American Government Lecture Four

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American Government Lectures - [1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12]

Review

In our first three lectures we discussed our three branches of government at the federal (national) level, as authorized by the U.S. Constitution. Article I establishes the legislative branch (Congress), Article II authorizes the executive branch (the president), and Article III empowers the judicial branch (the courts). Which branch employs the most people? The executive branch employs millions of workers, including the entire military; the other two branches employ only a few thousand each. At the state level, there are also executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, but without the strict separation of powers required by the U.S. Constitution at the federal level. Keep in the mind that the federal and state governments are independent of each other, with almost no connection to each other.

In this lecture we return to learn more about the executive branch, which is timely because our Nation will select the next president in the next four weeks. Nearly half the Nation may vote early, as allowed in many states, and by the evening of Election Day the winner will be announced.

Mitt Romney was trailing the incumbent[1] Barack Obama in most polls, but Romney did much better than Obama in their first presidential debate last Wednesday.[2] Polling after the debate indicated that Romney received a four point "bounce" in the polls from his strong performance in the debate. The Reuters poll showed Romney trailing Obama by only 44% to 46% as of Friday, March 5. Some observers feel that as long as Obama is below 50% in polls, then he is likely to lose because undecided voters tend to vote against an incumbent.

Notice how important the media are in connection with the presidential debates. The media ask the questions of the candidates; the media broadcast the debates to the American public; and the media provide an analysis of the debates for the millions of Americans who do not actually watch them. The media "spin" the news in a way that they like. For example, even though Americans felt that Romney defeated Obama by an enormous margin of 67%-25% (according to a CNN poll), newspapers like the USA Today ran headlines the day after the debate implying that it was roughly a tie between the candidates.

Congress has adjourned until after the upcoming election. But it may reconvene post-election to consider and pass legislation. If so, that will be called a "lame duck" Congress because it will include many congressmen who were defeated in the election, or retired. The newly elected congressmen (and president) do not take office until January of the following year. "Lame duck" sessions of Congress can be very harmful because it is unaccountable to the voters, and many congressmen tend to act in self-interest rather than what the voters want.

The Presidency

The president is not a king. His powers are limited and enumerated. He lacks a special title, and is called simply “Mr. President.” Under the 22nd Amendment, the president may not be elected more than two terms. In the past 50 years, only three presidents have even served two full terms (Reagan, Clinton, and George W. Bush).

The president has influence in several ways. Everything he does affects the positions and fortunes of his own political party, Republican or Democrat.

The president is commander-in-chief of the military. He controls its operations, and supervises its conflicts with foreign militaries. After Congress declares war (and even when it does not), the president makes the decisions about where American troops go. President Lyndon Johnson would personally review and make decisions about daily bombing runs in Vietnam. President Lincoln was hiring, firing, and ordering generals during the Civil War.

The president is responsible for all foreign policy. He appoints the ambassadors, and decides what treaties to negotiate and sign. But 2/3rd approval by the Senate is required for any treaty to become law. The North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) established so-called “free trade” between the United States and Mexico and Canada. President Clinton bypassed the requirement of Senate approval by arranging for a "lame duck" Congress to pass the treaty directly into federal law. Why do you think he did that? (Answer: it only requires a majority to pass a law rather than 2/3 in the Senate to ratify a treaty).

The president also has legislative authority in signing or vetoing new laws. If the president’s political party is in control of Congress, then he has implicit control over its agenda too. The president typically submits a budget each year for Congress to pass in order to pay for the operations of the government and all its programs. Typically Congress will add spending to that budget and include it in one massive bill for the president to sign. An attempt to give the president "line-item veto" authority to strike out certain spending items was held to be unconstitutional. But at the state level, where there is not a strict separation of powers, "line-item veto" authority does exist in many states.

The president also has the power to make appointments, particularly to the judiciary. He nominates new judges, especially those needed to fill vacancies on the Supreme Court. These judges can serve for the rest of their lives, and thus can hold power for more than 30 years.

Leader of the Executive Branch

The president supervises the executive branch, and fills thousands of positions in the numerous federal agencies. Senate approval is required for the highest positions, such as the "Cabinet" officials who directly advise the president.

When George Washington was president, there were only three Cabinet officials: State, War (now Defense), and Treasury. But as the federal government has expanded over the past 223 years, so have the number of positions. There are now 15 Cabinet officials, and confirmation of appointments by the president is required to these positions. Typically the president fills these positions with members of his own political party; usually they are governors, former governors, or senators who were defeated for reelection. If Mitt Romney wins the presidency this year, then he would likely nominate Chris Christie to the Cabinet-level position of Attorney General, and perhaps Rick Santorum to the Cabinet-level position of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Each position in the Cabinet corresponds to the head of an administrative agency in the executive branch.

Executive Office of the President

The Executive Office of the President consists of the president's immediate staff at the White House and adjacent office building. This includes:

  • the White House
  • the Cabinet
  • the National Security Council
  • the National Economic Council
  • the Office of Management and Budget
  • the Council of Economic Advisers
  • the Council on Environmental Quality
  • the Domestic Policy Council
  • the Office of Administration
  • the White House Military Office

These offices are not agencies, but are considered part of the president's own staff.

Federal Agencies

The day-to-day power of the federal government is in its numerous "agencies", or departments. This section explains many of the most important federal agencies.

State Department

The State Department, or more formerly the "Department of State," is the federal agency that deals with foreign nations and diplomacy. In the first few decades of our Nation's history, the leader of this department (the "Secretary of State") was the most important federal official other than the president. Indeed, holding the position of Secretary of State was a stepping stone to becoming president: most of the politicians who held the position of Secretary of State early years of our Nation later became president.

Thomas Jefferson first served as Secretary of State under President Washington. James Madison served as Secretary of State under President Jefferson. James Monroe served under President Madison. John Quincy Adams did likewise under President Monroe. And so on.

Dealing with foreign countries is a primary responsibility of the President, and the Secretary of State advises him on this. When conflicts arise in foreign nations, the Secretary of State advises the president on how to handle them, and he or she often travels to those countries to try to resolve the conflicts.

At this time, and throughout the Obama Administration, the Secretary of State has been Hillary Clinton, at her request. She thought it would be a good stepping stone to running for president in 2016. She is likely to resign from her position as Secretary of State in early 2017, and then beginning quietly running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016.

The State Department was extremely important during the Cold War (1945-1990), and Senator Joseph McCarthy accused Democratic Administrations of allowing the State Department to be infiltrated by communists who were opposed to our freedoms and position of strength in the world.


Agencies in the Executive Branch handle many types of disputes before they become lawsuits. The Department of Education hears complaints about violation of federal law in public schools; the Department of Labor hears labor disputes, including alleged discrimination; the Department of Health and Human Services handles the massive federal health care spending. Each of the 15 federal agencies, including the new Department of Homeland Security, have responsibilities that grow over time.


Defense Department

Department of Justice

The Department of Justice is responsible for handling all prosecutions and litigation for the federal government. Originally, the federal government prosecuted very few crimes. Treason was one. Counterfeiting was another.

Now the federal government prosecutes thousands of crimes in all areas of life. Fraud. Accounting deception. Monopolies. Lying to a federal official is a special federal crime. Obstruction of justice is a federal crime, when someone interferes with an investigation. Certain types of murder are now federal crimes. It was the Department of Justice that attempted to break up Microsoft’s monopoly; it is the Department of Justice that prosecuted Martha Stewart.

Unlike state prosecutors, federal prosecutors are not elected. They work under the Attorney General, who is appointed by the president. They are called U.S. Attorneys or assistant U.S. Attorneys. State prosecutors are called District Attorneys. The top state prosecutors are elected, and thus directly accountable to the public. When a state prosecution meets with public disapproval, the responsible district attorney can be defeated at the next election. But the president has to be defeated to change the Department of Justice, and presidential elections are typically determined by economic rather than legal issues.

After 9/11, the George W. Bush Administration (the executive branch while George W. Bush was president) sought and achieved new powers to target criminals under the Patriot Act. While nearly everyone favors catching and prosecuting real terrorists, many opposed the loss of liberty in the War on Terrorism. After all, some say, it is liberty that we are defending against terrorism in the first place.

The main dispute revolves around the Fourth Amendment. The Patriot Act reduced the requirements for federal investigators to seize evidence and tape-record calls of alleged terrorists. No longer must a local judge issue a warrant based on a detailed affidavit of probable cause prior to searches of alleged terrorists, broadly defined. Also, federal investigators can now search certain homes without leaving a copy of a warrant so that the owner knows it has been searched. This is known as “sneak and peak,” and many criticized this expansion in federal power.

Environmental Protection Agency

Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Education

Commerce Department

The Commerce Department, created as the Department of Commerce and Labor in 1903 (the Labor Department split off in 1913), is primarily devoted to promoting trade with foreign countries. It also regulates some trade within the United States.

Patent and Trademark Office

Federal Trade Commission

Foreign Policy

A president can have a much bigger influence on a foreign nation than on the United States. The U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, provides extensive protections for the American people against a governmental interference. But those protections do not extend to foreigners. A president can order the search and seizure of someone in a foreign nation without a search warrant required by the Fourth Amendment. A president can send troops into foreign nations, or attempt to influence political elections in other countries.


Election

President Harry S Truman would say, “The buck stops here.” The president is accountable for all that he does, and all that the Executive Branch does while he is in charge. The reelection or defeat of the president after his first term will depend not only on what he does, but also on everything else that happens under his “watch”.

When a president is reelected after serving a full term, which happens about 50% of the time now, he then becomes a “lame duck.” That means he loses power because everyone knows he is merely serving out his term and cannot be reelected again (due to the 22nd Amendment). Still, an effective president can accomplish a great deal during his second term. President Reagan, for example, dramatically cut taxes and made his successful demand that the communists tear down the Berlin Wall dividing communism from freedom in Germany.

A president can be elected with less than 50% of the vote, as President Bush was. But no president can be elected with less than 50% of the electoral college. If no candidate can muster a majority of electoral votes, then the election is decided by the House of Representatives. This occurred in the election of John Quincy Adams, and supporters of Andrew Jackson complained bitterly about the process. Four years later, Jackson beat Adams in a landslide. Can you find the constitutional provision dictating how the House of Representatives can choose the next president?

Homework

Answer the first five questions, and then two of the remaining three:

1. .
2. .
3. President Bush beat Al Gore in 2000 even though Gore won the popular vote, because Bush won a narrow majority of the electoral college. Is that fair?
4. How might the election of Mitt Romney to president this year affect who is governor of New Jersey in 2013?
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .

Extra credit (answer two of the following four questions):

9. .
10. .
11. .
12. .

You can post your answers at American Government Homework Four.

References

  1. An "incumbent" is a candidate who currently holds the political office, and is running for reelection.
  2. There are a total of three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate during the campaign.