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President Barack Obama

with first lady Michelle

Obama on election

night 2012. Obama won

reelection by defeating

Republican candidate

Mitt Romney. (Scott

Olson/Getty Images)

Learning OutcOmes

The five Learning Outcomes (LOs) below are designed to help improve your

understanding of this chapter. After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

◾   LO1 Identify the types of people who typically

undertake serious campaigns for the presidency.

◾   LO2 Distinguish some of the major roles of the

president, including head of state, chief executive,

commander in chief, chief diplomat, chief legislator, party

chief, and politician.

The writers of the Constitution had no models to follow when they cre-

ated the presidency of the United States. Nowhere else in the world was there an elected

head of state. What the founders did not want was a king. The two initial plans considered

by the founders—the Virginia and New Jersey plans—both called for a relatively weak

executive elected by Congress. Other delegates, especially those who had witnessed the

need for a strong leader in the Revolutionary Army, believed a powerful executive would

be necessary for the new republic. The delegates, after much debate, created a chief exec-

utive who had enough powers granted in the Constitution to balance those of Congress.

In this chapter, after looking at who can become president and at the process involved, we

examine closely the nature and extent of the constitutional powers held by the president.

10

◾   LO3 Describe some of the special powers of the

president, and tell how a president can be removed from

office.

◾   LO4 Explain the organization of the executive branch

and, in particular, the executive office of the president.

◾   LO5 Evaluate the role of the vice president, and

describe what happens if the presidency becomes vacant.

Check your understanding of the material with the Test Yourself section at

the end of the chapter.

The Presidency

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