5.

4 The Modern Presidency

1. List the two roles of the vice president.

Preside over the senate and certify elections.

2. When the VP is not presiding over the senate, who is?

Pro tempore

3. What does section 2 of the 25th amendment establish?

If the office of vice president is vacated the president can appoint someone who is then
confirmed by majority vote in both houses. This change is temporary.

4. What does sections 3 and 4 of the 25th amendment provide for?

Both amendments provide a line of succession for when the president can’t fulfill his duties of
office.

5. Who are the only president and vice president of the United States to not be elected by the
American people?

Rockefeller and Ford

6. How does the vice president “balance the ticket?”

The vice president can balance the ticket by gaining more support from people who may be
skeptical about the presidential candidate, but really like the views of the vice president.

7. According to Fred Greenstein, what are the 4 main features of the modern presidency?

1. Chief Executive

2. Chief Diplomat

3. Chief Legislator

4. Commander in Chief
 8. What is the role of the Executive office of the President?

Sign bills into law/ Veto. Sign executive orders

9. In dealing with a partisan congress, how does the president use bargaining and persuading to
gain support for his agenda?

In this case he would use the Bully Pulpit. That way everyone knows he is firm on his stance and
needs. That way the people can try to get their representatives to vote that way.

10. Why might congressional members of the president’s own party not be able to vote for a policy
that the president supports?

For example, in Joe Mansions case he is from a state which is majority conservative and he is a
democrat. Therefore many times he has to vote Republican.

11. How does the president use his bully pulpit and “going public” to pressure other branches of
government?

He uses this to get the support of the American people. These people then pressure their individual
representatives into voting that way.

12. Why is the “honeymoon period” of a president’s term the most likely time to push through the
most legislation?

This is because they usually have a party era in the beginning and can get lots of legislation
pushed. They can do this because they really have no reputation and usually start with high
approval ratings. This begins to fade out when the people begin to see what kind of leader they
truly are and less of their agenda is supported. This is shown by a normal trend in presidential
approval ratings tending to drop over the course of their term.