The document discusses the roles and responsibilities of the President related to energy policy, including serving as chief diplomat, chief legislator, and party chief to advocate for new energy alternatives and laws to address America's dependence on oil. It also covers the qualifications for the presidency, terms of office, the line of succession, and the origins of the electoral college system for selecting the President.
1. The Presidency
What Has the Executive Branch of
Government Done About Green
Technology?
By: Erika Martinez, Timothy Macdonald, Forrest
Wood, Gregory Wolfson Period 6
3. The President of the United States
has Eight Major Roles
1. Chief of State - this means that the president is the figure head of the
government and the representative of all the people in the country. In
other countries, such as England, Denmark, Norway and Germany, the
Chief of State has little to no ruling power (i.e. Queen of England, the
German and Italian presidents etc.). The president of the United States,
however, does hold ruling power.
2. Chief Executive - The Constitution gives the president “executive
Power.”
3. Chief Administrator - this means the president is the head of the
executive branch of the Federal Government. The President is the head
of an administration that employs more than 2.7 million civilians
4. Chief Diplomat - this means the President is in charge of making
America’s foreign policy (the type relationship America chooses to have
with other countries)
4. The President of the United States
has Eight Major Roles (Cont.)
5. Commander in Chief - The President had direct control over the
armed forces (with some checks and balances by congress to
keep the President in check)
6. Chief Legislator - The President initiates, suggests, requires,
insists and demands Congress to focus on creating and passing
laws he sees benefit the country.
7. Chief of Party - The President is the leader of the political party
that has control over the executive branch.
8. Chief Citizen - The President is supposed to work for, represent,
advocate, and defend public interests from private interests.
5. Qualifications for Presidency
To become president of the United States, one must meet
three main qualifications:
1. A president must be a “natural born citizen,” meaning
that not only do they have to be a citizen of the United
States, but they had to have been born within the state’s
boundaries.
2. A president must be at least 35 years old.
3. A president must have been a permanent resident of the
United States for 14 years .
6. Presidential Terms
• Originally, there was much debate over the term
length of the president, but it was ultimately decided
that a 4-year term was long enough for the president
to develop skills and set up policies.
• Before 1951, there was no office law stopping a
president from being elected again and again until
the creation of the 22nd Amendment.
• The 22nd Amendment limits the president to hold
office for a maximum of 2-terms or 10 years (in the
event that he or she has to finish a predecessor’s
term.)
7. It Pays To Be President
The president’s salary can not change during the term of a
president, and can only be changed by congressional vote.
1789
$25,000 a year ($566,000 in 2009 dollars)
V.S.
Today
Today the president earns $400,000 a year along with an
expense allowance of $50,000 that is mostly unregulated. The
president also enjoys a 132-room mansion (The White House),
a Catoctin Mountain resort home, full security detail, and of
course the luxurious Air Force One.
8. Fun Facts
• The Department of Energy was created in 1977 by President
Jimmy Carter in response to an oil crisis (due to issues with
OPEC, especially in the Middle East). The Department was
originally created to focus on energy production and
regulation. The focus of the Department of Energy has
expanded to include the developing more efficient energy
sources.
• The current Secretary of
Energy is Steven Chu. He
was heavily targeted for not
for-seeing Solyndra’s (a solar
energy company being
backed by the Obama
administration) bankruptcy.
9. What Roles make the President
Responsible for Energy?
1. Chief Diplomat - Today, our foreign policy and our energy policy are heavily
interconnected. Our dependence on oil for energy forces America to have strained
relations with the oil providing countries (OPEC), particularly the ones in the Middle East. It
is important to elect a President who can approach the oil providing countries in a manner
that will benefit America most.
2. Chief Legislator - The President’s role in setting the tone and pace for what laws and acts
should be passed by Congress is a big reason why it is important to look at the presidential
candidates position on energy. With tensions rising with the oil providing countries,
particularly the ones in the Middle East (where we are currently involved in 2 economy
killing wars and where there is widespread government instability), it is crucial that
America no longer stays reliant on oil and those countries. Electing a President that will
push for and advocate for new oil alternatives will help alleviate the diplomatic,
economical, and environmental strain that America is currently facing.
3. Party Chief - The President, as the leader of his/her party has the responsibility in giving
those of the same party in Congress the layout of what he wants done for energy. Seeing as
the President is the party leader, a good amount of the other party members (being of a
similar mindset to the President) will be more inclined to pass laws, acts, and initiatives to
improve the energy situation in America.
4. Chief Citizen - As Chief Citizen the President is supposed to have the public’s best interests
at heart. Keeping up to date with the latest technology for energy and looking out for the
most affordable and safe sources of energy for the American people, without
compromising America’s integrity, is part of the Presidents job.
11. Presidential Succession
Presidential succession is the system by which a presidential vacancy is filled. If a president dies, resigns, or is
impeached, the vice president succeeds office. The Constitution originally did not provide for the succession of
the vice president. This was changed with the adoption of the 25th Amendment in 1967.
Presidential Succession
1.) Vice President 10.) Secretary of Commerce
2.) Speaker of the House 11.) Secretary of Labor
3.) President pro tempore of the Senate 12.) Secretary of Health
4.) Secretary of State 13.) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
5.) Secretary of the Treasury 14.) Secretary of Transportation
6.) Secretary of Defense 15.) Secretary of Energy
7.) Attorney General 16.) Secretary of Education
8.) Secretary of the Interior 17.) Secretary of Veterans Affairs
9.) Secretary of Agriculture 18.) Secretary of Homeland Security
• Before the passage of the 25th amendment, the Constitution nor Congress had made any provision for
deciding when a president was disabled. Nor was there anything to indicate by whom such a decision
was to be made.
• Sections 3 and 4 of the 25th Amendment fill the disability gap. The Vice President is to become Acting
President if (1) the President informs congress in writing, “that he is unable to discharge the powers and
duties of his office,” or (2) The Vice President and a majority of the members of the Cabinet inform
Congress, in which that the President is incapacitated.
• The President may resume the powers and duties of the office by informing Congress no inability exists.
However, the Vice President and majority of the Cabinet may challenge the President on this score. If
they do, Congress then has 21 days in which to decide the matter.
12. Vice Presidency
• The 25th Amendment states that should a president die in
office the Vice President will become president in his/her
place. This is in addition to the provision in the Constitution
that states that should the President be disabled, ill, or unable
to act out his duties the Vice President shall become Acting
President until the President is able to return to work or until
another election was held.
• The Vice President should be just as qualified as the elected
President. Most political experts say that one of the main
reasons McCain lost support of many Republicans and
eventually the 2008 elections is because of his choice for Vice
President: Sarah Palin. McCain’s age paired with the fact that
he has a history of melanoma (the deadliest form of skin
cancer) was enough to get people to scrutinize the Vice
President should he have died in office. Not only was Sarah
Palin too right winged she was not qualified to be president.
13. Fun Facts
• President William H. Harrison was the oldest President to be elected President until President
Reagan. He was 68 years old
• President William H. Harrison got pneumonia from giving his inaugural speech in the cold rain
without a coat or hat on. He have the longest inaugural speech in American history: 2 hours.
• In 1841 and in 1881 there were three Presidents in one calendar year. 1841: Van Buren, Harrison,
Tyler. 1881: Hayes, Garfield, Arthur.
• William H. Harrison holds the record for the shortest presidency ever.
• Not-so-Fun Fact: Eight Presidents have died in office (four were assassinated and four died of
natural causes): William Harrison (natural), Zachery Taylor (natural), Abraham Lincoln
(assassinated), James Garfield (assassinated), William McKinley (assassinated), Warren Harding
(natural), Franklin D. Roosevelt (natural), John F. Kennedy (assassinated).
• President Eisenhower suffered three serious but temporary illnesses while in office: a heart attack
in 1955, ileitis in 1956, and a mild stroke in 1957. Two other presidents were disabled for much
longer periods. James Garfield lingered for 80 days before he died from an assassin’s bullet in 1881.
Woodrow Wilson suffered a paralytic stroke in 1919 and was an invalid for the rest of his second
term. He was so ill, that he could not meet with his Cabinet for seven months after his stroke.
• To this point, the disability provisions of the 25th amendment have come into play twice. On the
first occasion in 1985, Ronald Reagan transferred the powers of his presidency to Vice President
George H. W. Bush for a period of nearly eight hours, while surgeons removed a tumor from Mr.
Reagan’s large intestine. And in 2002, George W. Bush conveyed his powers to Vice President Dick
Cheney for two hours, while Mr. Bush was anesthetized during a routine medical procedure.
15. Background
The Framers of the Constitution met great difficulty in deciding how a
President should be selected. Most of the Framers were against either of the
clear ways: by direct vote of the people or by Congress.
Why not by direct vote of the people?
• Many felt that such a process would lead to “tumult and disorder.”
• Many also felt that the citizens, spread over such a large area, wouldn’t
be informed enough to make wise choices.
Why not by Congress?
• At first, many delegates preferred election by Congress, but soon, many
felt that it would put the President “under the legislative thumb.”
The Framers finally agreed upon a plan set forth by Alexander Hamilton.
16. The Plan
The President and Vice President will be chosen by a special body of presidential electors.
Each elector will cast two electoral votes, each for a different candidate. The candidate with
the most votes will become President, and the candidate with the second most votes would
become Vice President.
1. Each state will have as many presidential electors as it has senators and representatives
in Congress.
2. The electors from each State will be chosen however that State’s legislature decides.
3. The electors will then cast two votes, each for a different person for President. These
electoral votes will then be counted before a joint session of Congress.
4. The candidate with the most electoral votes, provided that it is a majority of all the
electors, will become President. The candidate with the second highest number of
electoral votes will become Vice President.
5. If a tie occurred or no candidate received a majority of the votes, the President will be
chosen by the House of Representatives, voting by States.
6. If a tie occurred for the Vice Presidency, then the spot will be chosen by the Senate.
17. Its All Fun and Games Until Someone
Throws a Party
• In 1796, the rise of political parties uncovered some flaws in the electoral
college system. In this election year, John Adams, a Federalist candidate,
was elected President, and Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican
and Adams’s arch-rival, was elected Vice President.
• By 1800, there were two well-defined parties: the Federalists, and the
Democratic-Republicans. These parties nominated candidates for
president and vice-president, but they also nominated candidates to serve
as presidential electors in the electoral college. These elector-candidates
were chosen to vote for their party’s presidential and vice presidential
nominees.
Democratic-Republican
Federalist Leaders Leader
18. The 12th Amendment
• The 12th Amendment was added to the Constitution in 1804
as a result of the tumultuous election of 1800.
• The amendment separated the presidential and vice-
presidential elections: “The Electors…shall name in their
ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct
ballots the person voted for as Vice-President….”
• The new electoral college system, with the appearance of
parties, the election of 1800, and the 12th amendment, is
vastly different from what the Framers had in mind in 1787.
19. Works Cited
• "The Constitution." The White House. Web. 07 Dec. 2011.
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/our-government/the-constitution>.
• Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Web. 07 Dec. 2011.
<http://uselectionatlas.org/>.
• "The Executive Branch." The White House. Web. 07 Dec. 2011.
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/our-government/executive-branch>.
• "President Barack Obama." The White House. Web. 07 Dec. 2011.
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president-obama>.
• Stout, David. "Amid Gloom, Obama Pledges a Recovery - NYTimes.com."
The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 07 Dec.
2011. Web. 07 Dec. 2011.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/us/politics/25web-obama.html>.
• "Vice President Joe Biden." The White House. Web. 07 Dec. 2011.
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/vice-president-biden>.