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Title: Going Public: New Strategies of Presidential Leadership by Samuel Kernell ISBN: 1-56802-218-2 Publisher: CQ Press Pub. Date: August, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $32.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.33 (3 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: informative, but sometimes misses the complete picture
Comment: Kernell's book is a good look at the practice of presidential appeals to the public for support for his agenda. This is a subject that has been ignored in presidential literature, and it needed to be written.
The problem with Kernell's conclusions that going public and a president's popularity will result in legislative success if flawed however. Kernell draws from conventional wisdom without looking at hard data while also picking and choosing instances that back up his assumptions. Bond and Fleisher's The President in the Legislative Arena show that a high popularity rating only has marginal effects on presidential success. They take a much more inclusive approach in their book, looking at entire terms of presidents Eisenhower through Reagan. When comparing the two pieces, it seems like Kernell started with his conclusions and worked his way backwards, picking out situations that fit into his assumptions.
This doesn't make the book a bad one, just slightly misguided in the conclusions. His topic is an important one that deserves more scrutiny.
Rating: 3
Summary: intuitive if not empirical
Comment: Kernell described "going public" as "a strategy whereby a president promotes himself and his policies in Washington by appealing to the American public for support" (p.2). Use of this strategy is said to be on the rise as it is particularly well suited to the modern president. Kernell argued that this strategy is a powerful tactic that can be used by a president to force a reluctant Congress to go along with a certain policy, but that it is incompatible with Neustadt's "bargaining president." He described several cases where the strategy was used, sometimes it worked, other times it did not, he said. The underlying premise though is that our government has moved from being institutionally pluralistic to a more individualized pluralism where every Congressman must fend for themselves (decline of party argument). One is left agreeing that public support does give a president certain leverage in bargaining with Congress, but how the support is measured or that it definitely replaces bargaining and forces Congress to act is not adequately substantiated. The book has some interesting stories on how some policies of some presidents played out in the political arena. If you like behind-the-scenes writings on policy making and president-Congress relations - buy the book.
Rating: 4
Summary: Invaluable Evaluation of the Modern Presidency
Comment: Sam Kernell's book is a must-read for students and scholars of the American Presidency. He artfully examines how modern American Presidents seek to persuade their constituents in a media-driven political environment. He takes Richard Neustadt's Presidential Power, and adds to it a crucial blend of modern circumstances in this evaluation. It is an enoyable read, chalked full of potentially valuable information for anyone seeeking to understand the modern Presidency and its persuasive difficulties.
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Title: PRESIDENTIAL POWER AND THE MODERN PRESIDENTS : THE POLITICS OF LEADERSHIP FROM ROOSEVELT TO REAGAN by Richard E. Neustadt ISBN: 0029227968 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 1991 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Presidency and the Political System by Michael Nelson, Anne M. Khademian ISBN: 1568026730 Publisher: CQ Press Pub. Date: January, 2003 List Price(USD): $49.95 |
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Title: Seducing America : How Television Charms the Modern Voter by Roderick P. Hart ISBN: 0761916245 Publisher: Sage Publications Pub. Date: 27 July, 1998 List Price(USD): $43.95 |
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Title: Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices, Fourth Edition by Judith S. Trent, Robert V. Friedenberg ISBN: 0275964051 Publisher: Praeger Publishers Pub. Date: 30 January, 2000 List Price(USD): $32.95 |
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Title: The Politics Presidents Make: Leadership from John Adams to Bill Clinton by Stephen Skowronek ISBN: 0674689372 Publisher: Belknap Pr Pub. Date: May, 1997 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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