President of the United States
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The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by influence and recognition. The President is at the head of the executive branch of the federal government; his or her role is to enforce national law as given in the Constitution and written by Congress. Article Two of the Constitution establishes the President as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and enumerates powers specifically granted to the President, including the power to sign into law or veto bills passed by both houses of Congress. The President also has the power to create a cabinet of advisers and to grant pardons or reprieves. Finally, with the "advice and consent" of the Senate, the President is empowered to make treaties and appoint federal officers, ambassadors, and federal judges, including Justices of the Supreme Court. As with officials in the other branches of the United States government, the Constitution restrains the President with a set of checks and balances designed to prevent any individual or group from taking absolute power.
The President is elected indirectly through the United States Electoral College to a four year term, with a limit of two terms imposed by the Twenty-second Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1951. Under this system, each state is allocated a number of electoral votes equal to the size of the state's delegation in both houses of Congress combined. The District of Columbia is also granted electoral votes, per the Twenty-third Amendment to the Constitution. Voters in nearly all states choose, through a plurality voting system, a presidential candidate who receives all of that state's electoral votes. A simple majority of electoral votes is needed to become President; if no candidate receives that many votes, the election is thrown to the House of Representatives, which votes by state delegation.
Since the adoption of the Constitution, forty-two individuals have been elected or succeeded into the presidency, serving fifty-five four-year terms altogether. Grover Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms and is counted as both the 22nd and the 24th president. Because of this, all presidents after the 23rd have their official listing increased by one. Current President George W. Bush, the forty-third President, was inaugurated on January 20, 2001 to a first term and on January 20, 2005 to a second. His second term expires at noon on January 20, 2009, after which he will be succeeded by the president-elect from the 2008 presidential election.
The White House in Washington, D.C. serves as the official place of residence for the President; he is entitled to use its staff and facilities, including medical care, recreation, housekeeping, and security services. One of two Boeing VC-25 aircraft, which are extensively modified versions of Boeing 747-200B airliners, serve as long distance travel for the President, and are referred to as Air Force One while the president is on board. A salary of $400,000, along with other benefits, is paid to the President annually.
From the middle of the twentieth century, the United States' status as a superpower has led the American President to be dubbed "the most powerful person on earth" and he or she has become one of the world's most well-known and influential public figures. The official presidential anthem is "Hail to the Chief"; preceded by "ruffles and flourishes", it is primarily played to announce the President at state functions.
