GOVERNMENT HELP! i dont know the answer and yes i did try looking it up!?

The concept of "divided government" in the US means that one political party can control the executive branch while another controls the legislative branch. this poses problems for the president in making appointments to the federal offices.

a) Describe two problems that divided government poses for the president in making federal appointments.

b) identify and explain two ways presidents try to overcome the problems in a.

----------So i figured out that 1 of the answers for A can be that the senate has to approve of the presidents appointments with a 2/3 majority! however, that is hard to do with a government that is split along party lines..meaning they're split ideologically so the dominant party in Congress will not approve of an appointee who enhances the presidents policy views and degrades there own.
thats 1..but i need another!

Here is my take:

a) Presidential appointments are generally subject to senate approval, therefore if the senate is controlled by the opposing party from the president, his appointments will come under greater scrutiny particularly if they are ideological in nature. So problem number 1 is the president being able to get his appointments approved by the senate.

The second problem that the president will suffer from is increased scrutiny of his appointments after they are in office. This was evident with the grilling Alberto Gonzales took from the Senate recently.

b) The president can overcome this issue by choosing centrist candidates for appointments that will be less offensive to the opposing party and by consulting with the senate leadership on what candidates they would be willing to confirm.

Alternatively, the president can make a "recess appointment" (an appointment made when congress is not in session that therefore doesn't require senate approval) as Bush did with John Bolton. This bypasses the need to win over senators from the opposing party, although it does create friction between the president and the congress.

Hope this helps!

Okay this is an off the wall answer to B but in since our system of government is based on a tri party system, Judaical , legislative, and executive, maybe he could help support a strong third party candidate by endorsing the moral char actor of an independent. In doing so it might help create healthy competition and cause more politicians to think and work things out. But this only works if it comes from a good thought process. Anyways good luck on your question.

my teacher gave me this response! anyways..for a. the guy above explained it pretty well..for b. he can try to overcome it by using his "electronic throne." because the President has great access to the media, he can gain popular opinion on a certain candidate he wants to appoint. If there is a popular favor for the appointee, the Congress cannot deny the candidate or else it will bear scrutiny. In addition, because Congress members are elected directly by the people, not approving the popular candidate can ruin his/her chances of being reelected.