The Presidency and Public Policy: The Four Arenas of Presidential Power

206 Pages·2012·8.25 MB·English

by  Robert J. Spitzer

The Presidency and Public Policy

The Presidency
and Public Policy
The Four Arenas of
Presidential Power
Robert J. Spitzer
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa
Copyright © 1982
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0380
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Hardcover edition published 1982.
Paperback edition published 2012.
eBook edition published 2012.
Typeface: ACaslon
∞
The paper on which this book is printed meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Science–Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8173-5746-7
eBook ISBN: 978-0-8173-8667-2
A previous edition of this book has been catalogued by the Library of Congress as follows:
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Spitzer, Robert J., 1953–
The presidency and public policy.
Revision of the author’s thesis (Ph.D.)—Cornell University
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Presidents—United States. 2. Executive power—United States.
3. United States. Congress. I. Title.
JK585.S65 1982 353.03'1 81-19802
ISBN 0-8173-0109-7 AACR2
to Bill and Jinny Spitzer

Contents
Tables and Figures ix
Acknowledgments xi
Preface xiii
1. Studying the Presidency 1
The Policy Approach 4
The President's Policy Proposals 5
Levels of Analysis 8
The Presidency in Perspective 9
President as Politician 10
President as Power Seeker 10
President as Policy Maker 15
Definitions 18
Outline of Presentation 20
2. Policy Typologies and Policy Theory 21
Utilizing Policy Frameworks 21
The Arenas of Power 22
Critiques 26
Refining the Arenas 29
The Arenas and the Presidency 33
Hypotheses 35
The Four Presidencies 38
Summary 39
3. Distributive and Constituent Policies: Political Stability 41
Distributive Cases 43
Presidential Distribution 52
Constituent Cases 53
Constituent Patterns 63
4. Regulation and Redistribution: Political Conflict 65
Regulatory Cases 65
Regulatory Patterns 75
Redistributive Cases 76
Redistributive Patterns 84
Summary 85
viii Contents
5. President and Congress: The Policy Connection 89
The President and Congress 89
Past Empirical Studies 91
Presidential Boxscores 93
Data by Administrations 94
Electoral Cycles 105
Resubmission of Bills 110
6. Policy Patterns and Congressional Floor Activity 114
Selecting the Bills 115
The Committee and the Floor 116
Differences between the House and the Senate 117
Floor Activity 118
Partisan Support 129
Substantive Analysis 133
Summary 146
7. The Four Presidencies and the Policy Environment 148
Presidential Interactions and Policy Types 150
Applications to Existing AnalysiS of the Presidency 154
Of Presidents and Policies 156
Extending the Analysis 158
Concluding Thoughts 159
Appendix 161
Notes 165
Bibliography 183
Index 188
Tables and Figures
Tables
1 Summary of Case Studies 86
2 Responsibility for Passage of Major Legislative Proposals 92
3 Bills Proposed in the President's Annual Legislative Program,
Grouped by Policy Areas 95
4 Averages of Bills Proposed in Policy Areas, Grouped by Presi-
dential Administrations 97
5 Bills Proposed in the President's Annual Legislative Program:
Relations between Domestic-Policy Areas, 1954-74 101
6 Rates of Success for Bills Proposed by the President in His Annual
Legislative Program 103
7 Number of Years Where Policies Are Ranked Highest to Lowest 104
8 Averages of Success for Bills Proposed Annually by the President,
Grouped by Presidential Administrations 104
9 Average Percentage of Bills Proposed, Arrayed by Years in
Electoral Cycle, 1954-74 108
10 Average Percentage of Bills Passed, Arrayed by Years in Electoral
Cycle, 1954-74 108
11 Percentages of Bills Previously Submitted by the President to
Congress and Denied 111
12 List of 165 Bills Categorized by Policy Areas 120
13 List of 165 Bills, Categorized-Number of Roll Calls, Number
of Bills, and Means for Bills in House 126
14 List of 165 Bills, Categorized-Number of Roll Calls, Number
of Bills, and Means for Bills in Senate 127
15 Number of Bills with No Roll-Call Votes in Either House (by Bill) 128
16 Number of Bills with No Roll-Call Votes in One House 128
17 Comparison of the Numbers of Roll-Call Votes in the House and in
the Senate, Bill by Bill 129
18 Percentage of Noncontroversial Recorded Votes in the House 130
19 Percentage of Noncontroversial Recorded Votes in the Senate 130
20 Index of Likeness for Recorded Votes in the House 131
21 Index of Likeness for Recorded Votes in the Senate 131
22 Index of Likeness for Recorded Votes in the House According to
Substantive, Pass and Conference, and Procedural Votes 134
23 Index of Likeness for Recorded Votes in the Senate According to
Substantive, Pass and Conference, and Procedural Votes 135
24 Rank Orderings for Types of Bills According to Presidential
Influence, Presidential Involvement, and Political Conflict 150