THE PRESIDENT’S JOB DESCRIPTION| 303ties only after negotiations have ended; there is no way for members of Congress
to force the president to negotiate a treaty. However, the need for congressional
approval often leads presidents to consider senators’ preferences when negotiat-
ing treaties, leading again to signifi cant compromise between the two branches.
Presidents have two strategies for avoiding a congressional treaty vote. One is to
announce that the United States will voluntarily abide by a treaty without ratifying
it. President Clinton used this tactic to implement the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, an agree-
ment that set limits on carbon emissions by industrialized nations.^24 It is also pos-
sible to structure a deal as an executive agreement between the executive branch
and a foreign government, which does not require Senate approval. Relative to a
ratifi ed treaty, which remains in force after the president who negotiated it leaves
offi ce, both voluntary compliance and executive agreements have the disadvantage
that a subsequent president can simply undo the action. For example, President
George W. Bush did this in the case of compliance with the Kyoto Protocol.
The president also serves as the principal representative of the United States in
foreign aff airs other than treaty negotiations. These duties include communicating
with foreign leaders, nongovernmental organizations, and even ordinary citizens to
persuade them to act in what the president believes is in the United States’ inter-
est. For example, in June 2009, President Obama gave a speech in Cairo, Egypt,
aimed at “convincing people throughout the Middle East of America’s sympathy to
their concerns, such as the creation of a Palestinian state.”^25
The amount of time the president devotes to foreign policy is subject to world
events and therefore is not entirely under his control. George W. Bush campaigned
on the priorities of tax cuts and education reform^26 and against nation-building
abroad. Nonetheless, in response to the September 11 attacks, he initiated eff orts
to build stable democracies in Afghanistan and Iraq.^27 Similarly, Barack Obama
campaigned on a largely domestic agenda but spent considerable time reformulat-
ing American policy in Iraq and Afganistan, as well as on trips and speeches such
as the one concerning the Middle East mentioned earlier.
AS HEAD OF STATE, THE PRESIDENT
often negotiates agreements with
other countries. In 2009, President
Obama visited China and met
with Chinese president Hu Jintao
and other offi cials to discuss
a number of issues, including
exchange rates, human rights, and
cooperation on sanctions against
Iran.executive agreement An agree-
ment between the executive branch
and a foreign government, which
acts as a treaty but does not require
Senate approval.