User talk:Maildiver/Sandbox 2

The first power conferred upon the President by the U.S. Constitution is the legislative power of the presidential veto. The Presentment Clause requires any bill passed by Congress to be presented to the President before it can become law. Perhaps the most important of all presidential powers is command of the United States armed forces as commander-in-chief. While the power to declare war is constitutionally vested in Congress, the President commands and directs the military and is responsible for planning military strategy. Congress must authorize any troop deployments more than 60 days in length. Additionally, Congress provides a check to presidential military power through its control over military spending and regulation. Foreign policy is also directed by the President. The president is responsible for the protection of Americans abroad and of foreign nationals in the United States. The president decides whether to recognize new nations and new governments, and negotiates treaties with other nations, which become binding on the United States when approved by two-thirds of the Senate. The President is the chief executive of the United States, whose responsibility is to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed." To carry out this duty, he is given control of the four million employees of the federal executive branch. Various executive branch appointments are made by presidents. Up to 6,000 appointments may be made by an incoming president before he takes office and 8,000 more may be made while in office. Ambassadors, members of the Cabinet, and other federal officers, are all appointed by a president with the "advice and consent" of a majority of the Senate. The President also has the power to nominate federal judges, including members of the United States courts of appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States. However, these nominations do require Senate confirmation. The President must appoint judges for the United States district courts, but he will often defer to Senatorial courtesy in making these choices. He may also grant pardons and reprieves, as is often done just before the end of a presidential term. While the President cannot directly introduce legislation, he can play an important role in shaping it. The President can further influence the legislative branch through the constitutionally mandated annual report to Congress, which may be either written or oral, but in modern times is the State of the Union address, which often outlines a president's legislative proposals for the coming year. The Constitution sets the principal qualifications one must meet to be eligible for election  as President. A Presidential candidate must: •	be a natural born citizen of the United States; •	be at least thirty-five years old; •	have been a permanent resident in the United States for at least fourteen years. Under the Twenty-second Amendment, no one can be elected President more than twice.