THE PRESIDENT’S JOB DESCRIPTION| 297The two presidents after Nixon, Republican Gerald Ford and
Democrat Jimmy Carter, faced the worst economic conditions
since the Great Depression, largely due to increased energy prices.
Both presidents off ered plans to reduce unemployment and infl a-
tion, restore economic growth, and enhance domestic energy
sources. However, their eff orts were largely unsuccessful, and their
inability to move the economy became a critical factor in their
failed re-election bids.
In the last generation, the political and policy importance of presi-
dential actions has increased. Republican Ronald Reagan’s popular
campaign platform of tax cuts, fewer regulations, smaller govern-
ment, and a tougher stand against the Soviet Union helped Repub-
licans gain majority control of the Senate in 1980 and attract many
new voters to the party. Reagan and his staff negotiated important
arms control agreements with the Soviet Union, eff orts that acceler-
ated under Reagan’s successor, George H. W. Bush. Bush led American and interna-
tional participation in the Persian Gulf War during 1990 and 1991, which succeeded
in removing Iraqi forces from Kuwait with minimal American casualties.
Democrat Bill Clinton’s presidency was marked by passage of the North Ameri-
can Free Trade Agreement, welfare reform, arms control agreements, successful
peacekeeping eff orts by U.S. troops in Haiti and the Balkans, one of the longest
periods of economic growth in U.S. history, and the fi rst balanced budgets since the
1960s. However, despite eff orts to cultivate public support for health care reform,
congressional and public opposition doomed Clinton’s proposals. The same factors
delayed peacekeeping eff orts in Bosnia and Kosovo and deterred American eff orts
to stop the genocide from civil war in Rwanda. President George W. Bush’s two
terms were marked by substantial achievements in domestic policy, such as the No
Child Left Behind education reforms, but his presidency will be remembered mostly
for his response to the 9/11 attacks, including the Patriot Act’s restrictions on civil
liberties and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Obama has secured sev-
eral notable changes in foreign and domestic policy, such as the enactment of health
insurance reform and the end of active military operations in Iraq. However, he had
to compromise on many of these questions, and in other cases, such as his eff orts to
enact comprehensive immigration reform, he was completely unsuccessful in his
fi rst term. In this chapter, we examine these and other presidential successes and
failures in order to understand the limits of presidential power.
The President’s Job Description
This section describes both the president’s constitutional authority, which
derives from the provisions of the Constitution that identify the president’s gov-
ernmental role, and his statutory authority, which comes from laws that give
the president additional responsibilities. These powers are summarized in Nuts and
Bolts 10.1. As the box indicates, some presidential powers arise from one source,
such as the Constitution, while others derive from a combination of constitutional
and statutory authority. Our aim is to show how these provisions operate in
modern-day American politics: what kinds of opportunities and constraints they
create for the current president and future holders of the offi ce.statutory authority
(presidential) Powers derived
from laws enacted by Congress
that add to the powers given to the
president in the Constitution.DESCRIBE THE
CONSTITUTIONAL AND
STATUTORY POWERS OF
THE PRESIDENT TODAYPRESIDENT FRANKLIN DELANO
Roosevelt called on the public to
support his New Deal programs
and other policies. Here, he
delivers one of his “fi reside chat”
radio broadcasts, designed to
communicate his arguments to
the American people and win their
support.constitutional authority
(presidential) Powers derived
from the provisions of the Constitu-
tion that outline the president’s role
in government.