Title: The U.S. President as Chief Executive | HowStuffWorks
Headings: How the U.S. President Works
How the U.S. President Works
The U.S. President as Chief Executive

Content: During his or her inaugural address, the president reveals the goals of the administration. Throughout the years in office, the president adds new goals or refines old ones during the annual State of Union address. The presidential agenda is the basis for much of the legislation Congress deliberates throughout the president's tenure. It's not an automatic process, however; the president doesn't decree what he or she wants while Congress scrambles to respond. There is work to be done on both sides, with the bulk of it on the president's shoulders. For an agenda to be realized, a president has to have a good working relationship with Congress, the support of the public and/or willingness to compromise. The president usually has to negotiate; a bill that's based on part of a president's agenda commonly includes pork — money that funds legislators' states rather than the country as a whole. Public opinion also counts for a lot in deciding whether a president will get his or her agenda passed.