What qualities do modern presidents need to fulfill their many roles?
The president is the national government's chief executive, the top elected official in charge of enforcing laws and carrying out government policy. State and local governments also have chief executives. In the states, this official is the governor. At the local level, it is usually a mayor.
Adlai Stevenson, who ran for president twice in the 1950s, once said, “In America, anyone can become president.” That is not quite true. Any candidate seeking the presidency must satisfy certain qualifications laid down in the Constitution. The president must be a native-born citizen, be at least 35 years of age, and have lived in the country for at least 14 years.
The Twenty-second Amendment, ratified in 1951, added another rule: no one who has been elected president twice or who has served one full term plus more than half of another term can seek the office again. This amendment formalized the custom of a two-term president. This custom, established by George Washington, was broken only once, by four-term president Franklin Roosevelt, prior to ratification of the amendment.
Most state and local governments set less stringent requirements for their chief executives. In Kentucky, for example, candidates for governor need only be 30 years old and must have lived in the state for 6 years. California has no minimum age or residency requirements. In that state, candidates for governor must simply be U.S. citizens and registered voters. In contrast to presidential requirements, such citizenship can be by birth or naturalization. That is why Austrian-born Arnold Schwarzenegger was able to become the governor of California but cannot be president of the United States.
Requirements for mayors are even looser. Many towns and cities require only that mayors be legal adults. Several high school seniors and college students have served as mayors. For example, in 20ll, Jeremy Minnier was just 18 when he was elected mayor of Aredale, Iowa.
Like lawmakers, chief executives must also satisfy certain informal qualifications for office. These are traits that voters expect in their political leaders. This graph shows the essential qualities Americans wanted their next president to have in 2007.
Typically, chief executives have backgrounds in business, law, or public service. Most are well educated. Nearly three-quarters of all presidents have earned college degrees. Most have worked their way up the political ladder by holding other elective offices.
There are exceptions, however. Abraham Lincoln, one of this country's most admired presidents, had little formal schooling. Although he had served as an Illinois legislator and a member of Congress, he had lost several political races before winning the presidency.
Historically, most chief executives have been white, male, and from the middle or upper class. In fact, all U.S. presidents were white males until 2009 when Barack Obama took office and became the first African American president. Chief executives in states and cities, however, have made even greater progress in representing a broad spectrum of the American population.
Women have made significant strides at both state and local levels. The first female governor, Nellie Tayloe Ross, was elected in Wyoming in 1924. Since then, 35 more women had been elected governor of their states or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. In 2007, a record 9 of the 50 state governors were women. At the local level, female mayors led over 17 percent of American cities with populations greater than 30,000 in 2012.
Ethnic minorities have also had increasing success in gaining chief executive positions. Only two African Americans – Douglas Wilder of Virginia and Deval Patrick of Massachusetts – have been elected governor. But many blacks have been elected mayor of major cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Washington, D.C. In 20ll, Susana Martinez assumed the gubernatorial office in New Mexico and became the first Latina governor in the United States. In 2005, Antonio Villaraigosa became the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles in more than a century. Nikki Haley, a South Asian American, was elected governor of South Carolina in 2010.
Religious affiliation can be another informal qualification, especially for presidential candidates.
Almost all U.S. presidents have been Protestant. Until John F. Kennedy's election in 1961, it was assumed that a Catholic candidate could never win the presidency. Kennedy succeeded, in part, by promising to keep his religious and political beliefs separate. “I am not the Catholic candidate for president,” he declared. “I am the Democratic Party's candidate for president, who happens also to be a Catholic.” Even today, a non-Protestant candidate would likely face an uphill battle in winning the presidency.
Most chief executives, including governors and mayors, are elected by popular vote. The president, in contrast, is chosen by the Electoral College, based on the popular vote count in each state.
In some state and local elections, the candidate who wins a plurality of the vote is declared the winner. In other states and cities, however, the candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast to win. If that does not happen, the top two candidates must compete in a runoff election, which is designed to produce a clear winner.
Succession rules for the presidency are spelled out in the Constitution and federal law. Should a president be unable to complete a four-year term because of death, disability, resignation, or removal from office, the law provides clear guidelines for replacing the chief executive.
The line of succession for the presidency begins with the vice president. If the vice president cannot serve, the next successor is the speaker of the House, followed by the president pro tempore of the Senate, and then by the secretary of state. Other cabinet members continue the line of succession in a specific order.
It is often said that the vice president is “a heartbeat away” from the presidency. Indeed, the main job of the vice president is to take over if something should happen to the president. The Constitution gives the vice president almost no formal powers other than this one.
For that reason, some politicians have shunned the chance to run for vice president. In 1848, Daniel Webster refused to become a vice presidential candidate, saying, “I do not propose to be buried until I am really dead.” Nevertheless, 14 vice presidents
The vice president holds little formal power under the Constitution. For that reason, as this cartoon suggests, the position has often been regarded as unimportant. Nevertheless, the vice president is first in line to succeed the president, which gives holders of this office enormous responsibility.
have gone on to become chief executive. In addition, recent vice presidents have been given substantial responsibilities by the president. During George W. Bush's administration, Vice President Dick Cheney held a significant amount of power and played a key role in shaping national security policy.
In most states, a lieutenant governor holds a comparable position to that of the vice president. This official stands in for the governor when necessary but generally has few formal duties.
If a president, vice president, or other official in the executive branch is suspected of wrongdoing, that person may be impeached and removed from office. The framers made the impeachment process difficult, however, to prevent it from being used for frivolous reasons. To be removed, an official must be convicted of “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
Impeachment begins in the House of Representatives. A majority of House members must vote to impeach, or formally accuse, the president or other officer of wrongdoing. The trial is then held in the Senate. Two-thirds of the senators must find the official guilty to remove that person from office.
The House has impeached only two presidents – Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton – and the Senate found neither guilty. Richard Nixon resigned rather than face impeachment during the Watergate scandal.
But what if citizens are simply unhappy with the job their chief executive is doing? For presidents, there is no provision for midterm removal based o,n job performance. Many states and cities, however, do have procedures by which voters can order a recall of elected officials. The California recall took place in 2003, in which the voters chose to replace Governor Gray Davis with actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Almost a decade later, in 2012, Wisconsin attempted to recall a governor in a special election, but failed. As governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker proposed a plan to help balance the state budget. This plan cut benefits for public employees and greatly limited the ability for unions to bargain. As a result, disgruntled workers and unions organized protests. United Wisconsin, a grassroots organization, led a recall effort and petitioned for signatures, eventually gathering enough to hold a special election. Still, many Wisconsin voters supported Walker's attempts to reduce government spending. When the recall election took place on June 5, 2012, Walker won, retaining his position as governor.
Many chief executives are also subject to term limits. As noted previously, presidents are restricted to no more than two terms in office. Many states and cities also set term limits on their governors and mayors. In most cases, governors are held to two consecutive terms in office. However, in some states, they may run for reelection four years after their last term.
The power of incumbency in winning reelection is not as strong for chief executives as it is for legislators. That may be because chief executives serve as a “lightning rod” for voter discontent. When voters are dissatisfied with government, they often blame their chief executive. Since World War II, three presidents have been defeated in their run for a second term: Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H. W. Bush.