President of USA - An Appraisal

PRESIDENTS OF U.S.A. - AN APPRAISAL

Prof. Hazara Singh

The constitution of the federal republic of United States of America, based on the doctrine of separation of powers provides a four-year term for the President who being the leader of the State as well as of the Government reigns impressively and rules effectively.

Election Procedure

The President is elected during November of each leap year by an electoral college to which each state elects as many electors as it has its members in both houses of Congress, Senate and the House of Representatives. Each college elector exercises a single non-transferable vote. If any of the contestants fails to get a majority of the votes cast, the matter is referred to the House of Representatives for choice. This procedure apparently inconsistent with the concept of separation of powers, had to gone through twice by 1824 because the party system had not developed its roots by then.

Eligibility of Election

Regarding eligibility for presidential election, article 1(i) of the constitution prescribes:

“No person except a natural born citizen or a citizen of the United States at the time of adoption of this constitution shall be eligible to the office of President: neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained the age of thirty five years and been fourteen years a resident within the United States.”

At the time of adoption of constitution there had been no discrimination against naturalised citizens. Consistent with the norm that no legislation can have retrospective application, it debarred those only from seeking presidential election who migrated to U.S.A after its adoption.

Numbering the President

The 54th quadrennial Presidential election is scheduled to be held in November 2000, but the incumbent on taking the Presidency would be numbered as 43rd President. The serial number of President with the exception of first term (1789-93) has never concurred with that of scheduled election, because when a sitting President gets re-elected, his serial number remains the same.

If the office of President falls vacant due to removal, death or resignation, the Vice-president, is sworn in as President for the remaining term. He is chronicled with the next serial number.

If a President loses re-election, but gets elected in subsequent contest, he gets the next serial number.

Date of Presidential Oath

Because the first Presidential election was held in early 1789, the winner George Washington, took oath on April, 30 1789, at New York. Subsequent to that March 4 was fixed as the date for swearing in a President. The 20th Constitutional amendment (1933) set January 20 as the inauguration date. It not only reduced the period between the election and inauguration of a President, but forbade, also the holding of any session of Congress in the interim period. It is often called a lame duck amendment in a lighter vein, because the incumbent abstains from taking any policy decision during this period.

Limiting the Presidential Terms

Franklin D Roosevelt was the only incumbent to have been elected for four consecutive terms. None had held that office for more than two terms earlier. The 22nd amendment (1951) limited the terms for a President to two only so that an elected head of state, exploiting his popularity may not aspire to become a life - long ruler.

Superstitious Belief

Certain numerologists have floated the superstitious belief that a President elected in the Year ending with Zero, never completes his term. Such years of quadrennial elections are multiples of twenty. This foreboding numerological calculation solicits verification, because the ensuing election takes place in such an impugned year - number, ending not with one but three zeros.

Out the ten Presidents elected in the years ending with zero only five met mid-term demise, Hence the deducement is as hasty a someone may forewarn that whenever a Muslim is elected as President of India, he does not survive his term.

It is pertinent to mention that President Zachery Taylor, elected in 1848, died without completing his term on July 9, 1850, a year number ending with zero, a happening quite reverse in its order to that of the one stressed by numerologists.

Strong Presidents

Thomas Jeffferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrew Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman and Bill Clinton are regarded as strong Presidents, because they exercised their prerogative and used their influence, both as head of state and leader of the nation, for initiating major changes in American society.

Thomas Jefferson did not contribute to the plea of a strong central government and neutrality in foreign affairs as stressed by George Washington. Rather he sought more powers for the state and correspondingly wider sphere of rights for the citizens. He was pro-French in his foreign policy compared to the latent pro-British attitude of the followers of George Washington. These conflicting trends led ultimately to the formation of two well-entrenched political pm1ies, Republicans and the Democrats; the later, a legacy of ideas pursued by Thomas Jefferson.

February 12, the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, is observed as a federal holiday as a mark of gratitude, because he saved the republic from dismemberment by curbing the Civil war (1861-64), waged by the pro-slavery secessionists.

Theodore Roosevelt was awarded Noble Peace Prize in 1906 for arbitrating to the end the Russo-Japanese war. Woodrow Wilson also won Noble Peace Prize in 1919 for advocating the establishment of League of Nations. The recognition of these two Presidents as champions of peace established the importance of U.S.A. in international affairs.

The victorious army generals, whenever elected as President, did not prove themselves as correspondingly strong incumbents. Ulysses S. Grant the hero of civil war, in spite of his being in office for two terms (1869-77) was often called a ‘lame duck President’ at the fag end of his incumbency. Dwight D. Eisenhower, star hero of the Second World War at the European front, who too held two terms (1953-61) had been decried as an ailing president by the press during later times.

Impeachment

In the history of American presidency impeachment, i.e. removal from office, was initiated against one incumbent only. Andrew Johnson, sworn in on April 13, 1865 following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, got entangled in an on-going conflict with the Congress over the power of President in the southern states, where the pro-slavery sentiments were still deeply entrenched. The impeachment process against him found the requisite majority in the House of Representatives, but fell through in the Senate for want of a mere one vote.

Earlier the 10th President. John Tyler, was disowned by his supporters, the Whigs, who made an abortive bid to impeach him.

Impeachment move against Bill Clinton (Democrat), did not get prescribed support at the preliminary level, because a few among the Republicans chose to ignore his lapses thinking that the tirade against him served no constructive purpose.

General Observations

The incumbency of William H. Harrison, who died on April 4, 1841, barley 32 days after his inauguration, was the shortest, while that of Franklin D. Roosevelt, March 4, 1939 to April 12, 1945, was the longest.

John F. Kennedy was the youngest incumbent of the Presidency. He was in his 44th year at the time of his election in 1960. Ronald W. Reagan was the oldest person to be elected to this office. He was 70 at the time of his first election in 1980.

Richard M. Nixon (1969-74) was the only President who tendered resignation despite his re-election with an overwhelming majority in 1972. He contrived, thus, to salvage himself from an imminent impeachment, but the presidential pardon, he solicited, confirmed his lapses, heaping him thereby with disgrace.

Out of eight incumbents who died in harness, four succumbed to assassination bids. The system of presidential succession is quick as well as smooth, the bullet has never been able to derail the ballot rule.

The so-far 212 year long constitutional rule in U.S.A. through 53 quadrennial elections and 9 mid-term successions brought in from time to time 41 persons only as U.S. Presidents. This speaks highly of the political stability which the presidential democracy provides.

No black American has ever been elected as Vice-President of President of U.S.A.

Ordeal for American Voters

From 1948 onwards American voters had been greatly influenced by cold war strategies. The Vietnam War disenchanted them. The collapse of communism and the fading away of apartheid, almost simultaneous phenomena, weighed highly with them while opting whether they wanted a just economic order all over the globe or had been still keen in projecting their President, as a sergeant-major to take to task the leaders of the countries not toeing the American line. The cold war polices pursued by U.S.A in offering generous military aid to its camp-followers for combating communism, helped inadvertently the religious fundamentalism to develop into global terrorism, which is carrying on a frenzied campaign against social equality and dignity of the individual, the pre-requisites of democracy. This pernicious tendency is a greater threat to democracy than totalitarianism in its various forms. American voters are expected to take note of this catastrophic threat to civilization based on humanism and rationalism, while choosing their next millennium president.

This text loaded with factual details ends with a humorous tail - piece. Once an American delivered an eloquent lecture on the equality of genders in U.S.A. An inquisitive listener asked “if women enjoy equality with men in the States, why has none of them ever been elected as Vice President or President”. The speaker winked mischievously and remarked. “Is that not, romantic?” When the audience looked blank: he clarified. “The age of eligibility for contesting election to these officers is 35 years. No American woman is prepared to surrender her youthful status by disclosing her date of birth”.