General research and academic reference

¶ … electoral participation of American citizens and it looks at some of the factors that determine their voting behavior or patterns, also mentioned is how campaigned strategies are employed by candidates shaped by this knowledge.

The second section looks at the powers of the presidents and how different presidents have exercised powers given to them by the electorate, this part also points out how limits have been placed on the powers and if at all they have been effective.

Normative theory vs. findings of empirical research

First of all it's important to note that the normative theory is vital on understanding the political behavior of the American public and when regarding citizenship norms to participation they refer to voting in elections, being active in politics, political associations and the selection of products for ethical, political or environmental reasons. The normative theory of the ideal citizen and the findings of empirical research on participation in voting during presidential elections differ from the fact that the normative theory is based on ethical principles as the ground rules for moral decision making while the findings of empirical research show that voters participating in presidential elections view these ethical principles as just mere factors to consider when making a decision on who or how to vote.

The American citizens have become more politically skilled, educated, policy oriented, and has adopted an engaged citizenship model whereby voters practice ethical principles and don't have to wait until Presidential term expires to express their dissatisfaction with a particular administration but rather they work with public interest groups and contentious political action to express their dissatisfaction.

Why people vote as they do

Factors and theoretical constructs that are used to explain why people vote as they do include socioeconomic factors that have an impact not only on presidential elections but also in every America's election, age is one of the factors that can explain why people vote as they do, because the younger population doubt the validity of the system and view their vote as of less impact while the older population consider their vote as accountable and they also have trust in the system, consequently older voters are bound to make more informed choices when voting as compared to the younger voters.

Religion as factors is based on the presumption that non-Catholics consider themselves alienated by the American government that is renowned for advocating for the separation of state and church, thus religious individuals place special significance to their votes because they are more likely to engage in public organized activities and hence are politically active than non-religious individuals.

Education can also explain why people vote as they do, because analyst view persons who are learned more likely to vote than those who are unlearned on the other hand learned voters make well informed decision when voting unlike the unlearned voters.

Campaign strategies

The most important aspect of campaign strategies is targeting and for this reason campaign strategies consider the factors mentioned above that explain why people vote as they do. Candidates employ strategies that are more inclined to the older voters and to do so they use policies and manifestos which give more information about their candidacy, candidates also consider religious factors in their strategies with the aim of appearing more religiously inclined.

Problems associated with the findings

The findings of empirical research on participation in voting during presidential elections note that the major problem arising is the decrease in political participation of America's public that will have a resounding long-term effect on the country's democracy. Duty-based norms have been eroded from the generational patterns of America's citizen that has also had a negative impact on the voters turnout.

Different approaches to the exercise of presidential powers

Various American Presidents have adopted different approaches in how they exercise their presidential powers, for example it was largely viewed that President Nixon exercised his powers in an imperial manner, in that he was granted more powers by the constitution and was very authoritative in his rule at the expense of other arms of the government like congress which didn't have any influence at all on the presidency. Nixon presidency was perceived to extend the powers of the president and subvert the system of separation of powers more in foreign affairs matters, where the constitution offered little guidance as to who is in charge of policy agenda the government was even able to enforce laws independently without the approval of the congress.

After the 1980 election the new president, Ronald Regan approached the exercise of his power in a different manner which political analyst termed as 'presidency resurgent'. His approach to power helped restore faith in the office after the 1970s malaise because he created a democratic space in which different arms of the government could operate independently. It is important to note that after Regan presidency the powers of the office holder were limited as congress and other arms of the government enacted laws that limited such powers, thus nearly all Presidents who followed later exercised their powers in a democratic manner.

Major Powers of the President

The president who is also the head of government and state acts as a representative of the country both locally and abroad in this case he has the power to receive invited head of states in official capacity. He is also accorded the power to give diplomatic acknowledgement to other foreign states through appointments of U.S. ambassadors in those countries.

The president executive powers include managing national affairs and the daily operations of the federal government, under his executive powers he can issue binding regulations, instructions and rules that are known as executive orders without the approval of the congress.