Shirey Seigworth

Prof. Baumann
PL SC 001
March 16, 2014
Presidentia Power
!he "resident has enough "ower to satisfy the "u#ic. $ne can see that many "residents
in the "ast ha%e #een a#e to satisfy the "u#ic. Presidents such as &wight &. 'isenhower, (ohn
). *ennedy, and +eorge ,. -. Bush ha%e a had a""ro%a ratings that a a%eraged a#o%e ../
0()*1s Presidentia 2""ro%a 3atings4. 5t is "ossi#e to satisfy the "u#ic with the "ower hed #y
the "resident. !he "resident has the most "oitica "ower of any singe indi%idua in the nation.
!he 6nited States framers of the Constitution did not want a dictator 0or a#soute monarch4 and
the "resident has enough "ower to satisfy the "u#ic without enough "ower to do drastic things
that harm the "u#ic.
!he "resident has many "owers and duties that are amost entirey u" to them. !he
"resident has the "ower to ma7e treaties with foreign nations. 2though these treaties ha%e to #e
a""ro%ed #y the Senate, the a#iity to ma7e treaties is a huge source of "ower for the "resident to
ma7e agreements they want with foreign nations. !he "resident can recei%e am#assadors and
meet with other "owerfu internationa eaders. !his internationa infuence is %ery im"ortant
#ecause it can he" create #etter reations #etween countries that ha%e great resources. !he
"resident is the commander in chief to the nationa armed forces and has "ower with state
miitias. 2though it is not in the Constitution the -ar Powers 3esoution of 189: gi%es the
"resident the a#iity to decare war and send troo"s to fight for 80 days without senate a""ro%a.
!he "resident has first;mo%er ad%antage here and once fighting has commenced it is harder for
the Senate to "u troo"s out after confict has "rogressed. !he "resident has the a#iity to ca
Congress into session, which gi%es the "resident "ower to infuence the egisation "rocess
0ho"efuy to suite his wants4. !he "resident has the a#iity to "ardon anyone of federa crimes.
!he "ower to "ardon murderers and criminas guity of fraud, drug traffic7ing etc. is strong. !he
"resident has the right to %eto egisation "assed #y Congress. !his is %ery im"ortant #ecause the
a#iity to stri7e down #is that the "resident does not i7e is a great dea of "ower. Congress can
ony "ass a #i that has #een %etoed #ut ony #y a 2<: %ote.
Besides the "resident1s "owers and duties, the head of state has a great dea of infuence.
5nfuence is "ower. !he "resident can infuence and ad%ocate for certain egisation to #e "assed.
Presidents ha%e a great dea of infuence o%er the genera "u#ic as figure heads and can
con%ince constituents to write to their congressmen<women if they are una#e to "ersuade
Congress themse%es. !hey ha%e great infuence in that they negotiate treaties that suite what
they want 0and senate has to a""ro%e4. !hey ha%e infuence in that they get to seect ca#inet
mem#ers and Su"reme Court =udges 0with senate a""ro%a4. !he ca#inet is hand seected #y the
"resident and carries out his wishes. !he Su"reme Court =ustices ser%e ifeong terms and
continue to re"resent most of the "resident1s "oitica "arties %iews 0#ecause they seect "eo"e
with simiar %iews to them4.
$ne of the greatest "ower the "resident has, #y far, is the a#iity to ma7e e>ecuti%e
orders. !he "resident has the a#iity to essentiay go around and e%en o%erride the egisati%e
"rocess 0Congress4 and "ass orders with the fu force of aw 0'>ecuti%e Power4. !he "resident
can e%en %ioate the constitution using e>ecuti%e orders, such as when 2#raham Lincon
sus"ended ha#eas cor"us during the Ci%i -ar, and when )ran7in &. 3oose%et created (a"anese
internment cam"s during --55 0'a%es, 201:4. 2though Congress can technicay create a aw
o%erriding an e>ecuti%e order, #etween 1890 and 188? thousands of e>ecuti%e orders were
"assed #y "residents and ony : were o%erturned #y statues from Congress 0'a%es, 201:4. !he
Su"reme Court has the same a#iity to o%errue an e>ecute order #ut #etween 184: and 1889
o%er 4,000 e>ecuti%e orders were issued and a mere 14 were struc7 down 0'a%es, 201:4. !he
"resident has @amost imitess "owerA when it comes to e>ecuti%e orders e%en though they are
not directy outined as a "residentia "ower in the Constitution 0'>ecuti%e Power4.
$n the other hand, the "resident does not reay ha%e enough "ower to satisfy the "u#ic
#ecause their success and effecti%eness is directy de"endent on Congress and the Su"reme
Court. !he way the framers set u" the Constitution, "owers in a #ranches of go%ernment are to
#e #aanced out #y each other. !hey did not want a dictator and the restrictions on the
"resident1s "ower ma7es it hard to get things done 0a7a ha%e high a""ro%a from the "u#ic4
when Congress is o""osing your "ro"osas<recommended egisation, treaties, etc. #ecause of
"arty differences. 5t is es"eciay hard to get egisation "assed through the ,ouse of
3e"resentati%es when it is rued #y a ma=ority in the o""osite "arty. !he #is that are schedued
in the ,ouse of 3e"s are decided #y the s"ea7er of the house 0who amost aways re"resents the
ma=ority "arty and sets the agenda according to what their "arty wants4. 5n order for a #i to
#ecome a aw, it has to "ass through #oth houses of congress. !his can #e Buite difficut when
the ma=ority ,ouse of 3e"s and e%en when the senate does not ha%e the same "oitica %iews as
the "resident. 2most e%erything the "resident does is de"ended on the other two #ranches
agreeing or #eing indifferent towards his actions.
!he "resident does ha%e the "ower to ma7e treatiesC#ut ony if the Senate a""ro%es
them. !he "resident can ma7e as many treaties as he wants #ut without Senate a""ro%a, treaties
and internationa agreements are not "assed and therefore in%aid. Simiary, "residents ha%e the
a#iity to ma7e a""ointments to federa offices such as the ca#inet and the Su"reme Court,
howe%er the Senate has to a""ro%e a a""ointments. !his ma7es it so that the "resident cannot
a""oint a radica or someone ine>"erienced and unBuaified. !he "resident has %eto "owerC#ut
Congress can o%erride a %eto with a 2<: %ote. 2though the "resident technicay can decare war
and send out troo"s for 80 days without Congresses a""ro%a, this is not a right outined in the
Constitution and Congress has the a#iity to "u out the troo"s after the 80 day "eriod e%en
without chaenging it egay.
2s for e>ecuti%e orders, the "resident can ma7e a the e>ecuti%e orders he wants #ut if
Congress or the Su"reme Court strongy disagree they can o%erride the orders #y either creating
statues that undermine them or #y o%erruing them. '>ecuti%e orders are ony secure during the
"resident1s term and can #e o%erturned at any time #y a successor. 6ni7e actua egisation,
e>ecuti%e orders are su#=ect to more insecurity. +oing around the egisati%e "rocess undermines
Congress and can ma7e them Buite unha""y, which ony ma7es "residentia egisati%e
recommendations and "assing this egisation e%en more difficut #ecause of decreased
congressiona "resident a""ro%a ratings.
2s one can see, amost a of the "residents ma=or "owers are de"endent u"on a""ro%e
from the Senate or Congress as a whoe. ,a%ing Congress a""ro%a is hard during times when
the ma=ority of a house of congress is strongy o""osing what the "resident wants. Presidents
such as ,arry !ruman, +erad )ord, (immy Carter, and +eorge -. Bush ha%e had o%era
a""ro%a ratings #eow .0/ 0Coeman4. Dot to mention the fact that most "residents, e%en those
with high o%era a""ro%a ratings, e>"erience significant "eriods of time with a""ro%a #eow
.0/ 0,ow the Presidents Stac7 u"4. !he "resident can ha%e the #est of intentions and a great
agenda for what he wants #ut without the "ro"er su""ort it is difficut for the most im"ortant
things to get done.
3eferences
Coeman, &. 0n.d.4. ()*Es "residentia a""ro%a ratings. 3etrie%ed March 16, 2014, from !he
)ourteenth &ay we#siteF htt"F<<=f714thday.com<=f7;"residentia;a""ro%a;ratings<
'a%es, L. 0201:, (anuary 1?4. -hat is an e>ecuti%e orderG 3etrie%ed March 16, 2014, from 5HD
we#siteF htt"F<<i%n.us<201:<01<1?<what;is;an;e>ecuti%e;order<
'>ecuti%e "ower. 0n.d.4. 3etrie%ed March 16, 2014, from Corne 6ni%ersity Law Schoo
we#siteF htt"F<<www.aw.corne.edu<we><e>ecuti%eI"ower
,ow the "residents stac7 u". 0n.d.4. 3etrie%ed March 16, 2014, from !he -a Street (ourna
we#siteF htt"F<<onine.ws=.com<"u#ic<resources<documents<info;"resa""060.;:1.htm