Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. The Presidency part 4

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. The Presidential Character James David Barber –Political Scientist –Wrote “The Presidential Character” –Categorized presidents according to: –Amount of ENERGY expended & whether pro-active or reactive Active or Passive –How he FEELS about what he does Positive or Negative

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. The Presidential Character Barber’s 4 Categories –Active – Positive –Active – Negative –Passive – Positive –Passive – Negative

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. The Presidential Character Active – Positive –Teddy Roosevelt –Franklin Roosevelt –Harry Truman –JFK –Jerry Ford –George W. Bush – 1 st term

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. The Presidential Character Active – Negative –Lyndon Johnson –Richard Nixon –Jimmy Carter

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. The Presidential Character Passive – Positive –Ronald Reagan –Bill Clinton

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. The Presidential Character Passive – Negative –Bush the Elder –George W. Bush – 2 nd term

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Power from the People: The Public Presidency Going Public –Public support is perhaps the greatest source of influence a president has. –Presidential appearances are staged to get the public’s attention. –As head of state, presidents often perform many ceremonial functions, which usually result in favorable press coverage.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Power from the People: The Public Presidency Who was the first president to use the power of the radio? –Franklin D. Roosevelt Who was the first president to use the power of the television? –John F. Kennedy

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Power from the People: The Public Presidency Head of State? –Mainly a ceremonial position –Ex: King & Queen of England Head of Government? –Chief executive of the government –Ex: Prime Minister

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Power from the People: The Public Presidency Which in the U.S.? –Head of State? –Head of Government? Answer... –Both –Chief Executive –First Family

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Power from the People: The Public Presidency Presidential Approval –Requires much effort by the White House –Product of many factors: predispositions, “honeymoon,” rally events –Changes can highlight good or bad decisions

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Power from the People: The Public Presidency Presidential Approval –Changes appear to be due primarily to the public’s evaluation of how he is handling policy. –Job-related characteristics (such as integrity and leaderships skills) also play a key role –Sometimes “rally events” can improve approval –Such as Bush I – 18 point increase after Gulf War –Bush II – 39% increase in 2001 –Usually these type of events do not have a lasting impact on public’s approval

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Power from the People: The Public Presidency What was Obama’s approval rating his first week in office? A.81.2% B.74.6% C.63.5% D.58.7%

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Power from the People: The Public Presidency What was Obama’s approval rating his first week in office? A. B. C.63.5% D.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Power from the People: The Public Presidency What is Obama’s approval rating now? A.61.8% B.55.2% C.51.9% D.48.6%

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Power from the People: The Public Presidency What is Obama’s approval rating now? A. B. C.51.9% D.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Power from the People: The Public Presidency

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Power from the People: The Public Presidency Policy Support –Presidents attempt to gain public support through televised messages, with little success The public may not be receptive to the president’s message or misperceive it. Mobilizing the Public –The president may attempt to motivate the public to contact Congress. –A difficult task, given inattentive and apathetic public –May backfire: a lack of response speaks loudly

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. The President and the Press Presidents and media are often adversaries due to different goals. –Media need stories; presidents want to convey their messages to the public Many people in the White House deal with the media, but the press secretary is the main contact person. –Press conferences are best-known direct interaction of president and media Media do not focus on substance of policies but on the “body watch.” News coverage of presidents has become more negative.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Understanding the American Presidency The Presidency and Democracy –Concerns over the president having too much power often tied to policy concerns –Others argue there are too many checks and balances on the president The Presidency and the Scope of Government –Some presidents have increased the functions of government.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman. Summary Americans expect a lot from presidents. Presidents work as part of an organization. Presidential leadership of Congress is central but difficult Presidential roles and responsibilities, even national security, tied to Madisonian system of checks and balances