Evaluating Presidents

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Evaluating Presidents

• October 11, 2005

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Rank These Recent Presidents

• George W. Bush
• William J. Clinton
• George H.W. Bush
• Ronald Reagan
• Jimmy Carter
• Gerald Ford
• Richard Nixon

• Lyndon B. Johnson
• John F. Kennedy
• Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Harry S. Truman
• Franklin D. Roosevelt
• Herbert Hoover

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Presidential Images
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Presidential Images

• Savior
• Satan
• Samson

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Savior Image

• Neustadt What is good for the country is good
  for the president, and vice versa.
• President is the chief guardian of the national
  interest
• Protects against the many special interests
• Requires
• Strength (omnipotence)
• Active
• Benevolence
• Not idealism or flexibility

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Then Come . . .
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Satan Image

• AKA, the Imperial Presidency
• What is good for the nation is not what is good
  for the president, and vice versa.
• Why?
• Person

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Presidential Psychology
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Presidential Psychology
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Presidential Psychology
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Presidential Psychology
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Presidential Psychology
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Satan Image

• AKA, the Imperial Presidency
• What is good for the nation is not what is good
  for the president, and vice versa.
• Why?
• Person
• Office -- Too much power
• EOP

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Then Come . . .
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Samson Image

• AKA, the Imperiled Presidency
• Gap between expectations and capabilities
• Sources of gap
• Separation of powers
• Divided government

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Evaluation Criteria

• Performance?
• Foreign policy?
• Domestic policy?
• Achievement?
• What we want the president to do?
• What the president wants to do?
• Political leadership?
• Character?
• Impact on history?
• Circumstance (i.e., major crisis)?

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The Top
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The Middle
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The Bottom
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Rankings
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Problems with Rankings

• Partisan bias
• Hard to separate policy preferences from opinions
  of specific presidents
• Lack of personal experience
• Unclear criteria
• Historical accidents

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Perception Contributors

• Journalists
• Cynicism
• Strength
• The public
• Philosophical congressionalists
• Operational presidentialists
• Emotional presidentialists
• Members of Congress
• Bureaucrats