Level** and **Enjoyment of the job.** 3. **[The book made a startling prediction. Barber claimed that if Richard Nixon were re-elected, his second term of office would end in disaster.]** **When Nixon resigned in disgrace this book became book of the year in Political Science.** **[Active-Positive:]** These were **the best types of Presidents** according to Barber. **[Active-Negative:]** These are **the worst presidents** according to Barber because they are motivated by **personal ambition or power.** **[Passive-Positives:]** These Presidents are motivated by **love or affection. ** **[Passive-Negative:]** These are the dutiful servants that are motivated by civic **duty or honor.** Since World War II there have been three distinct models of Presidential staffing. 1. **[Competitive model:]** The goal of this **model is to maximize efficiency by giving staffers duplicate tasks (but can creat conflict in a team).** This was the model that was employed by **Franklin Roosevelt.** 2. **[Formalistic Model:]** This was the model first employed by Eisenhower. T**his has become by far the most common model of staffing. Typically, the most important staffer to the President is the Chief of Staff.** (Biden and Trump use this) 3. **[Collegial Model:]** This was the model that was used by Kennedy. **This model** **was designed to stimulate discussion and debate.** The President and the Constitution: **[Requirements to be President:]** 1. Must be at **least 35 years of age**- This was an attempt to guarantee that a president would be reasonably mature and experienced in politics. 2. Must be a "**natural born citizen**" 3. Must **have been a resident for at least 14 years**- This was an attempt to prevent a president from having divided loyalties between England and the United States. **(the answer on a test will be "all above")** **[Tenure:]** A President serves a 4-year term of office. Originally there were no term limits. [**The 22^nd^Amendment limited how long an individual can serve as President.**] **Today a President** **is limited to 2 terms or up to 10 years in office.** 2. **[The Impeachment Process:]** This is a two-step process. **The House of Representatives accuses or impeaches the President.** An impeachment is for "High Crimes and Misdemeanors". The House has set its own standard for what this means historically. **There have been three Presidents that have** **been impeached by the House (An. Johnson Bi. Clinton and** **Do. Trump)** The Senate has a trial and with a **2/3rds vote removes the President from office.** **No President has ever** **been formally removed from office by the Senate** although **Andrew Johnson survived the Senate trial by one vote.** **[The 25^th^ Amendment:]** **Was passed primarily with the idea that the country should always have both a President and a Vice President.** If there is a Presidential or Vice-Presidential vacancy (probably due to death but possibly resignation or removal) **the President nominates a new Vice President who must** **be confirmed by both houses of Congress.** **[The Electoral College:]** **To become President a candidate needs a simple majority of Electoral Votes. Currently there are 538 Electoral Votes with 270 needed to win the Presidency.** **On five occasions 1824, 1876, 1888, 2000 and 2016 the popular vote winner has failed to become President.** **[Five Roles of the American Presidency:]** 1. **[Chief of State:]** Performing as Chief of State the President performs ceremonial tasks and symbolizes national unity. 2. **[Chief Executive:]** The Constitution says that Presidents are to "see that laws are faithfully executed. 3. **[Commander-in-Chief:] The key concept here is civilian supremacy over the military.** Constitutionally, **it is Congress that declares war**. In reality, it is the **President that has usually engaged in the use of force abroad without a declaration of war.** 4. **[Chief Diplomat:] There are two powers that you need to know here. First, Treaties** **are made with the advice and consent of the Senate. Second, Presidents have the power to recognize foreign nations.** - **[Executive Privilege:] ** The presidents implied or inherent power to withhold information on the grounds that its release would change either national security or the president\'s ability to discharge official duties. - **[Executive Agreements:]**  These are international agreements between the United States and other nations. 5. **[Chief Legislator:]** Constitutionally, the veto is an awesome weapon, and the **president\'s most potent legal constitutional weapon.**  **The United States Congress is the most active national legislature in the world.** **The United States Congress is the only national legislature with bi-cameral equality.** **The Founders intended and believed that the Congress would be the leading and most powerful national institution of government.** **The Two Congress' Phenomenon. American "hate" Congress as an institution. It is the least trusted national institution even though it is the most democratic institution.** **One of the major reasons for the Two Congress' Phenomenon is the fact that people see the individual accomplishments of their Congressperson.** 1. **Casework:** This is **doing a personal favor for a constituent such as getting him/her a government check.** Berman claims that this is at the heart of the power of incumbents. 2. **Franking:** These are the **free mailings that go out to constituents.** 3. **Pork Barrel Projects or Earmarks:** This is getting **money added for a pet project in the home district.** **Congressperson:** A **member of a legislative congress**, especially the US House of Representatives. **Constituency Vote:** The vote is being **prompted by the wishes/interests of the people in the district.** **Delegate:** These Congresspersons are **voting the wishes of the people in their district.** They make frequent efforts to learn voter opinions in their district. This is 80% of Americans. **Trustees:** These Congresspersons are **voting the interests of the people in their district.** Congresspersons tend to increasingly become more of a trustee over time. These representatives also tend to come from safe districts. This is 20% of Americans **Party Vote:** This is where a majority of one party is pitted against a majority of another party. **Congress is a bi-Cameral chamber. The House is a larger chamber (435 members)** more formal in operation and the leadership has more power **led by the Speaker.** **Their most powerful member is the Majority Leader. Currently, the Republicans are the majority party in the House of Representatives and the Democrats are the majority party in the Senate.** **In the House:  The Speaker is the only presiding officer of the House mentioned in the Constitution.** The Speaker is the leader of the majority party and **third in line for the presidency.** **In the Senate:** The **Vice President is the President of the Senate**, but the Vice-President **rarely presides over the Senate.** **Representation is based on population and reapportionment/redistricting occurs every 10 years after each census. ** **Population shifts in recent decades has meant more political power for states in the south and west.** **Gerrymandering is the practice of drawing political districts to give one political party unfair advantage over rival parties.** **Majority-Minority district:** A congressional district drawn to include enough members of a minority group to greatly improve the chance of electing a minority candidate.  **Tenure:** **House members serve a 2-year term** and **Senators serve a 6-year term in office with no term limits.** Senate terms are staggered to limit the impact of temporary changes in public opinion. As a result, **1/3^rd^ of the Senate is up for re-election every 2 years.** **Requirements:** **House members must be at least 25 years of age** and **Senators 30 years of age.** **Both are directly** **elected by the people.** Originally Senators were selected by state legislatures, this was changed by **[the 17^th^ Amendment that provided for direct election of the Senate.]** **Standing Committees:** These are the basic working units of Congress. They are permanent ongoing committees that deal with broad policy areas. There are 20 in the Senate and 21 in the House. **Typically, the chairpersons of these committees are the senior member of the majority party.** The speakers\' powers were so powerful they personally appointed all committee chairs and members. **The seniority system** **was devised to protect members from the speaker.** **Conference Committees:** These are **temporary committees that** **are designed to reconcile conflicting versions of a bill.** They rarely last more than a few days. **Rules Committee:** The Rules Committee **assigns the terms of debate for all legislation that goes to the full house** **with the exception of revenue, budget, and appropriations bills which go directly to the House floor from committee**