Presidential Power: Crash Course Government and Politics #11

This week Craig looks at the expressed powers of the President of the United States - that is the ones you can find in the Constitution. From appointing judges and granting pardons, to vetoing laws and acting as the nation’s chief diplomat on foreign policy, the Commander in Chief is a pretty powerful person, but actually not as powerful as you might think. The Constitution also limits presidential powers to maintain balance among the three branches of government. Next week we'll talk about the President's powers NOT mentioned in the Constitution - implied powers.

Chapters:
Introduction: Presidential Power 00:00
Qualifications to become President 1:41
Presidential powers 2:33
Commander-in-Chief 3:26
Diplomatic powers of the President 4:11
State of the Union 4:38
Other formal powers of the President 5:03
Credits 5:56

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[Gguy]

I don't think people need to be like "The president needs to lower taxes! The president needs to do something about gas prices! The president needs to do X, Y, and Z!" The president can't do any of that, not directly anyways, unless you count signing bills into law, but taking action on most of those things is congress's job. When people expect these kinds of things from the president, they're encouraging him/her to act in a way the constitution never intended. We should be complaining to our congressional representatives about those kinds of concerns

[TapOnX]

I think that a president should lead a cavalry charge at least once per office term.
Can we trust a leader that does not do that?

[Avergara]

I'm taking political science 101 with an intense teacher & this video helped me understand the foreign language of politics. Thank you!!!

[julianackerman]

whos here for online classes currently?

[nafisayazi]

Have I mentioned how much I love it when he punches the eagle?

[JadaEbong]

Wild that we've been through 2 presidents since this

[NickyChains]

I’m in college but I’m a sports management major so I really have nothing to do with government. I just find it interesting I thought learning about government was super boring in high school but now I just find it fascinating!

[digdougx]

If I recall correctly, during the Burning of Washington in the War of 1812, President James Madison and his way out of DC commandeered an artillery unit and ordered them to cover the retreat from DC. He personally took this command and came under enemy fire in the process making him, very briefly, the only sitting president to lead troops into combat and do it while taking enemy fire.

There was also Lincoln at Fort Stevens but its unknown if he actually gave any orders. Him just shouting, "Return fire" would have been enough to make him the second but it's unknown if he did.

[Moonbeam]

I'm voting for Gumby in 2016. He's nice, done things for the farmers, can travel into books, and he's made out of clay! Who can ask for more?

[blownspeakersss]

For everyone asking about Ted Cruz: The constitution states that a candidate must be: 35 years or older, resident of the U.S for at least 14 years, and a 'natural born citizen'-- this last bit is where things get tricky. The term 'natural born citizen' is ambiguous, but the widely accepted legal interpretation of the phrase states that as long as your parents are U.S citizens at the time of your birth, then you are 'natural born'. Under this interpretation, Cruz fits all criteria.

[yeetstyle]

whats a guy gotta do around here to get a Crash Course: Investing and Finance? :D

[ajbrown]

Thanks for the video. This was surprisingly non-partisan and very educational. I appreciate it.

[baileyelisedavis]

I actually love that these episodes start from the Constitutional law and spin outward, because that's how the whole system (is supposed to) work(s) :)

[bentoth]

The "born in the US or one of its territories" thing is kinda a grey area since there is no definition for "natural born citizen" given and may simply mean "a citizen at birth." We had a candidate this election cycle who was born in Canada, but to American parents, and he was able to run just fine.

[DonThao]

I love the clones, it explains the left and right perfectly

[nbattey]

James Madison led troops during his presidency. The burning of Washington by the British took place during the War of 1812 and Madison actually was present for some of the fighting.

[natevandam]

I had some questions about the Electoral College, and I thought, "I bet Crash Course has an episode on it, " but not yet apparently. I would love on episode on the Electoral College if it is not already in the works.

[HuntingTheEnd]

James Madison also fought in a battle as president. He was with a small unit of soldiers who fired canons back on the British while they burned Washington.

[Imagawa]

"Some people say the electoral college is not particularly democratic, mostly because it is not particularly democratic." I love those quick little quips lol

[IReallyMissCybertron]

Chris Hemsworth is Australian, Thor is Fennoscandian, and so far as I know, the Asgard that Chris Hemsworth's Thor is from is not in Oklahoma (yet).

My point is: that joke in the beginning was really lame.