The Vice President & the Cabinet

3 main roles of the Vice President per the Constitution
- presiding over the Senate
- opening and counting electoral votes after presidential election
- serving as President should the President become incapacitated

Throughout American history, the role of the Vice President has changed. Early on, it merely entailed performing those tasks laid out above and waiting around in case the President may die. After the ratification of the 12th Amendment (requiring electors to cast one vote for President and one vote for Vice President), political parties started to pair the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate together on 'the ticket'. This pairing of candidates led politically minded leaders to start trying to balance their ticket to make the candidacy of 'the ticket' more attractive to more voters. The Vice Presidency itself however, was still not seen as a job opportunity one would desire. (Note the quotes of John Adams, Theodore Roosevelt, and John N Garner on p.184 concerning the Vice Presidency.) The role of the Vice President has grown since the 70s into a position that serves as an extension of the President himself. The Vice President is often consulted regularly on policy decisions and will be tasked with executing certain duties (being point-man / head executive) on behalf of the President.

Wilson Institute:Distinguished Lecture Series on the Vice Presidency

The Cabinet
- consists of the heads (Secretary) of each of the executive departments (State, Defense, Treasury, etc)
- serves as advisory council to the President
- Secretary is nominated by President ( and ......)
- 16 official Cabinet positions, incl Vice President

The Executive Office of the President

Who is "the administration" that they are always talking about?
Many of these people work in the Executive Office of the President (EOP).

I don't know what's up with the foreign subtitles.

Executive Office of the President
- The White House Office (The West Wing)
see chart on p.182

There was a television show: The West Wing

- National Security Council (NSC)

- Council of Economic Advisers (CEA)

yawn

- Office of Management & Budget (OMB)

A good 6 minute overview 

Executive Branch: The President & Presidential Powers

You will remember from our discussion about Congress that the Speaker of the House is the most powerful person in the entire United States Congress and is, perhaps, the second most powerful person in the entire United States government.
Well, that is the 2nd most powerful to the President of the United States of America as this clip from the television show The West Wing highlights for us.

What does the President do? What are the roles of the President of the United States?

Official Roles - Head of Government
- Chief Executive
- Chief Administrator
- Commander in Chief
- Chief Diplomat
- Chief Agenda Setter

Unofficial Roles - Head of State
- Chief of State
- Party Chief
- Chief Citizen

Formal Qualifications to be President of the United States
- minimum 35 years of age
- resident of US for minimum of 14 years
- natural-born US citizen

Unofficial qualifications??

- wealthy
- male
- WASP
- prior executive experience
- good communicator
- charisma

A bit cheesy but the info is solid.

How does the President get elected?
Win the electoral college (not the popular vote....though it doesn't hurt to win that one too)
See graphic on p.165

The electoral college explained

Presidential succession was defined by both the Presidential Succession Act (1947) and the 25th Amendment.  (See chart on p.166)
- Vice President
- Speaker of the House
- President Pro Tempore of the Senate
- Secretary of State
- Secretary of the Treasury

Presidential Power

Presidential Powers
Unique Executive Powers
- appointment & removal powers
- executive orders
- executive privilege

Diplomatic & Military Powers
- make treaties with foreign nations
- diplomatic recognition
- Commander in Chief

Legislative & Judicial Powers
- set the agenda
- propose legislation
- veto
- nominate federal judges
- alter sentences (reprieve, pardon, amnesty, commute)





Informal Powers

- access to media
- party leader








In order to keep the press "on his side" so that he can maximize that informal power, the White House annually holds a Correspondent's Dinner. Wine & Dine them so they will say nice things about you.