As promised, we now go over the executive branch of government.
There's less on duties and powers than for the legislative branch. That is the area with the most people, and it holds the most power, a balance that must have seemed appropriate to people who were done with monarchy.
Section 1 starts with information on the election process, the term of office and compensation, the oath of office, and what to do in the event of the death or removal of the president. One thing that was not specified is if a vice president stepping in after the death of the president then makes for an acting president or an actual president. That did not get tested until the death of William Henry Harrison in 1841. Despite disagreement from some senators, John Tyler took the oath of office and simply was president. That protocol held. Some clarification on succession was added in the 25th Amendment, but that was not ratified until 1967.
The process for selecting the vice president needed to be changed much sooner. Originally the vice president would be the presidential candidate with the second highest number of votes, which meant that rivals were suddenly serving together, and maybe there were some hard feelings. This process started changing almost immediately, first with the party selecting a mate, and gradually developing over the course of the Nineteenth Century to the current system.
The other part that is getting a fair amount of mention now is the specification that the president must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, with one prominent candidate having been born in Canada, though his mother was a US citizen (though possibly with dual citizenship so a Canadian citizen as well). The last I knew, some constitutional scholars thought he was eligible, and some didn't. He may not be doing well enough for it to matter, but if it does come up, many more people will be offering opinions.
Section 2 goes over the power to make treaties - with the advice and consent of the Senate - and the presidential role as Commander in Chief. This makes a large part of the presidential duties relate to our relations - in war and peace - with other countries. It also specifies the right of the president to appoint ambassadors, ministers, justices, and so on, as well as the power to grant pardons and reprieves in federal cases.
There are two important points here. One is that when people petition the president for pardons, it is often not within his power. That came up recently when several people were petitioning (perhaps ill-advisedly) for a pardon for the subject of a documentary. Even if that person should not be in jail, that does not fall under the president's powers. Generally state and especially county governments have more to do with who is in jail, and how long they stay.
In addition there is currently some debate over whether in an election year the president should appoint someone now or wait until after the election, with some people even saying that historically it has not been done. That is a bald-faced lie. While it is not common for a need for an appointment to happen in the last year of a term (because really, how often do you even get to appoint a new justice?), in those situations the president has not waited to appoint, and Congress has not waited to confirm.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/feb/14/marco-rubio/do-presidents-stop-nominating-judges-final-year/
Section 3 sets in place the State of the Union address, and also that the president shall give Congress recommendations as well. Also, "he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States".
That is more on appointments, but the presidential duty to see that the law is faithfully executed is where you might have a president instruct the Department of Justice to look into something or to quit defending something.
Section 4 gives a very brief statement about impeachment, so that there is a means of removing a president who is guilty of crimes, confirming that no one, including the president, is above the law. So when Nixon said that when he did something that made it legal because he was the president, that showed a poor understanding of his constitutional role.
That's Article II in a nutshell. Remember that you can read it at http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html .
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