The President
• core of our political life everyone can name him (or her)
o engages most people most of the time
• responsibilities
o Chief Executive: in charge of executive branch
names principal officers (cabinet heads, next tiers down/deputies)
appointments subject to Senate confirmation
• expectation that the president gets his picks
o Senior Executive Service moved from job to job,
give president more say in who gets the best job in
the civil service
competitive application process, nonpartisan
ultimately, if something isn’t going right, the president is
responsible
big decisions for day to day things
• not uncontested congress has sway over executive
(hearings, legislation, etc)
o Chief Diplomat
in charge of foreign relation (greatest power)
• Federalist PapersHamilton: “secrecy, speed, and dispatch”
special competence
o less publicly known
o congress isn’t speedy
o presidents can make effective decisions
advantage of advice from state, defense, etc. departments
• CIA, NSA, 13 different intelligence organizations for
foreign policy
Congress gets some information, but not the average legislator
• oversight committee CIA
• overall, secrecy adds natural influence to presidency
as the US has grown, this role has become more important
• isolation is a myth go back to the 1790 and we were
divided over foreign policy (France vs. Britai
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