Presidential government

505 Pages·2016·7.679 MB·English

by  Ginsberg, Benjamin

Presidential Government
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Presidential
Government
Benjamin Ginsberg
New Haven and London
Published with assistance from the Joan Patterson Kerr Fund.
Published with assistance from the Louis Stern Memorial Fund.
Copyright © 2016 by Benjamin Ginsberg.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including
illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107
and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public
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Set in Garamond type by Integrated Publishing Solutions,
Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Printed in the United States of America.
ISBN 978-0-300-21206-8 (paperback: alk. paper)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015950946
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992
(Permanence of Paper).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Sandy
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Contents
Preface ix
one. What Is an Executive, and Why Do We Need One? 1
two. The Constitutional Foundations of Presidential Power 18
three. A Brief History of the Presidency 59
four. Presidential Elections 103
five. The Executive Branch 160
six. The President, the Congress, and Domestic Policy 193
seven. Presidential Policy Tools 231
eight. The Executive and the Courts 280
nine. Foreign Policy and National Security 323
ten. Understanding the Presidency as an Institution:
Advice for Citizens and Voters 391
Appendix: Gallery of Presidents 401
Notes 407
For Further Reading 449
Illustration Credits 455
Index 459
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Preface
F
or most of the nineteenth century, the presidency was a weak insti-
tution. In unusual circumstances, a Jefferson, a Jackson, or a Lincoln
might exercise extraordinary power, but most presidents held little
influence over the congressional barons or provincial chieftains who
ac tu a lly steered the government. The president’s job was to execute policy,
ra re ly t o make it. Policymaking was the responsibility of legislators, particu-
la rl y th e leaders of the House and Senate.
Today, the presidency has become the dominant force in national policy for-
mation. Not all domestic policy springs from the White House, but none is made
without the president’s involvement. And when it comes to foreign policy and par-
ticularly security policy, there can be little doubt about presidential primacy. Con-
gress retains the constitutional power to declare war, but that power has not been
exercised in sixty-five years. During this period American military forces have been
engaged in numerous conflicts all over the world at the behest of the president.
How did this transformation come about? To some, the study of the presi-
dency is chiefly the study of personality and leadership in an attempt to distinguish
between the attributes and conduct of strong and weak presidents—or great, near-
great, and not-so-great presidents. Richard Neustadt, an influential presidential
scholar, epitomized this focus on leadership styles and personality when he declared
in 1960 that presidential power was the “power to persuade.” In other words, the
power of the presidency was derived from the charisma of the president.
Some scholars pushed this personalistic approach even further by engaging
in psychoanalytic studies of presidents to determine which personality attributes
seemed to be associated with presidential success. James David Barber’s well-known
book The Presidential Character is an exemplar of this school of thought.
ix