THE PRESIDENT’S JOB DESCRIPTION| 305compromise between presidents and members of Congress—compromises that
favor the president’s point of view.
While the veto is useful to block legislation or issue a threat that encourages
legislators to negotiate before casting their votes, it cannot force members of
Congress to enact a proposal they oppose.^32 The president and his staff bar-
gain with legislators, trying to craft proposals that a majority will support and
sometimes offering inducements to individual lawmakers, such as presidential
support for other favored policies. House members and senators from the presi-
dent’s party may feel obligated to help him, but it is very hard for a president to
win over opponents in Congress, especially if helping the president will anger
a legislator’s constituents. Under these conditions, compromises are likely to
favor congressional preferences.
For example, one of President Obama’s greatest domestic priorities in 2009
was enactment of health care legislation. Obama made speeches on the subject,
held meetings with the public, attended bargaining sessions with legislators from
both parties, and dispatched aides to lobby members of Congress in favor of pro-
posals that would reduce the number of uninsured individuals, end the ability of
insurance companies to deny coverage for preexisting conditions, and, in theory,
reduce the rate of increase in health care costs. However, although Obama’s goals
were popular, his proposals were not. As public opposition increased, congressio-
nal support even among Democrats began to waver, and Republicans were unifi ed
in their opposition. Although Obama ultimately prevailed and health care legisla-
tion was enacted in 2010, the president had to make signifi cant compromises to
win support from reluctant Democrats—and he was unable to bridge the confl ict
with congressional Republicans. So although enactment of health care reform is
rightly cited as an example of presidential power, it also illustrates the limits of
this power.
In sum, by using a combination of their proposal power, lobbying, issuing vetoes
and veto threats, and the other powers discussed in this section, presidents have
considerable—but not unlimited—infl uence over legislative outcomes.
OTHER DUTIES AND POWERS
The Constitution gives the president several additional powers, including the
authority to pardon people convicted of federal crimes or commute their sen-
tences. The only limit on this power is that a president cannot pardon anyone who
has been impeached and convicted by Congress. (Thus, if a president is removed
from offi ce via impeachment, he can neither pardon himself nor be pardoned when
his vice president assumes the presidency.)
Although most presidential pardons attract little attention, some have been
extremely controversial. Presidents have pardoned their own appointees for crimes
committed while serving in their administrations, as well as campaign contribu-
tors and personal friends. In July 2007, President Bush commuted a thirty-month
jail term given to Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former
aide. Libby had been convicted of lying to a grand jury about his role in leaking the
name of a covert CIA agent to several journalists.
The Constitution also gives the president a number of largely ceremonial pow-
ers, such as the power to convene Congress or to adjourn it if legislators cannot
agree on an adjournment date. This provision gave the president real power during
the early days of the Republic, when Congress was in session for only a few months
every year. Now that Congress is in session for most of the year and party leaders