Explains Americans' contradictory expectations of the role of the president and offers suggestions for improving the presidency despite the public's dissatisfaction with and the seemingly impossible duties and challenges of the office. UP.
Read More
What exactly do Americans want from their president? A strong and innovative leader or someone who primarily listens to the will of the people? A programmatic party leader or a pragmatic bipartisan coalition-builder? A president who exercises power forcefully or someone who establishesconsensus before doing anything? The Paradoxes of the American Presidency, 2/e, suggests that Americans want the president to be both a leader and a follower, partisan and bipartisan, and innovative and conservative. In the second edition of this acclaimed book, Cronin and Genovese explore the complex institution of the American presidency by presenting a series of paradoxes that shape and define the office. They examine the clashing expectations and demands placed upon presidents, offering students theopportunity to understand the dilemma faced by all incumbents--how to bring leadership into a system where expectations exceed the resources and power available to them. The authors focus on the various relationships all presidents must develop if they are to lead successfully--relations between thepresident and: Congress, the public, the courts, the cabinet, and the Vice President. This book also treats the managerial side of the executive branch, the vagaries of the selection process, and the inherent contradictions of leadership in a democratic system. Thoroughly revised and updated, TheParadoxes of the American Presidency, 2/e, covers the Clinton impeachment, the 2000 election, the first three years of the Bush presidency, the events and aftermath of September 11, and the war with Iraq. Written in a lively, engaging style, this comprehensive, interpretive work represents thecollaboration of two prize-winning presidential scholars.
Read Less