Title: Two Theories about Congress
1Two Theories about Congress
- In Congress, Pork Stays on Menu (Washington Post
headline) - Can Congress pass legislation that is in the
public interest? - Fiorina purposive theories
- Bessette- serious lawmakers
2What skills or attributes do we want in a
President?
3The Impossible Presidency?
- We want presidents who are
- Powerful, but we place limits on power
- Kind and caring/ruthless and cunning
- Common person/ Hero or visionary
- Above politics/master politician
- Unify nation/make tough decisions
- Have vision thing/responsive to will of people
4President- Great Expectations
- Economy
- World peace
- Education
- Environment
- Health care
- Morality
- Heating oil prices
- Vision thing
5Many Roles for President
- Chief of State
- Manager of the Economy
- Chief Executive
- Commander-in-Chief
- Chief Diplomat
- Chief Legislator
- Chief of the Party
- World Leader
6Presidential Power
- Empirical Question
- How powerful is the president?
- Normative Question
- How powerful should the president be?
7Methods of Presidential Candidate Selection
- Caucus System (1789 -1830s)
- National Convention (since 1830s)
- Primary Elections (Present)
- Frontloading
8Implications of Primaries
- Weakens gatekeeper role for parties (Buchanan,
Forbes, Jerry Brown, Jesse Jackson) - Gives power to ideological activists
- Different type of candidate running (McCain)
- Diminish electability (Gays in military, Private
school in SC) - Hurt governability (read my lips)
- popular mandate from people, not Party
- New Democrat, compassionate conservative
9National Elections
- Electoral College
- Election strategy
- Partisan Lock
- Disenfranchisement
- False mandates
- Clinton in 1992 43 of vote, 68.8 of EC
- Chance of a Misfire?
10(No Transcript)
111968
121972
131976
141980
151988
161992
171996
182000 Battleground States
19Presidential Elections
- Long
- Expensive
- Discourages good candidates?
- Potential source of Power?
- Predictions for 2000
20Constitutional Basics
- Normative ?-- Hamilton, Fed No. 70. Engergy in
the Executive - one person office
- elected for a fixed term
- national constituency
- Vague formal powers from Constitution
21Evolution of the Presidency
- 1800-1933 Period of Congressional Supremacy
- Main federal policies were very individualized or
particularistic - E.g. -roads or canals, tariffs for particular
industries - President is chief clerk
22The Modern Presidency
- Great Depression, 38 unemployment
- More interventionist role for government
- Entitlement programs like SS, farm supports,
right to organize create - Political constituency for Pres power
- Organizational basis for Pres power
- MediaDirect link betw Pres and people
23Hallmarks of the Modern Presidency
- Increased Popular Linkage with Public
- Going Public
- Presidential Selection
- Increased institutional powers
- Creation of Institutional Presidency
- War-making
24Presidential Approval
- Going Public Strategy
- Gallup Poll since 1948
- Do you approve or disapprove of the way ___ is
handling his job as president - Why the Framers would be horrified
25Public Approval of President
- Honeymoon
- General decline
- Economy
- Rally events and scandals
- Beyond Presidential Control
26Does Popularity?Success?
- Eisenhower and Bush popular presidents
- Nixon and Ford unpopular presidents
- Clintons uneven record
- Truman, A man who is influenced by the polls or
is afraid to make decision which may make him
unpopular is not a man to represent the welfare
of the country
27Institutional Presidency
- Jefferson in 1900 had 2 assistants
- Brownlow Committee
- The president needs help
- President not Congress should be in charge of
executive branch
28Implications of Instit. Pres
- Radical change in system of government?
- Increased presidential control of policy making
and centralization of the decision making - Increases potential for screw ups
- Iran Contra
- Reduced accountability
29Ranking Post WW II Presidents
- Good/Great
- Truman
- Eisenhower
- JFK
- LBJ
- Reagan
- Clinton
- Bad/Failures
- Nixon
- Ford
- Carter
- Bush
30Worlds Greatest Clerkship
- Neustadt, 1960 Presidential Power
- power of president do not flow from literary
reading of constitution - "The conditions that promote his leadership in
form, preclude a guarantee of leadership in
fact." - presidential power is power to persuade
31Informal Powers
- Professional reputation
- Electoral results
- Bargaining
- Carrot and the stick
- Marshalling public opinion (going public)
32Presidential War-making
- Madison-- the power to declare war is fully and
exclusively vested in the legislature - Congress- declare war
- Pres C-in C
- Two Presidencies Thesis
- War Powers Resolution
33Presidential Power- 2 views
- It is not only the presidents "right, but his
duty to do anything that the needs of the nation
demanded unless such action was forbidden by the
Congress." T. Roosevelt - "The President may assume just about as much
power as he is capable of handling." JFK - The president can exercise no power which cannot
be fairly and reasonably traced to some specific
grant of power .. either in the federal
constitution or in an act of Congress. There is
no undefined residuum of power which he can
exercise because it seems to him to be in the
public interest. William Taft 1916.
34Normative Question
- FDR, JFK, Savior model- 1950s and 60s
- LBJ, Nixon Satan model, or Imperial Presidency
- Ford, Carter Sampson model
- Reagan partisan presidency
- Neustadt vs. Miroff
35Barber on Presidential Character
- Voters should ask 2 questions
- 1. How much energy does the president invest in
his presidency - 2. Relatively speaking, does he seem to
experience his political life as happy or sad
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37Limits of Barbers theory
- No basis in psychology or Personality theory
- Easy to apply? Arent all candidates energetic?
- Healthy political personality is no predictor of
political success - Book of the Week
- David Maraniss First in His Class