issues within the USA that directly concern citizens
electoral mandate
permission granted to a political leader to govern and act on their behalf that is more or less in effect as long as the government is in power
executive branch
is headed by the president and is 1 of the 3 branches, the other 2 are legistaltive (congress) and judiciary (supreme court)
Executive orders
official documents issued by the executive branch with the force of law, through which the president directs federal officers to take certain actions. recorded in the federal register
imperial presidency
a dominant presidency with ineffective checks and balances
imperilled presidency
the president does not have enough power to be effective
informal powers
powers of the president not listed in the constitution but taken anyway
powers of persuasion
this is an informal power of the president in which they can use the prestigue of their job and other bargaining methods to get people to do as they wish
unified government
where both the houses of congress and the presidency are controlled by people from the same political party
