Presidential Powers
In every government there is a ceremonial
head of the government who is the
symbol of all the people in the nation. As
Howard Taft put it, "The
personal embodiment and representative of their
dignity and majesty" (McClenaghan,
pg. 316). That person is the Chief of
State or more commonly known as the
President. One of the main factors
that cause the presidents to be viewed as a
symbol of the American community
is the president's ceremonial duties which are
named in the Constitution. The
Constitution states several ceremonial duties
that the presidents are
"obliged" to perform. They are required to
take an oath of office,
periodically inform Congress of the State of Union,
negotiate with foreign
powers, and receive "Ambassadors and other Public
Ministers". "These
Constitutional ceremonial duties supported the
assumption of the Chief of
State role by George Washington and his successors
because they made the
president appear as the leader of the entire
nation"(The Presidents A-Z, Pg.
68). Castro 2 Both, the Oath of Office
ceremony, the Inauguration, and the
State of Union address physically place the
President out in front of
other government officials. Also, the President's duty
to receive Ambassadors
shows that foreign governments view and regard the
president as the official
representative of the United States, and since the
rest of the world sees our
president as being the Chief of State, then the
"domestic responsibilities of
the Chief of State could not be assumed more
gracefully than anyone but the
President" (The Presidents A-Z, pg. 69). In
the 18th century, when the
Framers designed the U.S. president's job, monarchy
was the style of
government throughout most of the world. But, since they wanted
to avoid any
suggestion of a monarchy, the Framers of the constitution made the
Chief
of State the Chief Executive as well. They called this person
the
President. But, like monarchs, the U.S. Presidents are the living
symbol of the
nation. They symbolize the country's history, liberty and
strength. The
President can appoint ceremonial representatives, but while
they are still in
office they cannot escape their role as Chief of State. At
every moment they
represent the United States at home and overseas. Castro 3
When the President,
or shall I say "the Chief of state, is not occupied with
functions that
pertain to government he would attend and participate in such
as lighting the
national Christmas tree, deliver a patriotic address during
the Fourth of July,
lay a wreath on the graves of soldiers that died for
their country (such as the
Tomb of the Unknowns) on Memorial day, lead us
special holidays (such as
Thanksgiving, bless fund raising drives, and on
numerous occasions in the past
he would throw the first ball to open the
baseball season in the Spring. Many of
these functions mean something and are
significant especially when the President
is involved. "But consequently, the
duties of the Chief of State are seldom
described as a power and are
sometimes denounced as a waste of the President's
time." (The Presidency, Pg.
69) Although the President's right to dedicate
a monument or congratulate an
astronaut may mean little, The symbolism that the
action portrays clearly
"enhances presidential authority, legitimizes and
maximizes other
presidential powers, and secures his position as Chief of
State." (The
Presidency, Pg. 69) " "As political scientist
Clinton Castro 4 Rossiter
explained "No president can fail to realize that
all his powers are
invigorated, indeed are given a new dimension of authority,
because he is the
symbol of our sovereignty, continuity, and grandeur." The
presidency is
therefore elevated above other offices and institutions not just
by its legal
authority, but also by its symbolic and historic
mystique."" (The Presidency,
Pg.69) The position of the President as
the Chief of State is defined by the
Constitutional provisions which are the
source of some of the most important
power the President can use. The parts
covered by these provisions are
classified as Military, Judicial, and
Diplomatic. Article II, Section 2
of the Constitution, provides for the power as
"Commander in Chief of the
Army and Navy of the United States and of the
Militia of the several
states, when called into actual Service of the United
States". (U.S.
Constitution) The position of the Commander in Chief makes
the President the
highest Military officer in the United States, with control
over the entire
Military establishment. Although, that does not mean that he is
always doing
something involving Military or Naval actions every minute. He
leaves the
smaller jobs up to the generals Castro 5 of the Army or the Admirals
of the
Navy. "The preference for civilian control of the Military is so
strong in
the United States, however, that no president would dare put on
a
Military uniform for a state function, not even a former general
like
Eisenhower." (Lowi & Ginsberg, Pg. 127) The President is also
the head
of the secret intelligence hierarchy", which includes not only the
Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) but also the National Security Council
(NSC), the
National Security Agency (NSA), the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), and a
lot of other less "well known" but very powerful
international and
domestic security agencies. Article II, Section 2 of the
Constitution, also
provides the power to "grant reprieves and pardons for
offences against the
United States except in cases of impeachment." (U.S.
Constitution) The
presidential power to grant pardons, reprieves and
amnesties involves the
presidential power over the life and death of all
individuals who may be a
threat to themselves or to the national security of
the United States.
Presidents can use their power on part of certain
individuals. An example would
be when President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard
Nixon in 1974 "for all
Castro 6 offenses against the United States which
he ... has committed or may
have committed." (Lowi & Ginsberg, Pg. 127)
Or presidents may use their
power on the many. An example is when President
Andrew Johnson in 1868, gave
"full Amnesty" to all the people from the South
who participated in
the "Late Rebellion", and President Carter in 1977 gave
amnesty to all
the "Draft Evaders" of the Vietnam War. Another example is
when
President Bush used his power before his retirement in 1992, when he
pardoned
the former Secretary of Defense, Caspar Weinberger, and five other
participants
in the "Iran-Contra affair". This power of "life and
death"
over individuals has brought up the power of the president to that of
rulers and
kings of ancient societies in a way that the President is the
person who
violators, of the law, turn to so that they can make their pleas
for mercy. The
third and final provision is stated in Article II, Section 3,
provides the power
to "receive Ambassadors and other public ministers."
(U.S.
Constitution) When President George Washington Received Edmund
Genet as the
"formal emissary of the revolutionary government of France in
1793",
he transformed the power to "receive Ambassadors and other
public
ministers" into the power to Castro 7 "recognize" other
countries.
(Lowi & Ginsberg, Pg.127) That power gives the President almost
all
authority to review the claims of any new ruling groups to determine of
they
"indeed" control the territory and population of their country,
so
that they can make treaties and other agreements. In today's society
we
understand that the President is not only "the President" but he
is
also the representative, the Ambassador, and the "symbol of the
American
people. Today we still see the President as the Commander in chief
of the
Military. The President pretty much still calls the "shots" when
it
comes to Military actions and events. Although we hardly think of the
President
we talk about the Military or the Navy, he still plays a Major part
in the
"chain of command". An example is with the bombing in the Middle
East.
The president is the one who gave the "O.K." to the Military to
fire,
and they did. When it comes to the Judicial part of the government,
the
President still has the power to grant pardons, reprieves, and
amnesties. Lately
we have not seen the President grant any of those, but we
have seen him follow
Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution, which
denies him the power to grant
"pardons, reprieves, and amnesties in Castro 8
cases of impeachment".
(U.S. Constitution, we see this in effect in the case
of the Bill Clinton &
Monica Lewinsky affair, in which the President
is being charged with perjury and
just cannot pardon himself. The third and
most often seen provision is the
President as a diplomat. We see this
when the President hosts foreign leaders or
when he travels to other
countries. An example would be when he left to the
Middle East to have
peace talks with other foreign leaders. All in all, in
today's society , the
president is us. He derives his power from us, the
American people, and
he represents us in his daily endeavors and important
activities. Although
not everyone may agree with that, but still... no one can
deny that the
President has been a long lasting symbol of America and the
American
people for over 200 years. Today's newspaper articles about the
president and
the powers that they posses are pretty self-explanatory as to what
provisions
in the Constitution they are referring to The articles about
the
President ordering the bombing, explains the Military role of the
President as
stated in the U.S. Constitution. Castro 9 The articles
discussing the
President's perjury charges (i.e. Monica Lewinsky case)
refers to the Judicial
Provision in the U.S. Constitution. Article II,
Section 2, states that the
President cannot grant pardons reprieves, and
amnesties in cases of impeachment.
Third, the articles that discuss peace
treaties and peace talks refer to the
diplomatic provision of the
Constitution. Article II, Section3, talks about
receiving Ambassadors and
other public ministers. And the articles that
discusses the President
attending a space shuttle launch illustrates how he is
involved in function
that are not government related. Meaning that he supports
his country's
endeavors although he does not "have"
to.