Билет 13

The method of electing President is peculiar to the US. The presidential election is technically an election of presidential electors, not of a President directly. The people of each state don't vote directly for the president. They elect as many electors as this state has senators and representatives in the congress. These electors are selected exclusively by the corresponding party machines. The candidate with the highest number of votes in each state wins all the electoral votes of the state. The electors of all 50 states and District Columbia (3 electors) compose the Electoral Collage (538 persons), though it never meets as a body. The Electoral College is an example of an indirect election. Instead the electors gather in the state capitals shortly after the election and cast their votes for the candidate with the largest number of popular votes in their respective states. To be elected President, a candidate must receive 270 votes. If no candidate has a majority, the decision should be made by the House of Representatives, with all members from a state voting as a unit. In this state, each state and the District Columbia would be given one vote only. Candidates for the Presidency are chosen by political parties several months before the presidential election, which is held every four years. 2004 - Bush was reelected for his 2ntt term. 2008 – B.Obama. His main aims in foreign policy are: he'd draw down forces in Iraq; open talks with adversaries such as Iran, Syria and Cuba; end torture and close Guantánamo; renounce unilateralism and preventive wars; rebuild ties with allies; and re-engage with the Kyoto climate change initiative. He's also pledged to halt the development of and to seek a "world without nuclear weapons." Obama would start to put the threat of terrorism in its proper perspective, elevating the importance of other threats to security, from poverty to pandemic disease to global warming. Obama promises to increase Pentagon spending, boost the size of the Army and Marines, bolster the Special Forces, expand intelligence agencies and maintain the hundreds of US military bases that dot the globe.

Билет 14

A constitutional protection against misused executive power is contained in the following provision; "The President, Vice-president and all civil officers of the US, shall be removed from office on impeachment for treason, bribery or other high crimes "

Under the Constitution power was divided among the three branches of the national government: legislative (the Congress), executive (the President) and judicial (the Supreme Court), Each was given its own authority. These 3 powers established a so-called system of the checks and balances. This system gives each branch the means to restrain the other 2. For example, the President has the power to veto acts passed by Congress, but the Congress may override the veto by a two-thirds majority. But the Supreme Court has the power to declare Acts of Congress (or of any State legislature) or the actions of a President to be illegal (or unconstitutional) if they are in conflict with the Constitution.

The Watergate scandal was an American political scandal during the presidency of Richard Nixon that resulted in the indictment and conviction of several of Nixon's closest advisors, and ultimately his resignation on August 9, 1974. The scandal began with the arrest of five men for breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Office complex in Washington, D.C. on June 17, 1972. The FBI, the Senate Watergate Committee, House Judiciary Committee and the press revealed that this burglary was one of many illegal activities authorized and carried out by Nixon's staff. They also revealed the immense scope of crimes and abuses, which included campaign fraud, political espionage and sabotage, illegal break-ins, improper tax audits, illegal wiretapping on a massive scale, and a secret slush fund laundered in Mexico to pay those who conducted these operations. Nixon and his staff conspired to cover up the break-in as early as six days after it occurred. After two years of mounting evidence against the President and his staff, it was revealed that Nixon had a tape recording system in his offices and that he had recorded many conversations. Recordings from these tapes revealed that he had obstructed justice and attempted to cover up the break-in. This recorded conversation later became known as the Smoking Gun. After a series of court battles, the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the President had to hand over the tapes; he ultimately complied. Facing certain impeachment in the House of Representatives and the strong possibility of a conviction in the Senate, Nixon resigned ten days later, becoming the only U.S. president to have resigned from office.

Under the constitution power was divided among the 3 branches of national government: legislative (the Congress), executive (the President) £ judicial (the Supreme Court). These 3 powers established a so-called system of checks & balances. This system gives each branch the means to restrain the other two.