Political Science 408: The American Presidency

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WELCOME!

• Political Science 408 The American Presidency
• Professor David T. Canon
• T-TH, 230-345 TTH,
• 22 Ingraham

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INTRODUCTION

• Nuts and Bolts
• Email classlists.
• My office hours TTH, 1-2 pm (right before
  class) and by appointment. 413 North Hall.
• Adams office hours
• T 945-1045 1215-115 TH, and by appt.
• Sections meet this week read the article on
  presidential lying, (Carl Cannon, Untruth and
  Consequences). For presidents, consequences
  matter more than the truth.

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Newspapers

• Discount subscriptions available
• New York Times - sign up sheets distributed.
  Also may sign up at Memorial Union or Union
  South.
• Washington Post - use their home page
• www. Washingtonpost.com

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Course Policies

• Note the guidelines on pp. 1-2 of the syllabus
• Books and readings
• Discussion section
• Clear your calendars for the exams
• Midterm Tuesday, October 23rd
• Final Friday, December 21st, 725-925 p.m.,
  location TBA.
• No make-up exams (except for truly extraordinary
  circumstances).

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Adding or Changing Sections

• Come up after class if you need to change
  sections because of a schedule conflict.
• Do Not try to change sections through web
  registration.
• If you would like to add the class, you need to
  be on the waiting list class.

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My Web Page

• Address
• http// www.polisci.wisc.edu/dcanon
• Outlines of the lectures for each week will be
  available by Tuesday morning. The page also has
  a copy of the syllabus and will have exam grades,
  the paper assignment, etc.
• Bookmark the page, and feel free to check out the
  different links. Let me know about broken links.

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Survey

• Major
• Career choice
• Previous American politics courses
• Party affiliation
• Ideology (7-point scale, 1 very liberal, 7 very
  conservative)
• Which presidential candidate you will vote for in
  2008.
• First political memory

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Purposes of the Course

• General versus specific knowledge
• Evaluate government
• To help make you better citizens

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Making better citizens (continued)

• Thomas Jefferson on the importance of an educated
  citizenry
• I know of no safe depository of the ultimate
  powers of the society but the people themselves,
  and if we think them not enlightened enough to
  exercise their control with a wholesome
  discretion, the remedy is not to take it from
  them, but to inform their discretion by
  education.

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Studying the Presidency Values and Bias

• Bias in research What you think about a given
  president will influence your work. George
  Edwards versus Stephen Wayne.
• Bias in studying the presidency
• President versus the presidency
• Impact on research on the presidency

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Approaches to studying the presidency

• Much work on the presidency attempts to describe
  and then evaluate presidents. We start by
  looking at evaluations of presidents.
• These approaches attempt to explain presidential
  behavior and outcomes by looking at different
  aspects of the presidency
• Historical
• Constitutional
• Psychological
• Power
• Institutional/rational choice

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Methods

• Traditional, insider, qualitative. Too close to
  power.
• Quantitative. N1 problem, but look at
  presidential behavior within a presidency.
  Examples?
• Comparative study of the presidency (Rockman)
  Systems, situations, leaders.
• Political Science and the presidency (Ragsdale)
  generalizations about presidential imagery and
  as an institution. Need presidency advisors.
  Prevent them from making mistakes.

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Evaluating Presidents

• Nelsons categories Savior, Satan, Sampson.
  Bias in assessing the presidency based on
  evaluation of presidents?
• Criteria for rating presidents. How to
  distinguish between great, near-great, above
  average, average, below average, and failed
  presidents?

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Evaluating presidents. Cont.

• Brycewhy great men arent chosen president. Top
  talent not drawn into politics. Congress doesnt
  breed greatness. Eminent men make more enemies
  than obscure. Gap between good candidate and
  president. Regional background, military
  background, no Catholics or non-Christians.
  Method of selection.
• Still true today? Women, African-Americans,
  Latinos, and Mormons.

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Evaluating Presidents, cont.

• textbook presidency
• expectations the impossible presidency?
• academics high expectations.
• public (Nelson) we want strength but there are
  also contradictions want conflict-ing things.
  Also, conflicting policy positions and general
  approval. Current polls.
• press cynical.