1. Presidential Success with Legislation
Kelsie Brook
Presidential Leadership

2. Presentation Trend in “going public”
Traditional Means of Legislative Success
What is legislative success?
Does going public lead to legislative success?
When do presidents go public for legislation?
There needs to be more inclusive studies

3. Trend in Going Public Kernell’s “going public”
Neustadt and extensions onto study of presidential skill
Edwards and doubt of presidential influence over opinion

4. Traditional Means of Success
The Veto’s influence over Congress
Veto as a position taking tool, rather than a deterrent
Beyond bargaining, what power do presidents have?

5. What is legislative success?
Varying definitions amongst scholars
Common thread is the focus on the end result

6. Does going public lead to legislative success?
Scope of the review
Andrew Barrett:
Presidents appeal excessively on only 40% of the initiatives they support
The more often presidents go public, the more likely they are to pass legislation
Powell and Schloyer:
Find minimal support for Kernell’s model of going public
Study found no evidence to suggest that the number of appeals affected the presidents success.

7. Continued… Both studies are unreliable and thus problematic
Neither can definitively claim that their results do not show evidence of successful bargaining or compromise
How can we measure going public if we are unable to separate the results from bargaining?

8. Continued…
Barrett’s article asked, “did legislation pass?” while Powell and Schloyer asked, “did he persuade legislators?”
Barrett and Eshbaugh-Soha:
Substance of legislation
Found that presidents usually compromise when passing legislation
Perhaps presidents go public to unite their own party?

9. When do presidents go public for legislation?
Barrett:
Presidents go public more frequently for bills they initiated
Canes-Wrone:
Presidents go public on issues that are already popular, ensuring the support of his own party

10. Continued…
Fett suggests that going public increases the awareness of an issue and provides room for discovery of alternative solutions
Appeals may strengthen the opposition in addition to the presidents own party

11. Conclusions More studies need to be performed: Clear definition
Answer concerns over substance, persuasion, and results
Examine broader going public literature as well as models of legislative voting