Leadership in the Modern Presidency

Leadership in the Modern Presidency
Author: Fred I. Greenstein
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 446
Release: 1988
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780674518551

Nine political scientists and historians evaluate the leadership qualities of presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan.

The Myth of the Modern Presidency

The Myth of the Modern Presidency
Author: David K. Nichols
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2010-11-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0271039752

The idea that a radical transformation of the Presidency took place during the FDR administration has become one of the most widely accepted tenets of contemporary scholarship. According to this view, the Constitutional Presidency was a product of the Founders' fear of arbitrary power. Only with the development of a popular extra-Constitutional Presidency did the powerful "modern Presidency" emerge. David K. Nichols argues to the contrary that the "modern Presidency" was not created by FDR. What happened during FDR's administration was a transformation in the size and scope of the national government, rather than a transformation of the Presidency in its relations to the Constitution or the other branches of government. Nichols demonstrates that the essential elements of the modern Presidency have been found throughout our history, although often less obvious in an era where the functions of the national government as a whole were restricted. Claiming that we have failed to fully appreciate the character of the Constitutional Presidency, Nichols shows that the potential for the modern Presidency was created in the Constitution itself. He analyzes three essential aspects of the modern Presidency--the President's role in the budgetary process, the President's role as chief executive, and the War Powers Act--that are logical outgrowths of the decisions made at the Constitutional Convention. Nichols concludes that it is the authors of the American Constitution, not the English or European philosophers, who provide the most satisfactory reconciliation of executive power and limited popular government. It is the authors of the Constitution who created the modern Presidency.

Executive Orders and the Modern Presidency

Executive Orders and the Modern Presidency
Author: Adam L. Warber
Publisher:
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2006
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

Explores whether and how modern presidents use executive orders to establish policy unconstrained by the legislative process.

The Modern American Presidency

The Modern American Presidency
Author: Lewis L. Gould
Publisher:
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2009
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

"The Modern American Presidency" is a lively, interpretive synthesis of 20th century leaders, filled with intriguing insights into how the presidency has evolved as America rose to prominence on the world stage. Gould traces the decline of the party system and the increasing importance of the media, resulting in the rise of the president as celebrity. 36 photos.

The Unitary Executive and the Modern Presidency

The Unitary Executive and the Modern Presidency
Author: Ryan J. Barilleaux
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 255
Release: 2010-04-07
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1603441905

During his first term in office, Pres. George W. Bush made reference to the "unitary executive" ninety-five times, as part of signing statements, proclamations, and executive orders. Pres. Barack Obama's actions continue to make issues of executive power as timely as ever. Unitary executive theory stems from interpretation of the constitutional assertion that the president is vested with the "executive power" of the United States. In this groundbreaking collection of studies, eleven presidential scholars examine for the first time the origins, development, use, and future of this theory. The Unitary Executive and the Modern Presidency examines how the unitary executive theory became a recognized constitutional theory of presidential authority, how it has evolved, how it has been employed by presidents of both parties, and how its use has affected and been affected by U.S. politics. This book also examines the constitutional, political, and even psychological impact of the last thirty years of turmoil in the executive branch and the ways that controversy has altered both the exercise and the public’s view of presidential power.

The Toddler in Chief

The Toddler in Chief
Author: Daniel W. Drezner
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 283
Release: 2020-03-25
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 022671425X

“It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room. . . . And we are trying to do what’s right even when Donald Trump won’t.”—An anonymous senior administrative official in an op-ed published in a New York Times op-ed, September 5, 2018 Every president faces criticism and caricature. Donald Trump, however, is unique in that he is routinely characterized in ways more suitable for a toddler. What’s more, it is not just Democrats, pundits, or protestors who compare the president to a child; Trump’s staffers, subordinates, and allies on Capitol Hill also describe Trump like a small, badly behaved preschooler. In April 2017, Daniel W. Drezner began curating every example he could find of a Trump ally describing the president like a toddler. So far, he’s collected more than one thousand tweets—a rate of more than one a day. In The Toddler-in-Chief, Drezner draws on these examples to take readers through the different dimensions of Trump’s infantile behavior, from temper tantrums to poor impulse control to the possibility that the President has had too much screen time. How much damage can really be done by a giant man-baby? Quite a lot, Drezner argues, due to the winnowing away of presidential checks and balances over the past fifty years. In these pages, Drezner follows his theme—the specific ways in which sharing some of the traits of a toddler makes a person ill-suited to the presidency—to show the lasting, deleterious impact the Trump administration will have on American foreign policy and democracy. The “adults in the room” may not be able to rein in Trump’s toddler-like behavior, but, with the 2020 election fast approaching, the American people can think about whether they want the most powerful office turned into a poorly run political day care facility. Drezner exhorts us to elect a commander-in-chief, not a toddler-in-chief. And along the way, he shows how we must rethink the terrifying powers we have given the presidency.

Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents

Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents
Author: Richard E. Neustadt
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 404
Release: 1991-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 0029227968

This is a revised edition of Presidential power, 1980, which was originally published by Wiley in 1960. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Presidential Leadership at the Crossroads

Presidential Leadership at the Crossroads
Author: Michael J. Korzi
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 380
Release: 2022-01-18
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1623499747

In Presidential Leadership at the Crossroads: William Howard Taft and the Modern Presidency, Michael J. Korzi examines Taft’s presidency against the backdrop of early twentieth century politics, placing particular emphasis on Taft’s theory of presidential leadership. Though Taft’s legacy is often overshadowed by those of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, his predecessor and successor, respectively, Taft’s model of presidential leadership was complex and nuanced, forged in a time of changing expectations, at the crossroads between traditional and modern views of what the role of a president should be. This focus on Taft’s leadership adds new dimension to our understandings of the Progressive era and presidential leadership in general. Ultimately, Taft’s leadership represented a middle-ground position, one that faced serious challenges from both conservative as well as radical forces, particularly the latter. While embodying some features of the modern presidency, Taft’s model also represented a partial challenge to, and critique of, modern presidential leadership. Korzi reveals that Taft was considerably more modern in his leadership aspirations than previously thought and that his shift to traditionalism, or conservativism, only emerged with the threat of a third Roosevelt term on the horizon. Presidential Leadership at the Crossroads makes an important contribution to our understanding of presidents and their leadership. Taft’s model is particularly relevant today, given the prominence of the modern presidency and its values and expectations. Taft’s moderate, middle-way position provides a foundation for critiquing the excesses of the modern presidency, while offering a vision for strong, if disciplined, presidential leadership.

How Governors Built the Modern American Presidency

How Governors Built the Modern American Presidency
Author: Saladin M. Ambar
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2012-04-17
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0812206231

A governor's mansion is often the last stop for politicians who plan to move into the White House. Before Barack Obama was elected president of the United States, four of his last five predecessors had been governors. Executive experience at the state level informs individual presidencies, and, as Saladin M. Ambar argues, the actions of governors-turned-presidents changed the nature of the presidency itself long ago. How Governors Built the Modern American Presidency is the first book to explicitly credit governors with making the presidency what it is today. By examining the governorships of such presidential stalwarts as Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, political scientist Ambar shows how gubernatorial experience made the difference in establishing modern presidential practice. The book also delves into the careers of Wisconsin's Bob La Follette and California's Hiram Johnson, demonstrating how these governors reshaped the presidency through their activism. As Ambar reminds readers, governors as far back as Samuel J. Tilden of New York, who ran against Rutherford Hayes in the controversial presidential election of 1876, paved the way for a more assertive national leadership. Ambar explodes the idea that the modern presidency began after 1945, instead placing its origins squarely in the Progressive Era. This innovative study uncovers neglected aspects of the evolution of the nation's executive branch, placing American governors at the heart of what the presidency has become—for better or for worse.

Thinking About the Presidency

Thinking About the Presidency
Author: William G. Howell
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2015-03-22
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0691165688

How the search for power defines the American presidential office All American presidents, past and present, have cared deeply about power—acquiring, protecting, and expanding it. While individual presidents obviously have other concerns, such as shaping policy or building a legacy, the primacy of power considerations—exacerbated by expectations of the presidency and the inadequacy of explicit powers in the Constitution—sets presidents apart from other political actors. Thinking about the Presidency explores presidents' preoccupation with power. Distinguished presidential scholar William Howell looks at the key aspects of executive power—political and constitutional origins, philosophical underpinnings, manifestations in contemporary political life, implications for political reform, and looming influences over the standards to which we hold those individuals elected to America's highest office. Howell shows that an appetite for power may not inform the original motivations of those who seek to become president. Rather, this need is built into the office of the presidency itself—and quickly takes hold of whoever bears the title of Chief Executive. In order to understand the modern presidency, and the degrees to which a president succeeds or fails, the acquisition, protection, and expansion of power in a president's political life must be recognized—in policy tools and legislative strategies, the posture taken before the American public, and the disregard shown to those who would counsel modesty and deference within the White House. Thinking about the Presidency assesses how the search for and defense of presidential powers informs nearly every decision made by the leader of the nation. In a new preface, Howell reflects on presidential power during the presidency of Barack Obama.