1. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner Barack Obama and the Partisan Presidency Richard M. Skinner Rollins College rskinner@rollins.edu

2. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner 19 th Century Presidency Weak presidents. Strong parties.

3. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner 19 th Century Presidency: Parties Dominate Congressional relations: strong parties, president lacked influence Administration: patronage Little direct link between president, public Media: “partisan press” Elections: parties control campaigns

4. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner “Modern Presidency” Strong presidents. Weak parties.

5. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner “Modern Presidency”: Parties in Decline Congressional relations: weak parties, president seeks cross-party coalitions Administration: experts, civil servants Public opinion: “rhetorical presidency,” president seeks cross-party support Media relations: cooperative, president uses broadcasting to reach mass public Elections: candidate-centered campaigns, decline of partisan voting

6. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner “Postmodern / Postpartisan Presidency” Weak presidents, weak parties

7. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner “Postmodern / Postpartisan Presidency”: Parties At Their Nadir Congressional relations: weak parties, decentralized power Administration: bureaucrats, issue activists Public opinion: party decline continues Media relations: presidents “go public” Elections: “outsider” campaigns, low party voting

8. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner “Partisan Presidency” Strong presidents, strong parties

9. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner “Partisan Presidency”: Party Revival Congressional relations: polarized parties, strong leadership Administration: “administrative presidency” for partisan/ideological ends Public opinion: polarized public, “approval gap” soars Media relations: antagonistic, uses “alternative media” or “partisan press” to reach niche publics Elections: party organizations revive, polarized voting

10. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner Ronald Reagan Sought conservative Republican majority Used RNC to win support for policies Worked closely with Hill GOP Polarized electorate Sought ideological overhaul of executive branch

11. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner George H. W. Bush Sought to break with “partisan presidency” But faced revolt from conservative GOP Under strong party leadership, Democrats blocked proposals in advance of ’92 election

12. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner Bill Clinton Faced united GOP opposition Worked closely with Democratic Hill leadership Polarized electorate

13. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner George W. Bush Governed with GOP Congresses, poor relations with Democrats Polarized public to unprecedented extent Sought ideological overhaul of executive branch

14. Barack Obama 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner Relies on Democratic leadership in Congress, receives little GOP support. Polarizes public as much as Bush. Appoints Democratic veterans to key jobs.

15. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner The President as Party Leader “Modern Presidents” distanced themselves from party organizations “Partisan Presidents” serve as active party leaders: revived organizations Campaigning, fundraising Vision for party future

16. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner A Partisan Public “Modern Presidents” won support from other party: Ike, LBJ, Nixon Approval gaps rarely exceed 40 points “Partisan Presidents” polarize public Approval gaps in 50s, 60s George W. Bush, Barack Obama often over 70 Increased partisan loyalty, electoral consistency Increased perception of ideological distance between voters and presidents

17. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner “The Approval Gap” Gallup Poll, September 27-October 3, 2010 BHO’s approval among Democrats81 -BHO’s approval among Republicans14 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Approval Gap67

18. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner Congressional Relations “Modern Presidents” : internally divided parties; weak leadership “Partisan Presidents”: united, polarized parties; strong leadership Decline in cross-party support Close ties between White House, own- party leaders

19. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner Partisan Administration “Modern Presidents”: decline of patronage, rise of technocracy Nixon’s “administrative presidency” paves way for Reagan, G. W. Bush “Partisan Presidents”: ideological control of executive branch Ideology, spin overcome “neutral competence”

20. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner Partisan Media “Modern Presidents”: appeal to general public, seek warm media relations “Partisan Presidents”: appeal to niche publics, accept adversarial media relations Rise of new partisan press Decline in audiences for presidential addresses: perhaps becoming more partisan?

21. Barack Obama Benefited from Democratic revival. Highly partisan electorate. “Approval gap” has equaled George W. Bush’s. Key congressional votes have been highly partisan. Lacks GOP hostility to civil service. Filled key jobs with Democratic veterans. Uses e-mail list, liberal press to reach base. Provided stimulus to conservative “partisan press.” 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner

22. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner Implications We need to re-evaluate notions of presidential party leadership Return of party responsibility: unity, clearer images, ideological coherence Decline of Progressive-era ideals: objective journalism, “neutral competence” in administration

23. 7/6/2016“The Partisan Presidency” Richard M. Skinner Implications Polarized public, increasing political distrust United government: policies against public sentiment? Divided government: gridlock Policy decisions driven by ideology, party politics