The Presidency
POS 4413
“The Imperial Presidency”
o
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.;
o
First published in 1973;
o
Critical of the presidencies of
Johnson and Nixon;
o
Watergate was still to break.
What’s His Point?
o
Schlesinger traces the growth of
the presidency from George Washington to Richard Nixon, arguing that a
presidency never contemplated by the founders has evolved;
o
As a basis for their authority,
presidents typically cited their role as commander-in-chief -- an undefined
constitutional term -- and the "inherited powers" that other presidents had used
before them.
What’s His Point? II
The American political system is threatened by "a conception of presidential
power so spacious and peremptory as to imply a radical transformation of the
traditional polity." America's rise to global dominance and Cold War leadership,
Schlesinger explained, had dangerously concentrated power in the presidency,
transforming the Framers' energetic but constitutionally constrained chief
executive into a sort of elected emperor with virtually
unchecked authority in
the international arena.
LBJ and Vietnam
o
Johnson was persuaded by the
“domino theory”;
o
That if Vietnam was allowed to
fall to the Communists, the whole of S.E. Asia would follow;
o
Who knows for sure?
LBJ & Vietnam II
LBJ’s War? II
LBJ’s War?
Vietnam Statistics
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8,744,000 military personnel were
on active duty during the war (5 August 1964-28 March 1973)
o
3,403,100 (including 514,300
offshore) personnel served in the SE Asia Theater (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia,
flight crews based in Thailand and sailors in adjacent South China Sea waters).
o
2,594,000 personnel served within
the borders of South Vietnam ( I January 1965 - 28 March 1973
o
Of the 2.6 million, between 1 and
1.6 million (40-60%) either fought in combat, provided close combat support or
were at least fairly regularly exposed to enemy attack.
o
Peak troop strength in Vietnam was
543,482, on 30 April 1969.
The “Gulf of Tonkin” Resolution
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Joint Resolution of Congress
H.J. RES 1145 August 7, 1964
Resolved
by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
Congress assembled,
o
Section 1. That the Congress
approves and supports the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief,
to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of
the United States and to prevent further aggression.
o
Section 2. The United States
regards as vital to its national interest and to world peace the maintenance of
international peace and security in southeast Asia.
o
Section 3. This resolution shall
expire when the President shall determine that the peace and security of the
area is reasonably assured by international conditions created by action of the
United Nations or otherwise, except that it may be terminated earlier by
concurrent resolution of the Congress.
The “Gulf of Tonkin” Resolution II
o
It probably it didn’t
happen;
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But this is 1964!
o
All U.S. troops home
by 1973.
The imperial presidency
o
The imperial presidency thesis argues that presidential
aggrandizement is a threat to the constitutional structure of the U.S.
n
Johnson’s escalation of the war in Vietnam;
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Reliance on probably bogus reports of the Gulf of Tonkin incident;
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Social unrest at home dealt with harshly;
n
The draft;
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The cost, human, financial, and political.
President Richard Nixon
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Government reorganization –
organizing out Congressional oversight;
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Impoundment of Congressionally
authorized funds;
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Use of task forces and “free
thinkers” to develop policy initiatives;
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Development of Agencies
responsible to the president, e.g. EPA;
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Expansion of the war into
Cambodia.
Watergate
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“…potentially the best thing to
happen to the presidency in a long time.”
Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
Congress and the Imperial Presidency
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What was Congress doing from 1964 to 1973?
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Was the Vietnam war a collective failure?
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If we knew then what we know now…;
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Sound familiar?
Congress and Nixon
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“From the discussions I have had
with Congressional and other leaders, I have concluded that because of the
Watergate matter I might not have the support of the Congress that I would
consider necessary to back the very difficult decisions and carry out the duties
of this office in the way the interests of the Nation would require.”
Richard M. Nixon
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“According to Haldeman and others,
as Nixon moved “to control the executive branch from the White House…the great
power blocs in Washington” turned against him and were ready to take advantage
of Watergate in any way possible by the beginning of the second term.”
Joan Hoff
o
“Of course it’s [federal government
reorganization] one of the things that really irritates a number of the people
on the Hill, and I think it’s one of the reasons why Sam Ervin and the Senate
said “We’ve got to get this guy out of here”. They wouldn’t say it overtly, but
it is one of the many things that troubled them about Nixon, and Nixon, in his
own memoirs, says he knew he was throwing the velvet glove down, he was
challenging them. This was not in consultation with Congress, this was in
defiance of Congress.”
John
W. Dean
Nixon and the Imperial Presidency
o
“The “Imperial Presidency” was a
straw man created by defensive congressmen and by disillusioned liberals who in
the days of FDR and John Kennedy had idolized the ideal of a strong presidency.
Now that they had a strong president who was a Republican – and Richard Nixon at
that – they were having second thoughts and prescribing re-establishment of
congressional power as the tonic that was needed to revitalize the Republic.”
Richard M. Nixon
The Liberal Problem With the Imperial
Presidency
o
What is the essence of Richard Neustadt’s thesis?
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It is a prescription for presidential power;
o
Mayer, Howell, etc. also provide prescriptions for presidential
power;
o
Schlesinger advocated a strong presidency prior to writing The
Imperial Presidency.
The Liberal Problem With the Imperial
Presidency
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What do we want from the president?
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What do we want from Congress?
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How do we get it?
Congressional Response to LBJ and RMN
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The War Powers Resolution 1973;
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The Budget and Impoundment Control Act 1974;
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Congressional Reform;
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How effective?
How Now?
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Congressional responsibility for
Iraq?
n
AUTHORIZATION. The President is
authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be
necessary and appropriate in order to
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(1) defend the national security
of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and (2)
enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions regarding Iraq.
AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE
AGAINST IRAQ RESOLUTION OF 2002
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ243.107
The New Imperial Presidency?
o
In The New Imperial Presidency,
Andrew Rudalevige suggests that the congressional framework meant to advise and
constrain presidential conduct since Watergate has slowly eroded. Rudalevige
describes the evolution of executive power in our separated system of
governance. He discusses the abuse of power that prompted what he calls the
"resurgence regime" against the imperial presidency and inquires as to how and
why---over the three decades that followed Watergate---presidents have regained
their standing.
The New Imperial Presidency? II
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Can Congress limit the war in Iraq?
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Can it prevent the president from going to war in Iran?
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The answer is almost certainly “yes, legally” but does it possess
the “will, politically”?
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Is Congress and effective break on an aggrandizing president?
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Whose fault is the imperial presidency?