government ch. 13 – Flashcards
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chief of state
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ceremonial head of the government of the USA president
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chief executive
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has "executive power" president
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chief administrator
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director of the huge executive branch of the federal government
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chief diplomat
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the main architect of American foreign policy & the chief spokesman to the rest of the world
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commander in chief
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of the nation's armed forces
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chief legislator
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the principal author of its public policies
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chief of party
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the acknowledged leader of the political party that controls the executive branch
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chief citizen
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the representative of all the people (morals)
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presidential succession
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the scheme by which a presidential vacancy is filled
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presidential succession act of 1947
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(current law on the matter) Vice President, then Speaker of the House. (who comes next in line)
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"balance the ticket"
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nominee chooses running mate who can strengthen his/her chance of being elected
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presidential electors
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body who elects the president and Vice President
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electoral votes
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cast by the presidential electors, each for a different candidate
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electoral college
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group of people (electors) chosen from each state to formally elect pres. & vp
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winner-take-all
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candidate who won the preference vote automatically won the support of all delegates chosen at that primary
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battleground states
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states in which the outcome is "too close to call" and either candidate could win
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district plan
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each state would chose its electors much as it chooses it's members of congress
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proportional plan
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each candidate would receive a share of each states' electoral vote equal to the popular vote
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direct popular election
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abolish electoral system
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national popular vote plan
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bring about direct popular election without changing the words of the constitution
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the presidency: chief roles
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chief of state chief executive chief administrator chief diplomat commander in chief chief legislator chief of party chief citizen
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constitutional requirements of becoming president (3)
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1.) age (at least 35) 2.) natural born citizen 3.) resident in the USA for 14 years
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what amendment establishes presidential term limits?
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22nd.
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what does the 22nd amendment say?
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2 terms or maximum of 10 years (if took over as VP)
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the president's salary is set by:
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congress
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from 1969 - George W. Bush, the salary was
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$200,000
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when George W. Bush became president, the salary..
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doubled ($400,000)
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true or false: originally, the constitution did not provide for the succession of the vice president
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true always tradition
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what does the 25th amendment (section 1) state?
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formally said that the vp is next in line
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who is next in line of succession after the vp?
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speaker of the house
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who determines the order of succession after vp?
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the presidential succession act passed by congress
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sections 3 & 4 of the 25th amendment fill the disability gap. explain.
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if president becomes disabled, he can transfer power (if conscious) or if president has gone insane, vp and majority of cabinet can request power to be removed. congress votes.
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explain john adams' statement: "i am vice president. in this I am nothing, but i may be everything."
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his position is pretty meaningless, but there is potential to become president, i.e. everything
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what are the two constitutional duties of the vp?
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1.) preside over the senate (be a tie breaker if necessary) *if he can't be there, president protemporate of the senate takes over* 2.) decide on presidential disability
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if there is a vacancy for the vp..
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the president appoints & congress approves
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the president cannot ___ the vp
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fire the vp
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the president CAN
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pressure to resign impeach & remove
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to balance the ticket, vp is usually...
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from a different region
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what is the goal of choosing a vp from a different region?
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balancing the ticket, attract voters
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why did we originally have the electoral college?
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the framers thought the average voter wasn't informed enough (as a safe guard)
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the 12th amendment fixed what problem?
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the president and the vp belonging to different parties
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originally, how would the elections happen?
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#1 vote receiver would become president #2 vote receiver would become vp (this caused conflict)
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electors are chosen by the party to ____
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cast the official vote
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the number of electors is based on:
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the number in congress, which is part population and equal representation
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the minimum number of electors is
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3 (2 senators, 1 rep)
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how many total votes make up the electoral college?
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538
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how many electoral votes are needed to win?
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270
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if there is a tie....
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the House decides
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big problem with the electoral college is that..
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the winner takes all
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the winner of the popular vote could actually lose the election because
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the winner takes all the electoral college votes
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reform plans (3)
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1.) direct popular vote 2.) proportional plan 3.) district plan
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pros of direct popular vote
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more democratic your vote counts
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cons of direct popular vote
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cost too much to campaign would require an amendment
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which two of the reform plans do not require a constitutional amendment?
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district plan proportional plan
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district plan
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not winner take all of the state, but winner take all of the district. (the extra 2 votes go to the winner of the popular vote)
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pros of the district plan
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more accurate, brings it closer to home
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cons of the district plan
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still uses electoral college
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proportional plan
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divides votes up mathematically into the ratio of the popular votes (if a candidate wins 75% of the popular vote, they do not receive all of the electoral college votes but only 75% of them)
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national popular vote was designed to...
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fix the Bush/Gore problem
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national popular vote does not
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require an amendment
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cons of the national popular vote
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confusing, makes the national popular vote more important than the state
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national popular vote
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some states would give up some of their electors to go to the winner of the popular vote
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amnesty
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group pardon (Carter granted amnesty to the Vietnam Draft Dodgers)
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reprieve
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(in terms of death penalty, most likely) delay
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commutation
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reduce a sentence (not death penalty, just life in prison)
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executive powers
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enforces laws appoints officials (cabinet) issues executive orders
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judicial powers
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enforces federal court decisions pardons criminals appoints judges (with senate approval) grant amnesty, reprieve, commutation
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military powers
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commands the armed forces send troops abroad can call a draft (approved by congress)
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diplomatic powers
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negotiates treaties (senate approval) sets foreign policy makes executive agreements (no senate approval)
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spending powers
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allocates emergency funds impounds funds
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legislative powers
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recommends bills approves bills vetoes bills
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pocket veto
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the president ignores the bill and does not sign to veto, letting the bill die out & not be able to be overrided by the senate
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line-item veto
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takes out lines of bills (struck down by court)
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the cabinet factor
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1.) someone from their political party
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cabinet appointments need approval by
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senate
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is the cabinet in the constitution?
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no. it is a tradition.
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who began the tradition of the cabinet?
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Washington
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how many cabinet members were there originally?
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4
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how many cabinet members are there today?
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15
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most recent added cabinet position? by who?
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homeland security george w. bush
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who was a president that you liked and how did they fulfill a chief role?
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FDR was a chief citizen because he was the representative of all the people with his fireside chats. during the time of war and time of need, he fulfilled by supporting his fellow citizens.
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who is a president that did not fulfill a presidential role?
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william taft was not a very good chief administatrator, because the video we watched talked about how he used to fall asleep during meetings.
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do you think we should keep the electoral college? why? do you think we should adapt it? if yes, then what reform plan?
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yes, because it is a tradition and it would be too difficult to pass an amendment, as well as making campaigning too expensive. it would be better to adapt it, by using the proportional plan.
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who are the individual people that elect the president?
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electors
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platform
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formal statement of basic principles, stands on policy matters & objectives
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which reform plan would make the most sense?
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direct popular vote (like we do for everyone else)
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biggest flaw: winner take all what does this mean?
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winner could win by only one vote, but still get all the electoral college votes
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which reform plan would require states to agree on giving up some of their votes?
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national popular vote
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the president can fire the vp
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false (pressure to resign or impeach)
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in order to be president, one must live in the us for 14 consecutive years
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false (not consecutive)
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in the original electoral college, the president & vp could belong to different parties
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true
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which amendment took care of that problem
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12
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the number of sectors from each state is based strictly on population
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false
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which amendment says the vp will take over
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25
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explain the disability part of the 25th amendment
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the vp needs the majority approval of the cabinet president can transfer power
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who's next in line after vp?
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speaker of the house president protein prorate of the debate
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what determined that order of presidential succession?
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congress
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when a president chooses a vp running mate, they chose someone who balances the ticket. explain.
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obama: black, young chose Biden:white, old. picks someone opposite
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the vp doesn't do much constituonally, except preside over what
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senate
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age to be president
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35
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current salary of president
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$400,000
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we usually don't know the result until months after the election
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false
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the 22nd amendment that the president can only serve ___ terms or how many years
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2 or 10 years
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if he electoral college results in a tie, who chooses our president
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the house
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minimum number of electors a state can have
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3
