| abstract
| - The President of the United States is the Head of State and Head of Government of the United States of America, as well as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and Leader of the Executive Branch of the government. Article II of the U.S. Constitution vests the executive power of the United States in the president and charges him with the execution of federal law, alongside the responsibility of appointing federal executive, diplomatic, regulatory, and judicial officers, and concluding treaties with foreign powers, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The president is further empowered to grant federal pardons and reprieves, and to convene and adjourn either or both houses of Congress under extraordinary circumstances. Since the founding of the United States, the power of the president and the federal government have substantially grown and each modern president, despite possessing no formal legislative powers beyond signing or vetoing congressionally passed bills, is largely responsible for dictating the legislative agenda of his party and the foreign and domestic policy of the United States. The president is frequently described as one of the "Big Four": the group of the most powerful persons in the world, besides the Emperor of the French Empire, Premier of the Chinese Socialist State and the President of the Russian Union. The president is indirectly elected by the people through the Electoral College to a four-year term, and is one of only two nationally elected federal officers, the other being the Vice President of the United States, that is not directly elected by the people. Their is currently no limits to how many terms a President can serve, though it is tradition to only have two terms as president, dating back to George Washington. The President is granted several privileges to "...assist in performing the duties assigned to the Office of President of the United States...", which include the White House in Washington, D.C. as his de facto residence; Powell House in Philadelphia as the de jure residence; Air Force One, a customized Boeing Model 15 Passenger aircraft, though any Air Force aircraft he boards receives the designation Air Force One; the Presidential State Car, a heavily armored limousine; Camp Thurmont, the Presidential retreat in Maryland, and the USS Independence, the Presidential Naval Vessel, a modified frigate used to transport the President and members of the Government by sea, though still armed by the US Navy. The current President of the United States is Tom Hanks, who has announced his intentions of seeking a second term in office in 2012.
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