unit 3 Flashcards
going public
promote themselves, policies before american public, press conference
intended to place presidents and messages before american ppl to gain advantage in election and forces compliance from MOC by appealing to their constituents, aka bully pulpit
violates bargaining: rarely includes exchanges necessary, no benefits for compliance only costs for noncompliance, public posturing, undermines legitimacy of other politicians
successful political leaders
don’t necessarily accomplish more than other leaders but control political definition of their actions, place in history is understood
presidential resources/sources of power- how are they used to persuade congress
professional reputation: measure of presidents status within washington, moc ideas of how they will act
public prestige: not popularity but perception of popular support outside washington, subjective, congress can distort
sources
foreign policy: always more successful than in domestic policy bc clearer formal powers as commander in chief, informal powers, congress allows potus to speak, idea that partisanship stops at waters edge,
changes in media environment affect power of presidential resources
changes in media: press: newspaper in 1930s, tv in 60s
jfk nationally televised press conferences, first one had 65M viewers
direct contact between sitting president and the ppl
peaks w reagan, very public stand against special interests in 1986 tax reform
political factors affecting power of presidency
fragmentation diminishes bully pulpit (going public)
1972 mcgovern fraser reforms, nomination candidates less beholden to dc ecosystem
“outsider candidates”: carter reagan clinton obama trump, rose thru campaigns not backroom deals - governed as they campaigned. to the ppl, poor reactions to policy didn’t make them change the policy just campaign harder
increased polarization in congress, resentment to this tactic, can only go public on popular issues, public fatigue on appeals, seen as strategy of weakness, can’t bargain
neustadts presidential power
power of presidency is power to persuade
rule of 3:
-best use of presidential authorities is in bargaining, threatening to take particular actions in exchange for actions others agree to take
-ability to bargain depends on professional rep, can gain prof rep by using authority, forming mutually beneficial alliances, following thru on promises
-in taking action presidents must consider its consequences for their power/ability to bargain in future
going public slides
making direct appeals to voters in order to scare congress into passing legislation the presidents wants, going over the heads of moc, not compatible for bargaining
why do presidents take this path (kernell)
changes in media brought president closer to the ppl
changes in politics: electoral rules, candidate types
2 distinct pol views, mid century institutionalized pluralism (neustadt) and individualized pluralism (contemporary)
coercion
instituationalized pluralism
washington centric, small number of fixed groups as actors (leadership in congress parties and interest groups) high continuity and long term relationships, repeated interactions
individualized pluralism
expands beyond washington, involves many individuals not only leadership, fleeting attention, relies on chain of representation in gov , this leads to going public
going public in 21st century
media fragmentation weakened presidents platform, poor reactions don’t make them change their policy’s only sell them harder, congressional polarization- cross party appeals barely work
does state of the union matter, lovett et al
powerful tool for agenda setting- can’t tell congress what to think but they can tell them what to think about
results
popular presidents able to set agenda but for limited time, more likely when party is in control
in senate, more likely to set agenda when divided gov (compromise likely)
unpopular presidents have almost no agenda setting power
federal notice and comment period, yackee and yackee on exec branch lobbying
equalized opportunity to participate in federal rule making process
businesses: comment more, favors less gov involvement, business more effective at winning less gov involvement than public comments
gov comments: seem to bring on more gov intervention
implications:
lobbying doesn’t end with congress , businesses more influential in fed rulemaking process, technical info valuable, bureaucrats also risk averse even tho they aren’t voted into office
skowronek model
presidential performance determined by presidents power and authority, which depend on his place in political and secular time
power: resources to get things done
authority: expectations that power will be exercised
political time: status within recurring eras
secular time: status within system where presidential power and authority has grown across eras
political time elements:
orientation to established political order (affiliated v opposed), establishes commitments of that order (vulnerable v resilient)
politics of reconstruction: opposed to vulnerable regime, usually considered great presidents that remake systems eg fdr
politics of articulation: aligned w resilient regime, presidents usually have high policy achievements for which they may receive credit, eg lbj
politics of preemption: opposed to resilient regime, presidents run into trouble, at risk of achievement, accomplishments often across the aisle eg nixon clinton (obama?)
politics of disjunction: aligned w vulnerable regime, struggling with their allies eg carter hoover (trump)
power to recreate order hinges on authority to repudiate existing order, potus most effective as instrument of negotiation
