JBS.org—The John Birch Society News Release
For Immediate Release
Contact Bill Hahn, Public Relations Manager, 920-225-5606, bhahn@jbs.org

Presidents’ Day: A time to reflect on what is the proper role of a U.S. President
Constitutional advocates offer a 25-question Presidents’ Day quiz

2. Does the President have power to issue executive orders?

Yes, just as the CEO of a corporation can issue orders to be carried out by his employees, a president can issue executive orders to guide the conduct of government employees. But he has no power to issue an executive order that bypasses the powers of the legislative branch or binds the entire nation.

3. Does the president have any role in the legislative process?

Yes, when a measure is passed by both houses of Congress, it is sent to the President for his signature. If he signs it, it becomes law. If he takes no action with ten working days, it becomes law. But if he issues a veto, Congress is then given an opportunity to override his action with a two-thirds majority of both houses of Congress.

4. Can a president change a law when it arrives at his desk for signing?

No, he cannot. He can sign it, ignore it, or veto it. He cannot, as has been done recently by several Presidents, claim power to alter it by adding a "signing statement."

5. What is president’s role regarding treaties with other nations?

The president alone has power to make treaties, but any treaty he arranges must be approved by two-thirds of the Senate.

6. What is the main duty of a president?

He is charged with the duty to see that "the laws be faithfully executed."

7. Can a president send the nation into war?

Absolutely not. Congress alone possesses the power to issue a formal declaration that sends the nation into battle. A president may use the nation’s armed forces to repel a sudden invasion while awaiting a declaration of war from Congress, and he can dispatch a military force to rescue American citizens caught up in a foreign nation undergoing its own military conflict.

8. If the president is the "commander in chief" of the military, does this mean he can employ the armed forces of the nation as he judges necessary?

No. A President’s role as commander in chief does not mean he can use the military as he pleases, because that kind of power is possessed by a king and the war for independence was fought to separate the nation from that type of rule.

9. Does a president have the power to appoint various individuals to government posts?

Yes. He is assigned the duty of appointing ambassadors, cabinet officials, justices of the Supreme Court and lesser federal courts, and other officers of the United States. But these appointments are subject to approval by two-thirds of the Senate.

10. Does the Constitution assign duties to the United States as a whole that the president must carry out?

Yes, and a good example of this duty appears in Article IV, Section 4 where the president and the Congress are required to "protect each of them [the states] from invasion." The Constitution dos not specify a military invasion.

11. Can a president, once elected, be removed from office?

Yes, the House of Representatives can impeach a president with a majority vote. Inasmuch as this step is the equivalent of a mere indictment, the Constitution then states that the Senate shall conduct a trial based on the charges made by the House, and two-thirds of the senators must vote to convict or the charges shall be dropped.

12. Have any Presidents been impeached and removed from office?

Two presidents, Andrew Johnson and William Clinton, have been impeached by the House but neither was removed from office because two-thirds of the senators failed to convict.

13. Is the presidential oath of office spelled out in the Constitution?

Yes, it is termed an "oath or affirmation" and it is required that he solemnly swear or affirm that he will preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." Inherent in that requirement is his pledge never to compromise the nation’s independence through membership in any supranational organizations or groups.

14. Is a president’s time in office limited?

Yes, the XXII Amendment, added to the Constitution in 1951, limits a person to two four-year terms.

15. Has anyone ever served as president longer than two terms?

Yes, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected four times. He served slightly more than 12 years because he died in office soon after the inauguration for his fourth term in 1945.

16. Is it accurate to state that the Founders expected the president to be less powerful than the Congress?

Yes, by far the most powerful branch of the federal government is supposed to be the legislature.

17. Does a president have any power over Congress?

Yes, a president can call Congress into session, and even adjourn each of the houses of Congress.

18. Must a president report to Congress?

Yes, the Constitution requires that he give Congress a report on the state of the union. He may also recommend legislative action but he cannot initiate it.

19. Does the office of president control the nation’s finances?

No, the power of the purse resides in the House of Representatives, the only portion of the federal government empowered to originate bills for raising revenue.

20. How many presidents have there been?

George W. Bush is the 43rd President of the United States.

21. Have any presidents been assassinated?

Four presidents have been assassinated: James Garfield, Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley, and John Kennedy.

22. Did any president serve in non-consecutive terms?

Yes, Grover Cleveland won election twice, but not consecutively.

23. Have there been sons who followed their fathers into the high office?

Yes, our sixth president John Quincy Adams followed John Adams, our second president. And our current president, George W. Bush, followed by eight years his father, George H.W. Bush.

24. Do the American people elect the president?

No, the people choose electors who then choose the President. The aggregate of electors is called the Electoral College, although it is certainly not a college. The electors from each state actually cast their vote for President several weeks after each presidential Election Day.

25. Was George Washington elected to serve as President in the manner being employed today?

No, there was no popular election in 1789. Electors from the states unanimously chose George Washington to be president and John Adams to be Vice President.

XXX