Stable President

Hannah Murray
11/27/12
Deardoff
PAGE 351 1. Do presidents have so much power that they can almost guarantee reelection to more than two terms?

Instead of starting a second term knowing he could not serve again, the president would be able to keep congress and the public guessing, thereby retain their influence until the last minute. There was a great belief early on of steadiness for America, and to achieve that there must be a stable president, so it was more likely back then to be reelected opposed to getting change. Presidents were arguably more effective if their opponents assumed they would be running for another term.

2. Does the two-term limit weaken the president’s ability to influence the course of the nation in the second term?

Washington’s two term presidency was applauded, but the founders did not encourage a term limit. They argued that such a limit would have weakened the public’s voice in keeping the president honest. Presidents are then again, more effective if their allies and opponents assume they may be running for another term. Otherwise, they will lose their influence.

3. What checks and balances ensure that presidents can be held accountable even if they are lame ducks?

The office carries such great power that lame duck status may keep presidents from abusing their power even as lame ducks, they retain significant influence on Capitol Hill in their fifth and sixth years. The founders believed that elections serve to discipline the president for his actions, while the four-year term provides enough time to achieve policy results. They believed that steadiness in administration would help the country survive its early years, while giving the president a reason to create policies that would help the nation long into the future.
PAGE 353 4. In one or two paragraphs explain the president’s responsibility in each of the three roles discussed in the chapter
Presidents work as Morale Builders by projecting a sense of national unity and authority. Through their everyday actions, they are bale to arouse despair, hope, honor or dishonor. Building more morale simply means unlocking a sense of public good for the nation. For example, the weeks following September 11th Bush needed to boost the morale of America to instill the hope among all the pain.
Presidents work as Agenda Setters by for proposing initiatives in foreign policy and economic growth. They seek out new campaigns to later be defined by office staff. They make new economic policy to keep unemployment low, social policy to support legislation, and national security to uphold strong presidential authority in the area.
Presidents work as Persuaders through using skillful campaigning to win over the hearts of Americans. They have reduced the number of press conferences over the past five decades, and instead public press conferences have gained leverage.
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12. List the three main causes of conflict between the president and Congress
Presidential Mandates is a cause of conflict because the winner-take-all system tends to make the president’s popular vote look larger than it really is. Mandates also determine public approval for whether or not the President is just in opinion on specific policies.
Public Approval causes conflict due to the depending on public approval and how it usually falls over a given time. Presidents benefit instead from rally points, spikes in public approval following a domestic crisis. This could boost a President’s followers over a very short amount of time due to the events happening in the present.
Reputation often causes conflict by the fact that the longer presidents stay in office, the better they get at being president. They can learn how to persuade people by giving them what they want to hear, how to show the right image to the people, and how to operate. Presidents also gain knowledge of how to shield the bad.