AP Ch 13
American presidency mizzou online
34 flashcards · Politics · by Madi Butler
What is the most important lesson we should learn from Skowronek?
We learn that all presidents and presidencies are not created equal.
Define Skowronek's concept of political time.
We can see recurrent themes or patterns in history that allow us to compare presidents across time. Skowronek argues that sometimes presidents who are separated by many years have more in common than two presidents who serve one after another. Skowronek makes this argument because he sees things in political time, which is a type of pattern recognition that follows a cyclical view of American history (meaning that events follow a pattern that recurs throughout history).
Explain how Skowronek's regime cycles function.
Regimes and governing coalitions are created, usually during a time of crisis. Over time, the cohesion of the governing coalition weakens, destabilizes, and decays, and leaders have difficulty managing conflicts between allied groups and find over time that their prescriptions no longer work in a changing nation. Eventually the regime and governing coalition collapse, a new regime takes over, and the cycle begins all over again. Be sure you are familiar with each of the four types of regimes Sk…
What was the objective of Barber's studies of presidential character?
Barber's objective was to create a framework that can be used to place a candidate's or president's psychological tendencies into categories and use those categories as an explanatory and predictive tool. Barber hoped his schema would enable citizens to choose the right presidents by giving them clear criteria for predicting performance and the ability to use that prediction to assess possible candidates.
Barber's four character types and when they are best to serve?
(1) Acitve-Positive: is good at any time: "a president for all seasons." (2) Active-Negative: best fits a time that cries out for action. (3) Passive-Positive: best fits a time of conciliation/reassurance. (4) Passive-Negative: best fits a time of legitimacy/conscience.
Characteristics of Barber's four character types
(1) Acitve-Positive: the "best" type according to Barber--Such a president is suited to the presidency at any time, under any conditions. An active-positive is an energetic president who enjoys his or her work. Such presidents have high self-esteem and are optimistic, confident, and flexible. FDR, Kennedy, Teddy Roosevelt (2) Active-Negative: A president who spends a lot of energy but does not enjoy his job. This type tends to have low self-esteem. Expands his energy compulsively to compensate…
What does it mean that there is a problem of interpretation with Barber's theory?
The problem is in defining what the standards of evidence should be in personality studies. How can we confirm a specific interpretation when many dispute it? The assessment of a candidate or a president is only as good as the assessor's interpretation.
Define the unity of virtues. Use the bicycle wheel analogy to explain it
Both Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas argue that all the excellences of character (virtues such as wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice) are interdependent; a flaw in one entails a flaw in every other. We can use a bicycle wheel as an example. Wisdom is the hub. We need wisdom to understand how to apply various moral virtues to our lives. Moral virtues are the spokes, and the development and preservation of wisdom depend on moral virtues. Every moral virtue depends on every other moral virt…
For what reason is Eastland critical of Reagan? What principle does Eastland base his criticism on?
According to Eastland, the president is better served by making clear in advance what he will do. It is the president's responsibility to lay out clear battle lines, argue his or her case before Congress and the public, and perhaps even risk defeat through veto strategy. This furthers the cause of deliberative government. Eastland faults Reagan for his involvement in Iran-Contras but not in the way some critics did. Eastland faulted Reagan for avoiding conflict and trying to work behind the sce…
Skowronek's (4) Political regimes and president types
(1) (a) Construction/Reconstruction: The president is opposed to the dominant coalition, but the dominant coalition is vulnerable or collapsing. This type tends to be dominated by a great crisis (political or otherwise) that calls into question the credibility and legitimacy of the dominant coalition (b) Regime Builder: The new president seeks to redefine politics on his or her terms, to construct/reconstruct a new regime order (a new dominant coalition) with a new governing philosophy. The new…
Examples of regimes/ regime type presidents?
Regime Builder: Franklin Roosevelt and the Democrats blamed the country's troubles on the Republican Party and Herbert Hoover, which discredited the Republican Party in the eyes of many for a generation. also, Reagan, Lincoln Regime Manager: (Reafirm): Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson all paid homage to Roosevelt (as their patron saint) and sought to build on his legacy. also both Bush's Regime Manager: (disjunction) after Johnson's presidency, which did a great deal of damage to the Democratic Par…
Relevant aspects to access according to Barber (3)
Style: how the president does his or her job with regard to rhetoric, personal relations, homework; how he or she acts Worldview: how the president sees the world and his or her beliefs about politics, human nature, and the central moral conflicts of our time; how he or she sees things Character: how the president orients himself or herself toward life; how he or she views him or herself; self-esteem
Skowronek's wants us to recognize two things when viewing presidents in time
(1) The constitutional structure/order (separation of powers) does not change—it is a fixed entity (even if we accept Tulis's "rhetorical presidency," things are still very much shaped and influenced by the original constitutional structure). (2) Every president seeks to make the office his or her own (it is human nature—presidents want to achieve success on their terms).
reasons we may want to study presidents and presidential candidates as individuals and the problems with trying to do so.
How do we weigh character/personality/psychology against other possible factors, such as ideology, partisan strength, and external factors (the conditions Skowronek thinks are important)?
Why don't we consider Lincoln and FDR to be opposition presidents?
Pierce and Buchanan (whose Democratic regime gave way to Lincoln)
Opposition Article: The Grain of History
Neustadt argues that a president can be evaluated by examining his purposes and determining whether they run with the "grain of history" Although there are variations in the details, there has emerged a rough consensus that American political history can be described as a series of political eras that tend to favor one party over another, eras bounded by critical realign
Opposition Article: What is an Opposition president
an opposition president is a president in opposition to the grain of history.
Opposition Article: Dynamics of presidential leadership (3)
the dynamics of presidential leadership depend on (1) long-term historical forces, (2) partisan relationships (3) the president's own understanding of his power situation
Opposition Article: Central task of the president
Presidents must understand their place in the grain of history to know what can, and can not be accomplished.
Opposition Article: the problem for opposition leaders
is that they are nascent redefiners forced to operate in a political context that will not allow them to succeed"
According to Crockett, opposition (article presidents who pursue tempered agendas serve two big functions. What are these functions?
(1) to solidify and consolidate the reigning governing philosophy. Serving at a time when his own party’s philosophy is on the defensive, the opposition president serves to reinforce the fundamental tenants of the governing party. (2) The second function is to give their own party time to regroup after its philosphical setback. The process of governing while still on the defensive can cause the oppositon party to rethink ints own governing philosphy and change into a more appealing forum.
According to Crockett, in the section on “Deference toward the Governing Party,” what strategy is used by successful opposition presidents?
the strategy used by successful opposition presidents was the willingness to compromise with the governing party on issues that do not involve matters of principle. They do that by compromising on certain issues, avoiding zero-sum games on every divisive issue. They choose their political battles carefully and resist the temptation to avoid compromise.
According to the article by Skowronek, what is the least authoritative, most vulnerable leadership situation for a president? Give two examples of presidents in this category?
The least authoritative and most vulnerable leadership situation is the 3rd regime type, disjunction. In this regime, the president is a part of the dominant coalition but the coalition is declining or collapsing. Two presidents that fit into this category are President Carter and President Adams.
What are the two main questions Skowronek asks when he assesses regimes?
(1) Is the president opposed to, or affiliated with the dominant governing coalition, (2) regarding the condition of the regime order. Is the regime healthy and powerful or is it on the defensive?
What is the unique aspect of the presidency that makes the personal characteristics of the individual president more important than the personal characteristics of the people who serve in the other branches of government?
it is occupied by one person. To expand on that it is the executive branch and ultimately the individual who has the most authority and who will be held accountable by the people and the government.
importance of the campaign of 1840 in shaping modern presidential campaigns.
The campaign of 1840 established a pattern of campaign techniques, such as public gatherings, buttons, banners, and slogans, that dominated electoral politics for more than 100 years. The techniques of the 1840 campaign have been replaced with more technologically advanced techniques, but the principle of trying to appeal to as many voters as possible remains the same.
What enduring effect did the campaign of 1896 have on subsequent presidential elections?
It was a campaign with a great deal of media, or a campaign of education. In order to pull off such a campaign, it was necessary to spend a great deal of money. The amount of money spent was probably record setting, and it set the standard for big money in presidential campaigns that remains an ever-expanding reality today.
What role did the media play in the campaign of 1896?
The campaign was very media centered. Both sides had strong allies in the media, and they used those allies to get out their message. One media ally was particularly important to William Jennings Bryan. William Randolph Hearst was Bryan's most effective weapon (besides himself), and he used his newspapers to solicit money for Bryan; attack his opponent, William McKinley and McKinley's campaign manager Marcus Hanna; and to publish positive stories about Bryan.
What are the three parts of the electoral triangle? What are their responsibilities?
(1) Citizens have a responsibility to learn about the issues (2) Candidates have a responsibility to be positive and informational (3)The media have a responsibility to report on substantive matters that citizens can use to make informed decisions.
What should citizens ask about candidates' positions on the issues and about candidates' competence?
They should ask what each candidate's policy vision is. What are the candidates' positions on issues, and what programs do they propose to deal with various issues? How do the candidates propose financing the programs they propose? In assessing candidate competence, citizens should ask whether the ability to organize for results has been demonstrated in other jobs—are they able to lead effectively?
Identify and explain the three types of situations relevant to judging a president's coping habits.
Personal chemistry—Does the president engage well with the people? Moral wiring—Is the president a moral person? The president is the human embodiment of an idealized national identity; therefore, potential presidents should be somewhat exemplary or at least acceptable. Coping habits—How does the person respond to stressful situations?
Does most evidence support the existence of mandates? Explain your answer.
No. True mandates seem to be rare, as evidenced by the number of successful presidents who did not have a mandate and the number of presidents who won big victories but had less than successful presidencies. Another way of examining this is by looking at the presidential coattail effect. It does not seem that successful presidents frequently bring large majorities of their own party into office with them either. In short, mandates seem to be more fiction than reality.
According to Robert Dahl, why is the idea of mandates dangerous?
The concept is dangerous and harmful to the extent that it portrays the president as the only representative of the people and Congress as representing only narrow and special interests. According to Dahl, Elections confer legitimate authority and opportunity for the president to use constitutional means to try to get policies adopted—and for Congress to do the same.
Wilson's requirements for mandates (4)
(1) candidates must take clear positions on the issues (2) Voters must vote for candidates because of those positions (3) Election results must be consistent, meaning the president's party must have a broad-based victory. Presidents usually need more than a narrow majority in Congress, and there cannot be divided government. (4)