Page 187 - DPOL202_COMPARATIVE_POLITICS_AND_GOVERNMENT_ENGLISH

Comparative Politics and Government

Notes • The President is elected by the American people for a term of four years. The original Constitution
was silent on the issue of his re-election. It simply stipulated that the President would hold
office for a term of four years which undoubtedly allowed him indefinite re-eligibility.
nd
• The result was the 22 constitutional amendment of 1951 which debars a man to seek a third
term and makes it clear that the period of the officiating President shall be counted as one term
in case his stay in office exceeds the duration of two years.
• The American Congress adopted a resolution in 1965 which took the form of 25 constitutional
th
amendment two years after.
• On a written declaration by the President that he is unable to discharge the duties of his office,
the Vice-President shall become President (Acting) until the President declares his inability
ended.
• The Constitution provides that the President can be removed by the process of impeachment in
case he is guilty of treason, bribery or other high crimes of misdemeanour. The House of
Representatives shall initiate the charges with a majority vote and the Senate act as the tribunal
presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The President shall have every right of
defence either in person or through his nominee. Resolution must be passed by two-thirds
majority for conviction which makes the President liable to removal from office and any other
disqualification.
• The Constitution lays down three qualifications for the President, namely, that he must be a
natural-born citizen of the United States, that he must be at least 35 years of age, and that he
must have been a resident of the country for at least 14 years.
• A major change in the mode of election of the President has occurred owing to the rise and
growth of a political drama that has become a concern of the two major parties in which a
‘third’ man has no place at all. Since 1832 the two parties have been following the practice of
choosing their candidates at the national conventions.
• A simple majority of 270 is needed to win, otherwise the matter has to be decided by the House
of Representatives in the case of the Presidency and by the Senate in the case of the Vice-
Presidency, each State having one vote irrespective of its physical size or population, or number
of deputies in the Congress.
• The American Presidency represents a curious mixture of the powers and position enjoyed by
an executive potent enough to maintain order and ensure faithful execution of the laws but not
so strong as to assume the character of dictatorship.
• The Constitution empowers the President to appoint principal officers of the various departments
(ministers) with the approval of the Senate and require their opinion in writing upon any subject
relating to the duties of their respective offices. In this regard he may obtain their views either
orally in a meeting or in writing, but he is not bound to accept them.
• The President is not merely the chief administrator and chief foreign policy-maker and its
executor, he is also the chief legislator though in a different way. He has the positive power of
initiating legislation through his messages containing information on the State of the Union. It
is within his authority to read the message personally in the Congress and thereby add a good
deal of weight to its contents by the charm of his physical presence, or get it read by his nominee.
The most effective weapon in the hands of the President is his veto, power. The Constitution
requires that all bills passed by the Congress (except constitutional amendment proposals) must
be sent to the President for his assent. If he appends his signatures, the bill becomes law and is
placed on the statute book. The President is given 10 days’ time for taking action (Sunday
excluded) and he may either give his assent or return it to the Congress with some
recommendations. The veto of the President is absolute in the sense that he may reject a bill
without assigning any reason.
• He has pocket veto also which means that in case the session of the Congress is adjourned
within the period of 10 days and he takes no action on it, then the bill is automatically killed.

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