La presidencia como una institucion

        I.        Introduction

A.        American political mythology suggests that presidents are strong.

B.        The American president plays a dual role as ceremonial figurehead and as governmental leader; presidents seek to convert their ceremonial roles into political strength.

C.        Despite this mythology, the presidency has relatively few political resources endowed by the Constitution.

D.        History demonstrates that for every strong and effective president there are just as many (perhaps more) presidents who failed.

        II.        The presidency and the founding period

A.        The framers of the Constitution were ambivalent about executive power. Their experiences shaped the debate regarding the presidency.

1.        Colonial experience with the king of England and appointed governors of the colonies warned Americans of the dangers of strong executives.

2.        The weak executive under the Articles of Confederation demonstrated the potential problems of governing without such a strong executive.

B.        This debate produced several key questions regarding the structure of the presidency.

1.        How many people should constitute the executive branch?

2.        For how long should presidents serve?

3.        To what extent would the president be independent of other political branches, most notably the Congress?

4.        What powers could safely be entrusted to the president?

C.        Federalists, most notably Alexander Hamilton, sought to provide for an energetic presidency, independent of Congress and with sufficient powers to lead.

1.        Hamilton thought unity in the executive (that is, one person serving as president) was important because presidents acting on a unitary basis could act more quickly.

2.        Hamilton’s reasoning on unity in the executive reflects well our principle of politics that all politics is collective action.

D.        The framers of the Constitution sought to remove the president from dependence on Congress while allowing some popular control indirectly through the Electoral College system.

1.        The president's express powers included military, judicial, diplomatic, executive, and legislative.

2.        The president's legislative power centers on the veto, and presidents can strategically employ or threaten to employ the veto on Congress in order to achieve their legislative objectives.

3. Many of the president's powers today are delegated powers that arise from congressional statute.

4. Inherent powers are those asserted by the president but are not expressly mentioned in the Constitution nor delegated to the office by Congress.

        III.        The power of the presidency has greatly expanded from the nineteenth century to the twenty-first century.

A. In the nineteenth century, presidents tended to be weak.

1.        Weak connections to the public and a lack of institutional strength constrained presidential opportunities for leadership.

2.        To the extent that the nineteenth century had great presidents—Jefferson, Jackson, and Lincoln—these presidents brought strength to the office rather than deriving it from the office.

B. Throughout the twentieth century, presidential power increased as presidents developed stronger connections to the people.

1.        Presidential connections to the public were enhanced in the twentieth century.

a.        The advent of popular campaigning and the use of primary elections as a means of selecting presidential nominees brought presidents closer to the people.

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