Look "To Like America"
The Presidential Politics of Recognition
D. Jason Berggren University of Georgia Spring 2008
President as Chief Representative
Many view the President as the country's chief representative of the American people
James Wilson-PA--"man of the people" (Ellis and Nelson p. 76) Gouverneur Morris-NY-- "the great protector of the mass of the people"
after all, the President (and VP) is only federal official elected countrywide Andrew Jackson was first president to speak of the presidential mandate--his electoral victory interpreted as popular support for his policies (Robert Dahl 1990)
President as Chief Representative
President James Polk said the president "represents the whole of the people" Theodore Roosevelt said the president is the "steward of the people bound actively and affirmatively to do all he could for the people" Indeed, TR believed, the president is compelled "to do anything that the needs of the nation demanded" (unless of
course specifically prohibited to do so by the Constitution or acts of Congress)
But since Woodrow Wilson, view of modern presidents is that presidents alone represent the American people, nation as a whole
The Wilsonian View
"The President is at liberty, both in law and conscience, to be as big a man as he can. His capacity will set the limit... "Members of the House and Senate are representatives of localities, are voted for only by sections of voters..." "There is no national party choice except that of President. No one else represents the people as a whole, exercising a national choice...The nation as a whole has chosen him, and is conscious that it has no other political spokesman." His is the only national voice in affairs...He is the representative of no constituency, but of the whole people." When he speaks in his true character, he speaks for no special interest...There is but one national voice in the country, and that is the voice of the President" (1908, Constitutional Government in the United States)
Overcoming the N of 1 Problem
Edmund Randolph (VA) proposed a plural executive In this way, "to represent the thirteen states in all their variety," Randolph "proposed a three-person executive: one from New England, one from the South, and one from the Middle Atlantic states" (Ellis and Nelson, p. 75)
Unitary Executive + Appointment Power = Unity/Diversity
Presidential Politics of Recognition
To use Bill Clinton's words, presidents sometimes construct cabinets or make appointments that "look like America" it's a use of positive presidential power A customary means by which presidents appoint individuals not so much for their abilities, experience, or personal loyalty to the president
Presidential Politics of Recognition
Presidents do this to overcome the unitary problem symbolic expression of national unity recognition of national diversity cue to minority communities that the president is tolerant and welcomes them; they will be treated fairly (legitimacy) type of patronage; a reward for a community's past support an effort to appeal for future support the appointment of one = a signal to the many
Presidential Politics of Recognition
According to James Pfiffner (p. 133):
presidential appointments provide "first signals of how a president will act in office"; choices are "fraught with symbolic importance" other than competence and loyalty (party, ideological, or personal), presidents look to some of these factors:
unite political party Clinton used the EGG geography standard: ethnicity, religious affiliation gender, geography race gender cabinet norms: Interior usually filled with a Westerner, Treasury a with business CEO, Agriculture with a former farmer
Appointment Power
Vice President
originally, vice presidents were 2nd-place runner-ups in Electoral College (e.g., John Adams in 1789 and 1792) chosen by national party conventions Since FDR, presidential nominees have picked own VP running mates
Picking a Running Mate
Choice of Veep first major decision of a would-be president (Moore 2004) Minimally, don't pick someone who will hurt you many want to avoid creating a "kangaroo" ticket
A Balanced Ticket
Choose a running mate from a different faction within the party Choose the runner-up in the primary process as running mate (ReaganBush 1980, Kerry-Edwards 2004) Choose a running mate from a state (New York--long the largest electoral state) or region (the South) that the party needs to improve chances of victory Perhaps the most common regional construction was running a NorthSouth, South-North ticket This was common for the antebellum parties Afterwards, this would become a common form of balancing for the Democratic Party in the 20th century, but not for the Republican Party
A Balanced Ticket
Region, Antebellum Era (1789-1860) Parties DR-Democrat (1789-1860) Federalist (1789-1816) NR-Whig (1824-1852) Republican (1856-1860) Times 16/18 5/7 6/8 0/2 % 88.9% 71.4% 75.0% 0.0%
1860 Abraham Lincoln/Hannibal Hamlin (R) 1st winning ticket without a Southerner
A Balanced Ticket
Region, Postbellum Era (1864-1928) Parties Times % 5.9%
Democrat (1864-1928) 1/17 1928--first Southerner on ticket since 1860
Republican (1864-1928) 1/17 1864--Abraham Lincoln-Andrew Johnson national unity ticket (North-South)
5.9%
A Balanced Ticket
Region, Modern Era (1932-2004) Parties Democrat (1932-2004) return to North-South balancing Times 12/19 % 63.2%
Republican (1932-2004) 6/19 31.6% 1980--Ronald Reagan-George H.W. Bush 1st North-South ticket since Civil War only "Southerners" on GOP tickets: George H.W. Bush (1980-1992) and George W. Bush (2000-2004)
A Balanced Ticket
1928 Al Smith-Joseph Robinson (D) 1932 Franklin Roosevelt-John Garner (D) 1936 Franklin Roosevelt-John Garner (D) 1948 Harry Truman-Alben Barkley (D) 1952 Adlai Stevenson-John Sparkman (D) 1956 Adlai Stevenson-Estes Kefauver (D) 1960 John Kennedy-Lyndon Johnson (D) 1964 Lyndon Johnson-Hubert Humphrey (D) 1976 Jimmy Carter-Walter Mondale (D) 1980 Jimmy Carter-Walter Mondale (D) 1988 Michael Dukakis-Lloyd Bentsen (D) 2000 Al Gore-Joe Lieberman (D) 2004 John Kerry-John Edwards (D) North-South North-South North-South North-South North-South North-South North-South South-North South-North South-North North-South South-North North-South
A Balanced Ticket
Religion
1928 Al Smith-Joseph Robinson (D) 1960 John Kennedy-Lyndon Johnson (D) Catholic-Protestant Catholic-Protestant
The JFK Effect: Non-Protestants Now Routinely Considered for VP 1964 1968 1972 1972 1984 1988 2000 2004 Barry Goldwater-William Miller (R) Hubert Humphrey-Edmund Muskie (D) George McGovern-Tom Eagleton (D) George McGovern-Sargent Shriver (D) Walter Mondale-Geraldine Ferraro (D) Michael Dukakis-Lloyd Bentsen (D) Al Gore-Joe Lieberman (D) John Kerry-John Edwards (D) Protestant-Catholic Protestant-Catholic Protestant-Catholic Protestant-Catholic Protestant-Catholic Greek Orthodox-Protestant Protestant-Jewish Catholic-Protestant
A Balanced Ticket
Other Factors Considered in Balancing a Ticket: Age/Multigenerational (Bush-Quayle 1988) Military Service (Clinton-Gore 1992) Washington Outsider with a Washington Insider
ex: Carter-Mondale 1976, Reagan-Bush 1980, Bush-Cheney 2000
Gender (Mondale-Ferraro 1984) Ethnicity
Nixon-Agnew 1968: Agnew's Greek Ancestry Humphrey-Muskie 1968: Muskie's Polish Ancestry Mondale-Ferraro 1984: Ferraro's Italian Ancestry