Institutional Changes Enhanced Presidential Power

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• Institutional Changes Enhanced Presidential Power
  
  
• Expanding Executive Branch
• Growing Executive Administration empowers the
  President as the Chief Executive.
  
• Presidents use appointment powers, executive
  reorganization, and executive orders to affect
  policy through executive action.

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Individual Presidents have expanded presidential
powers through own skills.

• Franklin D. Roosevelts confident leadership
  during the crises of the Great Depression and
  World War II helped create the modern presidency.

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• Lyndon B. Johnsons experience as a legislative
  leader made him one of the most successful
  presidents in terms of leading Congress.

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• Ronald Reagans communications skills, honed as a
  Hollywood actor, solidified his political
  strength through effective use of television to
  lead the nation and to pressure other political
  elites.

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• Principle of Politics 5 History matters.
• Historical processes shape institutions.
• History provides a normative context by which we
  can understand and interpret political events and
  outcomes.
  
• FDR, LBJ, and Ronald Reagan not only shaped the
  institution of the presidency but they are also
  historical markers by which other presidents will
  be judged.

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Understanding Presidential Power

• What are we really talking about?
• Policy!
• Power is the ability of the president to get what
  he/she wants, mostly from Congress (but not
  exclusively)

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Neustadt Power of Persuasion

• Office of president is by nature weak
• Little control of agenda, many demands
• Any success comes through persuasion
• Convince others that her interests are theirs
• Skills of negotiation and bargaining

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Neustadt -- Personal Presidency

• Personal Presidency -- power rises and falls on
  each presidents skills
  
• If true, we should see real differences in the
  abilities and success of different presidents.

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Fig. 6.5
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Trends in Presidential Importance and Size

• Most measures indicate that the office of the
  presidency is considerably more important in
  governance (Howell, 2003)

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Fig. 6.3
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Power Without Persuasion (Howell 2003)

• In many ways presidents get what they want
  without persuading Congress or anyone else to go
  along
  
• Through implied powers -- control over the
  executive branch -- presidents can very much
  influence the implementation of legislation and
  direction of governance

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Executive Orders Time Series
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Significant Executive Orders Time Series
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The Upsurge of Presidential Proclamations Over
Time
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Rise in the Number of Pages of the Federal
Register Over Time
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Significant Executive Orders

• FDR
• Nationalized manufacturing facilities (aviation,
  ship-building, coal) -- clear violations of 5th
  Amendment
  
• Relocation and internment of Japanese Americans
• Truman
• Desegregated military
• Ike
• Federalize Arkansas Nat. Grd. to enforce school
  integration
  
• JFK
• Created Peace Corp (after legislative failures)

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Significant Executive Orders (cont)

• LBJ
• First affirmative action plan
• Nixon
• Created EPA under White House, not independent
• Reagan
• Centralized authority for regulatory review
• Air and water quality standards
• Bush (I)
• Federalized national guard
• Clinton
• Instituted numerous changes to health care
  policy
  
• Smoking bans in federal buildings, tobacco
  considered drug
  
• Banning certain assault weapons
• Created new public lands

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Military Actions

• Truman -- Korea
• JFK/LBJ -- Bay of Pigs, Vietnam
• Reagan -- El Salvador, Libya, Lebanon, Grenada
• Bush (I) -- Gulf War
• Clinton -- Bosnia, Somalia

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Bush Presidency

• Has had some ups and downs

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Bush Presidency

• Has had some ups and downs
• Downward trend in approval not all that different
  from previous presidents

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Fig. 6.7 top
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Fig. 6.7 bottom
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Bush Presidency

• Has had some ups and downs
• Downward trend in approval not all that different
  from previous presidents
  
• Big legislative program in the second term
  (Social Security, Iraq reconstruction,
  
• I have political capital and intend to spend
  it
  
• Good luck!

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Bush as Chief Executive

• Review of pending federal actions by Clinton
  administration
  
• Ban on federal funds for abortion providers
• Rollback of environmental regulations
• Guidelines for stem-cell research
• Many post-9/11 acts
• Lifting ban on assassinations
• Federalizing airport security
• Freezing assets of suspected terrorists
• Air-strikes and invasion of Afghanistan
• Military tribunals for suspected terrorists
  (courts have reined in this powers some)

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Why Executive Orders?

• Political conditions
• Divided government
• Less than 3 of EO scrutinized, very few
  modified
  
• Lame-duck presidency
• Emergencies and crises
• Suspension of Davis-Bacon

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Bush and Persuasion

• Not an administration all that interested in
  compromise (even on legislation)
  
• Recess appointments of Bolton and federal judges
• Major Legislation (Opportunistic?)
• Stay the course on Iraq
• Prescription drug benefits
• Tax Reform (making cuts permanent)
• School Vouchers?