Traditional Roles and Special Powers

<h1>Text Preview</h1> <p> <P>While in office, the president is the national head of his political party. Grounded in tradition, this role carries special privileges as well as many responsibilities. The privileges include having a heavy influence on the party's platform, choosing party leaders at the national committee level, and becoming the goodwill ambassador for the party by building relationships with state and local party leaders.</P> </p> <p> <P>Another privilege of being the national head of the political party is that the president, as the incumbent in an election, usually enjoys an unchallenged bid for a second term. An exception to this occurred before the 1948 election. Following World War II, President Truman was not popular among the press or public, and many Democrats wanted Dwight Eisenhower to run for president instead of Truman running for a second term. Although he was not favored to win the election, Truman defeated Republican challenger Thomas Dewey by a narrow margin.</P> </p> <p> <P>In the role of party leader, the president's responsibilities include making speeches on his party's behalf, traveling around the United States to help state and local party affiliates raise money, and campaigning in off-year elections. The president shows support for candidates at the state level in return for their support later on. In past decades, the president's support has helped state level candidates win elections because of their mutual support for each other, resulting in what has been called the <b>presidential coattails</b>.<br></P> <P>Although the president is the leader of his political party, there is no guarantee that he will have full cooperation from fellow party members in Congress. Cooperation depends largely on party unity and whether the majority of the public supports the president's agenda. The president tries to minimize differences in the party by keeping congressional party members "in line" on partisan issues, and he tries to keep the party happy by compromising on the issues and concerns that are personally important to him.</P> </p> <p> <P>In recent decades, party bonds have slipped, especially in the Democratic Party. Presidents have increasing difficulty maintaining party allegiance and discipline. As presidents seek compromise with opposing parties in Congress, they face the loss of the extreme ends of their own party. For example, President Clinton's attempt to unite moderate Republicans and Democrats to support NAFTA lost him the backing of many very liberal Democrats who opposed the treaty and instead supported labor—a traditional part of the Democratic Party.</P> </p> <p> <P>Another presidential role that is a result of tradition and is not outlined in the Constitution is acting as "Chief Citizen" by representing all people in the United States. President Reagan's consistently positive "America First" attitude and optimistic view of the country's future stirred patriotism and hope during the dark rearmament period just before the end of the Cold War.<br></P> <P>Whether the president's roles are enumerated or traditional, each carries a certain degree of power and influence. The United States Constitution provides for checks and balances and the separation of powers to prevent any single branch of government from having too much control. As part of the division of power, the Constitution grants certain powers only to the president, while outlining others that he shares with the Senate and Congress as a whole.</P> </p> <p> <P>The powers granted solely to the president include serving as Commander-in-Chief, having executive authority, commissioning officers of the armed forces, and appointing officials to certain offices, such as department heads.<br></P> <P>The president can also call Congress into a special session as well as decide when Congress adjourns, if the houses cannot agree on a date. Although presidents have called special sessions, such as the one President Truman called in 1948 to resolve the post-World War II issues of inflation and welfare, none has ever needed to choose an adjournment date for Congress.<br></P> <P>Finally, the president has the broad power of <b>clemency</b>, which he can use to grant <b>reprieves</b> and <b>pardons</b> for federal offenses. However, if a president is impeached, he cannot grant himself clemency.</P> </p> <p> <P>The difference between a reprieve and a pardon is that a reprieve postpones an execution sentence, while a pardon forgives a crime. One of the best-known examples of executive pardon occurred in 1974, when President Gerald Ford granted a full pardon to former President Nixon for his involvement in the Watergate Scandal.</P> </p> <p id="TextCopyright">Copyright 2006 The Regents of the University of California and Monterey Institute for Technology and Education</p>