AP Ch 12

The American Presidency Online-- Mizzou

50 flashcards · Politics · by Madi Butler

1. Define political capital and explain how Neustadt felt presidents might use it.

   Political capital is public approval of the president. Neustadt felt the main way for presidents to succeed was to bargain with other policy makers, but he also felt that he could use public approval as a way to improve his bargaining advantage with other Washington policy makers.

2. What does Tulis mean when he argues that we have had two constitutional presidencies? When did the second constitutional presidency begin?

   Tulis argues that we do not live under the same system of government that the country began with. (1) first presidency imposed restrictions on the president through the separation of powers (2) second beginning with Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson—and current—presidency is one in which presidents try to govern by putting a premium on active and continuous presidential leadership of public opinion.

3. Explain why Kernell feels going public is harmful to the public policy–making process.

   He feels that it causes people to take public positions that oversimplify issues and cement people in place. Politicians do not feel they can negotiate because they have taken a public position and do not want to be accused of being wishy-washy.

4. Explain the nineteenth-century perspective about the appropriate public role for presidents to play.

   that the president would not appeal directly to the people for support and that the people would not try to influence the president directly. Presidents did not address Congress in person, and presidents rarely promoted their own legislative agenda in public or rallied followers on issues in Congress. Public addresses tended to be limited to patriotic speeches, constitutional analyses, war remembrances, and civic republicanism; they did not involve appeals to the public to back requests to Cong…

5. Explain how Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy used national media to communicate effectively with the American people.

   (1) Roosevelt: first president to effectively use radio, the first national medium. communicated messages to the American people that calmed and encouraged them, first with the Great Depression and then with the New Deal. (2) Kennedy was the first president to understand how to effectively appear on television in a way that made him attractive to the public. He managed to project an image that had more of an impact on the public than his actual performance as president.

6. Explain how Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy used national media to communicate effectively with the American people.

   (1) Roosevelt: first president to effectively use radio, the first national medium. communicated messages to the American people that calmed and encouraged them, first with the Great Depression and then with the New Deal. (2) Kennedy was the first president to understand how to effectively appear on television in a way that made him attractive to the public. He managed to project an image that had more of an impact on the public than his actual performance as president.

7. What is wrong with the public opinion techniques used by Clinton during his presidency?

   The problem with using techniques, such as public opinion polls and focus groups to test policy proposals, is that the president becomes risk averse. Rather than make innovative policy proposals, presidents who rely on these techniques introduce only policies they are sure will win. Rather than making a stand on a policy issue, presidents that use these tactics let themselves be led by the public.

8. Compare and contrast Ronald Reagan's use of going public with that of George W. Bush. Why was Reagan so much more effective in getting Congress to do what he wanted with tax reform and the budget than Bush was with Social Security reform?

   (1) Ronald Reagan: Reagan occasionally went public during the process of producing policy, but he also understood that negotiating with the members of Congress was a necessary part of the process. In this, Reagan rather brilliantly made going public part of the bargaining process itself. (2) Bush, on the other hand, ran into Democrats who were just as willing to go public as he was, and it resulted in killing the negotiation process and making winning a temporary political victory more importan…

9. Tulis writes that it is now taken for granted that presidents are popular leaders with several obligations. What are those obligations? (3)

   (1) Defend themselves publicly (2) to promote policy initiatives nationwide (3) to inspire the American people.

10. What does Tulis mean when he writes that the emergence of the rhetorical presidency is a profound development in American politics?

    this is a profound development because the framers were opposed to the idea of an outspoken president. Before the 20th century congressional leaders didn’t like the idea of an outspoken President either. The emergence of a rhetorical presidency changed the meaning of governance.

11. What did Johnson do on the first day he was president that demonstrated his understanding of the power of television?

    On the day that Kennedy died, he made a televised address to assure the country and the world that even though a terrible tragedy had occurred, the government would continue to function.

12. explain how Reagan used going public as part of his strategy to get the 1985 budget and tax code reform legislation passed.

    Reagan’s aids began to leak that the president was going to “confront” congress. Next Reagan used a radio broadcast to urge members of congress to cooperate with the budget. When senate negotiations weren’t going Reagans way he leaked that the president may go to the people to carry his message forward. During the rest of the negotiations, if things didn’t go Reagan’s way, he would stop negotiating and try going public.

13. In the commentary, it is argued that Richard Nixon is the real first TV president. What are the reasons given for this assertion?

    Nixon was the first president to use television to overcome a political crisis. He was also the first president to take advantage of late night entertainment TV to improve his image. He also used structures and patterns as president, designed to control media coverage.

14. Social Security is a prime example of Kernell’s worries about the negative consequences of going public. Why did the public suffer from the way the politicians handled this issue?

    Kernall predicted that going public can diminish negotiations with congress. When Bush Pushed his plan so publicly, he inspired democrats to see a winning political issue rather than a policy negotiation. When going public it puts everyone in a tougher negotiation stance. The president’s campaign, and the democratic response turned a high stakes policy into a mess which ultimately hurts the public.

15. According to the “President” vs. “president” article, list and briefly define each of the four categories of publications, based on their use of lower and uppercase spelling of “President.” (4)

    (1) Relegators: publications whose authors/editors/publishers initially used or changed to “president” during the timeframe 1969-1977 around the time of the Nixon or Ford administrations. They were the tradition breakers. (2) Modulators: publications who’s authors/editors/publishers switched from “President” to “president” after 1977, so the Ford administration or later. The Modulators followed the Relegators (3) Vacillators: have switched between “President” and “president” before, during or a…

16. According to the “President” vs. “president” article, what was the impact of the decision of most publications to decapitalize the “president”?

    The impact of the decision of most publications to decapitalize the “president” was to make the office appear less “imperial” and to “de-glamorize” the presidency. It ultimately reduced the standing and respect directed towards the office

17. According to the “Return of the Honeymoon” article, what is beat sweetening? Can the authors say definitively whether or not it happens?

    Beat sweetening is a process where reporters are thought to show favor with the new administration officials and potential sources with unusually positive coverage. They noted the findings were inconsistent. One of the key tasks of the presidential aides is to deflect criticism directed at the president, so the beat sweetening tendency of reporters may be cancelled out by the incentives.

18. According to the “Return of the Honeymoon” article, what did Obama have during the campaign that led to more positive first-year coverage than that enjoyed by his predecessors?

    During the campaign Obama’s team extensively used social media and were aggressive in courting their reporters, resulting in positive campaign coverage.

19. According to the “Return of the Honeymoon” article, what did Obama have during the campaign that led to more positive first-year coverage than that enjoyed by his predecessors?

    During the campaign Obama’s team extensively used social media and were aggressive in courting their reporters, resulting in positive campaign coverage.

20. Going Public

    seeking public support for their policy initiatives. Done by appealing directly to the public. such as through speeches, campaign-style rallies, public appearances, interviews on local media, and participation in town hall–style exchanges with "regular folks."

21. Bargaining

    presidents negotiate with the other policy makers in Washington to arrive at a solution everyone can live with.

22. the rhetorical presidency

    a principal tool of presidential governance as presidents regularly go over the heads of the members of Congress to speak directly to the people, seeking support for legislation and other initiatives.

23. Bully Pulpit

    Teddy Roosevelt called the presidency the "bully pulpit," "bully" meaning "good" and "pulpit" implying that the presidency gave him an opportunity to preach to the public.

24. Great Society

    Johnson's domestic policy agenda. His plans were even further reaching than Roosevelt's New Deal, and he regularly addressed the nation to discuss his plans and coax Congress to go along. Used television to promote many other domestic programs, such as the creation of Medicare, Medicaid, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He later used this to explain the Vietnam war. Stated histwin desires to create the Great Society and end the spread of communism through the War

25. Michael Deaver

    Reagan's key advisor and media strategist. Deaver understood that Reagan needed to be seen in full body if possible, because his body was impressive. The many clips of Reagan at work chopping wood or riding horses on his ranch were Deaver's idea. Deaver's secret was an instinct for what was important and what was simple. He understood that a country brought up on television was more impressed by the way things looked than by their actual substance. Deaver was the most powerful adviser in the Wh…

26. third rail of American politics

    Thanks to a comment by former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, for a long time, Medicare and Social Security have been known informally as the third rail. The third rail is the source of electricity, and touching it can be deadly. the third rail effect in reverse. No politician, Republican or Democrat, has ever lost office for supporting an increase in retirees' benefits.

27. America's Ownership Society

    The guiding principle behind all of the president's proposed reforms was that people needed to have a stake in the future of the country and take ownership (responsibility) of their futures. includes Social security reforms, health savings accounts, tax cuts to encourage entrepreneurship, and programs to encourage private saving for retirement.

28. "60 events in 60 days"

    President Bush embarked on a massive campaign-style tour of the country that was informally referred to as "60 events in 60 days," which were all aimed at promoting Social Security reform. It was a massive effort at going public and included all the tools we have come to expect of going public.

29. Karl Rove

    a growing scandal involving Karl Rove and the vice president's chief of staff, Lewis Libby; and the retirement of one Supreme Court justice and the death of the chief justice.

30. privatized retirement

    the personal accounts would give people the option of diverting as much as two-thirds of their 6.2 percent share of the payroll tax that funds Social Security. As people did that, it would have meant there was less money to support current retirees, and the government would have needed to make up the difference.

31. Obama's Healthcare reform

    In the beginning, president Obama’s public pronouncements on health care were limited to statements that he wanted to pursue health care reform but that he was leaving the work on the details to Congress. As resistance grew, Obama and members of his administration became more and more public in their support of health care reform, Throughout the summer and fall of 2009, the president became highly engaged on the issue, and the going-public campaign was as big as any presidential going-public ca…

32. Article Pres v pres: roughly when did the transition from President to president take place?

    This happened during the Nixon administration and accelerated after the 1970's

33. three main findings from Presidency V Presidency

    (1) Noted political scientists--not journalists, grammarians, publishers, or politicians--have led this national trend in lowercase usage (2) The lowercase preference began during Nixon and accelerated greatly after watergate. (3) the original efforts to alter capitalization stemmed from a desire to de-imperialize or de-glamorize the presidency

34. Article Pres v pres: functions served by political symbols

    They help citizens recognize political objects. make sense of politics, establish cultural values and morals, legitimize regimes and maintain existing order. Political symbols also enable citizens to identify members of their own group or nation, support beliefs and reinforce stereotypes.

35. Article Pres v pres: cognitive and affective reactions to symbols

    evoke emotions, shape attitudes, stir feelings of pride, hope and respect

36. Article Pres v pres: scrutiny of the symbolism surrounding the presidency in the late 1960s and early 1970s

    political scientists began to question the image of the "presidency" and challenge what they believed had become the "imperial presidency" "Imperial presidency" became associated with Nixon and watergate.

37. Article Pres v pres: effect of writings by Cronin, Reedy, Schlesinger and the Watergate Scandal

    These writings, the watergate scandal and vietnom spearheaded an entire new genre of professional and popular publications made use of the term "Imperial presidency" often associated with Nixon.

38. Article Pres v pres: capitalization suggests what?

    it indicates social status, de-capitalization reflects a loss of status respect or standing. this is an important political symbol that frequently changes with the times

39. Article Pres v pres: why they study published works and not authors specifically

    Because publications involve editors and publishers, not just authors. publications have style manuals that authors must follow

40. Article Pres v pres: what should have happened before this change took place?

    de-capitalizing the office should have received closer scrutiny before it was slowly adopted in other textbooks and periodicals.

41. Return of Honeymoon: one key area where Obama's 2008 campaign was notably different from its predecessors

    the aggressive courting of reporters and extensive use of paid media.

42. Return of Honeymoon: what made Obama a likely candidate for a media honeymoon?

    most positive media coverage of any presidential candidate over the past 20 years, no scandals, won a majority of the vote, etc.

43. Return of Honeymoon: relevance of the "two presidencies" theory to presidential communication

    Detailed study of news management strategies of the Bush administration found that the White House has far greater ability to control the political and media discourse on international matters, where it has greater control over the information flow

44. Return of Honeymoon: reasons they predict Obama's first year coverage would be much more positive than that for Reagan, Clinton, or Bush

    With respect to “beat sweetening,” we expected it would be most pronounced for the Obama presidency, which takes place at a time of heightened multimedia competition with network news. significant declines in the audience size and the fortunes of network television in recent years, the temptation seems greater than ever before for reporters to engage in this practice of endearing themselves to incoming administration officials in hopes of building relationships that can lead to improved access…

45. Return of Honeymoon: tone of Obama's overall news coverage in comparison to Reagan, Bush, Clinton

    Healthcare: Clinton--bad coverage-- Obama good. Leaving the details of the legislation to Congress may have helped Obama’s coverage in this issue area. Since his position was flexible during the 2009 portion of the health care debate, it was much harder to criticize. coverage was much better

46. Return of Honeymoon: tone of Obama's overall news coverage in comparison to Reagan, Bush, Clinton

    Healthcare: Clinton--bad coverage-- Obama good. Leaving the details of the legislation to Congress may have helped Obama’s coverage in this issue area. Since his position was flexible during the 2009 portion of the health care debate, it was much harder to criticize. coverage was much better

47. Return of Honeymoon: evidence in support of the return of the media honeymoon for Obama's first year

    Obama had much better coverage for his first year than other presidents, Clinton, Reagan and Bush. this coverage went to normal levels after his first year.

48. Why is understanding public opinion important for presidents?

    because they need to gain support for policies, want to convey what they are doing as president etc

49. what Franklin Roosevelt did that made him different from all previous presidents

    Roosevelt was the first president to truly "go public." Roosevelt used radio out of what he felt was political necessity.' Roosevelt turned to radio. Using his famous "fireside chats," Roosevelt was able to develop an intimate relationship with millions of Americans. He used his addresses on the radio, which brought him directly into the living rooms of millions of Americans, first to soothe their concerns about the Great Depression and then to rally people during World War II.

50. evolution of the television presidency during the presidencies of Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson

    Eisenhower: Eisenhower was elected, was the first to feature televised campaign commercials. Eisenhower was also the first president to permit his news conferences to be televised. Kennedy: Many scholars argue that the country's real first television president was John Kennedy. This consensus comes from the fact that he was the first president to fully understand the power of television as a communication medium, Johnson: From the first day of his presidency, Lyndon Johnson demonstrated an unde…