Poli Sci 1040
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- 1. Which article of the U.S. Constitution deals with the presidency?
- Article 2
- 3. How many times did President Bush use the veto power
- 12
- 4. Describe the president’s power to grant pardons
- President can pardon any offense except impeachment
- 5. Describe the Executive Office of the President
-
Established in 1939 to help president oversee executive branch. Houses multiple offices that assist the president with various aspects of the job
- 6. What’s the difference between the Executive Office of the President and the White House Staff?
- White House Staff includes personal assistants, their aides and their deputies
- 7. What does it mean to say that “the power of the president is the power to persuade?â€
- The presidential power is too limited to be effective. President must acquire cooperation of many people using tools of his office.
- 8. How do approval ratings affect the power of the president?
- Highest level of approval at beginning of term, approval lowers as term goes on.
- 9. What does it mean for the president to take advantage of the honeymoon period?
- Making effective use of the first few months of term.
- Describe the cycle of presidential approval.
- Highest approval at start, approval dwindles with each decision.
- Distinguish between the “inside†and the “outside†approach to presidential power. Give examples of presidents who have been good at each approach.
-
Inside focus' on behind the scenes bargaining with leaders-Lyndon B. Johnson
Outside deals with taking the message to the people to create public support. George W. Bush - What does the Presidential Succession Act say about succession to the presidency?
- After the Vice President succeeds is the Speaker of the House, President pro tempore of the Senate, Secretaries of state, treasury, and defense, and other Cabinet heads in order of the creation of their department
- What did the 25th amendment to the U.S. Constitution amendment add?
- Contains a section that allows the VP and a majority of the Cabinet (or some other body determined by Congress) to deem a president unable to fulfill his duties.
- 22nd Amendment?
-
The 22nd Amendment applied the two term limit to the presidency
- What makes successful presidents?
- Successful Presidents –Those who achieve at least significant portions of their goals.
- Define executive privilege.
- President claims right to privacy in the executive branch from the other branches of government.
- What does the Constitution say about executive privilege?
-
NOTHING!!!
heh go figure
- What did the Supreme Court say about executive privilege in U.S. v. Nixon?
- The Justices concluded that the executive privilege is not absolute; the privilege must yield to the interests of the government and defendants in a criminal prosecution.
- Compare the characteristics of the Strong Governor Model to those of the Weak Governor Model.
-
Weak Governor Model
⬢Many separated elected executives
⬢Limited appointment powers
⬢Many agencies headed by boards or commissions
⬢Weak budgetary powers
⬢Strong Governor Model
⬢Few elected executives
⬢Strong appointment powers, including major department heads
⬢Few agencies headed by boards or commissions
⬢Strong budgetary powers - States in which regions are most likely to have weak governorships?
- Governors with weak institutional powers are found in the South and in the smaller New England states.
- Is Texas a Strong Governor or a Weak Governor state?
- Weak (ranks 32nd among 50)
- What are the factors that cause states to have weak governorships?
-
19thcentury constitutions
•Influence of Jacksonian democracy
•Effect of incremental growth of state agencies, with new agencies often insulated from governor’s power
•Interest groups become committed to protecting the independence of their agency
•Ambitious politicians often see independently elected positions as important stepping stones in politics and want them to continue - What does the Texas Constitution say about the term of office for the governor and about term limits?
-
The constitutional declaration that the lieutenant governor succeeds to the governorship if there is a vacancy
⬢Four year term with no term limits - Be able to recognize elected department heads in Texas.
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Attorney General
⬢Comptroller
⬢Land Commissioner
⬢Commissioner of Agriculture
⬢Railroad Commission
⬢State Board of Education - Describe the veto powers of the Texas governor.
-
•Governor has the power to veto bills passed by the legislature.
•Governor also has the line-item veto—a power not held by the U.S. President.
•The governor’s vetoes are rarely overridden because they occur after the legislature has adjourned. - Why are vetoes by the Texas governor almost never overridden?
- •The governor’s vetoes are rarely overridden because they occur after the legislature has adjourned.
- Describe the Texas governor’s powers of special legislative sessions.
- ⬢Governor can designate some bills as emergency matters so that the Legislature can act on them earlier in the session.
- What were the three government departments in the Washington administration?
-
⬢Department of State
⬢Department of War
⬢Department of Treasury - Be able to recognize the 15 Cabinet-level departments in the national government
-
State
Treasury
Defense
Justice
Interior
Agriculture
Labor
Transportation
Commerce
Veterans Affairs
Homeland Security
Energy
Education
House and Urban Development
Health and Human Services - Be able to recognize examples of a government corporation in the U.S. government.
-
⬢U.S. Postal Service (formerly government department)
⬢Amtrak
⬢Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - Define the spoils system
- ⬢This system treated government jobs as rewards to be distributed to supporters of the winning political party.
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of the spoils system?
-
-Advantages
⬢Helped to build party loyalty and reward it.
⬢Ensured that when party control changed, so did bureaucrats.
-Disadvantages
⬢Put little emphasis on ability to perform the task.
⬢Discarded experienced workers. - How is President Garfield’s assassination related to civil service reform?
- ⬢Assassination of President Garfield in 1881 by a disappointed office seeker opened the door to reform.
- Identify the Pendleton Act.
- ⬢In 1883, Congress passed the Pendleton Act setting up the civil service system for employing rank and file bureaucrats.
- What are the key elements of the civil service system?
- •The Civil Service System puts the emphasis on merit as the basis for hiring—instead of party loyalty
- Identify the Hatch Act
-
⬢Passed by Congress in 1939.
⬢Limited the right of civil servants to engage in partisan political activity - Identify an Iron Triangle and explain how it works
- ⬢All three types of participants share a interest in the program run by the agency.
- How do Iron Triangles work
-
•Congressional committees are populated by members whose districts benefit from the agency’s program.
•Interest groups represent constituencies who benefit from the agency’s program.
•Agency personnel benefit from their programs expansion. - Identify an Issue Network and explain how it works
-
⬢Basic players of iron triangles included: congresspersons, agency, interest groups.
⬢Additional players involved
⬢Lawyers
⬢Consultants
⬢Academics - What are the major tools of bureaucratic accountability exercised by the President, the Congress, and the Courts?
-
•Passes laws that affect bureaucracy’s activities.
•Can abolish programs.
•Can investigate bureaucratic actions, and compel bureaucrats to testify.
•Can influence presidential appointments to head bureaucratic agencies. - Which two service areas in Texas consume over 70 percent of the Texas budget?
-
Health and Human Services/Agencies of Education
- What are the three areas in the Texas bureaucracy that employ about 80 percent of the Texas government employees?
- Agencies of Education, Public Safety and Justice, Health and Human Services
- Why is the Texas Attorney General’s power to issue advisory opinions important?
- ⬢When asked, offers advisory opinions on constitution and laws. Formal opinions have the weight of law unless overturned by a court.
- Why is the Comptroller’s revenue estimate important to the Texas Legislature?
- ⬢Provides the official estimate of available revenue used in state budgeting.
- What is the role of the Texas Secretary of State with regard to elections?
- ⬢State elections officer. Keeps official election returns and sets standards for elections administration
- What is the role of the Texas Education Agency?
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⬢Sets curriculum standards for public education.
⬢Oversees the testing program (TAKS tests) used to measure performance of students and schools. - What is the sunset review process in Texas?
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⬢Created in 1977
⬢Composed of 12 members appointed by the Lt. Governor and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
⬢The Sunset Advisory Commission studies agencies scheduled for review - What is the Sunset Review Commission and what is its role in the sunset review process?
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⬢The Sunset Advisory Commission studies agencies scheduled for review
⬢Drafts legislation incorporating is recommendations for the Legislature. - Describe the organizational restructuring of the health and human services area that the legislature enacted in 2003
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⬢Twelve agencies had been providing health and humans services.
⬢These were consolidated into four departments, plus the Health & Human Services Commission - What innovation in the health and human services area failed to live up to expectations?
- ⬢Multiple agencies doing similar jobs.
- Do elections work as a means of holding state department heads accountable? Why, or why not?
- No people don't have enough knowledge to make the right decisions