2015-08-21
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The President of the United States is head of the executive power, or the Chief Executive, and his office is one of the most powerful in the world. Under the Constitution he must "take care, that the laws be faithfully executed". In addition he has important legislative and judicial powers. The official residence and office of the President is in the White House, Washington, D. C.
Constitutional qualifications for the Presidency are relatively simple: the President must be at least 35years old, a resident of the country for at least 14 years and a national born citizen.
The President, together with the Vice President, is elected to a four-year-term. The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, 1951, limited the Presidency to no more that two terms. Franklin D. Roosevelt had been the only President to be elected four times (the first time in 1933).
If a President dies or is unable to carry out his duties, he is succeeded by the Vice President. The Constitution does not delegate any specific executive powers to the Vice President (or to members of the presidential Cabinet or to other federal officials). Except for the right of succession to the Presidency, the Vice President's only Constitutional duties are to serve as the presiding officer of the Senate. Next in line of succession to the
Presidency come the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President protempore of the Senate (who presides over the Senate when the Vice President is absent).
After them in order of importance, come the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Treasury, the Secretary of Defence and the rest of the cabinet ministers. The method of electing a President is peculiar to the United States.
As head of the government (the executive branch), the President must carry out the government programmes. He has an important legislative role. He recommends laws to Congress and requests money for federal government operations. He can veto any bill passed by Congress, and his veto may be overruled by a two-thirds vote in both Houses of Congress. The President, as head of a political party and as chief executive officer of the government, has a strong influence on public opinion, on what the course of legislation in Congress very often depends. Within the executive branch, the President has broad powers to issue so-called executive orders, which have the force of law. He is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the United States. The President has the authority to appoint the heads of all executive departments and agencies, together with hundreds of other high-ranking officials, including judges,from the district court level to the US Supreme Court. Each appointment must be approved by the Senate.
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One more important function of the Presiden t is that he can grant a full or conditional pardon to anyone accused of breaking a federal law — make shorter prison sentences and reduce fines. Under the Constitution the President is responsible for foreign relations with othernations. With the Secretary of State, the President manages all official contacts with foreign governments, and concludes treaties with other countries. Such treaties must beapproved by a two-thirds vote of the Senate.
Everyday work of the government is carried out by different executive departments (ministries), created by Congress to deal with national and international affairs. The heads (ministers) of these departments, chosen by the President and approved by the
Senate, form the Cabinet. Today, these 15 departments are: State, Treasury, Defence, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labour, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security (created after the 9 — 11 terrorist attacks in 2001). Each department has thousands of employees, with offices all over the country as well as in Washington. In addition to the executive departments, there are over fifty agencies in the Federal Government, the heads of which are directly responsible to the president. Each executive agency has certain duties and responsibilities. In 1947 the National Security Council was formed, which includes the President, the Vice-President, the Secretaries of State and Defence. It is the main center of planning American foreign and military policy. The influence of the NSC is so great, that it is often called "the super cabinet". A constitutional protection against misused executive power is contained in the following provision: "The President, Vice-President and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for treason, bribery or other high crimes
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14) Describe the process of presidential elections, their indirect character. What is meant by an "electoral college". Comment on the results of the presidential elections of the year 2008.
| The presidential election is technically an election of presidential electors, not of a President directly. The people of each state do not vote directly for the President. They elect as many electors as this state has Senators and Representatives in the Congress. These electors are selected exclusively by the corresponding party machines. The candidate with the highest number of votes in each state wins all the electoral votes of the state. The electors of all 50 states and the District of Columbia (3 electors) — a total of 538 persons — compose what is known as the Electoral College. The electors gather in the state capitals shortly after the election and cast their votes for the candidate with the largest number of popular votes in their respective states. To be elected President, a candidate for the Presidency must receive 270 votes. The presidential elections of 2000 revealed the inadequacy of the existing system. The Constitution provides, that if no candidate has a majority, the decision should be made by the House of Representatives, with all members from a state voting as a unit. In this case, each state and the District of Columbia would be given one vote only. Candidates for the Presidency are chosen by political parties several months before the presidential election, which is held every four years (every leap year) on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The presidential term of four years begins on January 20 (the next year). He starts his official duties with an inauguration ceremony, traditionally held on the steps of the Capitol, where Congress works. The newly-elected President publicly takes an oath of office, which is traditionally administered by the Chief Justice of the United States. The words of the oath are provided by the Constitution: "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States". The president's election process in the United States is through indirect elections where the voters actually vote for electors of the Electoral College, and the electors are the ones then who elect the President and his Vice President. |
The elections for the president and vice president occur every 4 years in the US on Election Day, which the Tuesday that comes between November 2 and November 8. In 2008, Election Day was on November 4, and the next Election Day is on November 6, 2012.
President's election process is governed by state and federal laws. Each state in the US has a specific number of Electoral College electors. This number is equal to the number of Senators and Representatives in a state. Washington DC is the only exception where the number of electors is equal to the number of electors that are present in the smallest states. The US Territories do not have Electoral College.
As per the US Constitution, each state is allowed to have its own method of choosing electors. Therefore, on Election Day, the states conduct the election and not the federal government. Once the electors are elected, they have the right vote for anyone, but under normal circumstances, the electors vote for the chosen presidential candidate. The Congress then certifies the vote of the electors in the beginning of January. The Congress is the final judge of the electors.
The primary elections and the nominating convention that parties have are not mentioned in the US Constitution. However, these processes were developed by the states and the political parties.
In the US, president's nominating procedure is held in two parts. The first part is a number of primary elections and caucuses which are held in each state, and the second part is the nominating convention that is held by each political party. This is the process that different political parties take to weed out potential wannabes and is not mentioned in the US Constitution.
The primary elections and the caucuses are held by the state and local governments. Some states hold just the primary elections, some hold just the caucuses, while others hold both. The primary elections and the caucuses are held between January and June before the Election Day. The first state caucus is held in Iowa and the first primary election is held in New Hampshire.
When voters vote in the primary elections and caucuses, they are actually giving the right to the selected elector to vote for the candidate nominated at the presidential nominating convention.
The Democratic Party and Republican Party also have top officials and party leaders who are the undecided electors. These are known as unpledged delegates who vote for anyone they want. In other words, these are the delegates who will vote for a presidential candidate they like and want.
As mentioned earlier, the electors for the Electoral College are shown by the laws of each state. Therefore, each state also holds its own popular election on the Election Day. Therefore, it can be said that the president's election process in the United States is a combination of separate and concurrent state elections instead of a single election held all over the country.
15) Explain what is meant by a "strict division and separation of powers" between the Congress, the President, the Supreme Court and the system of checks and balances under the Constitution,
