THE PRESIDENCY
POL 212
Fall 1997

Dr. Susan Roberts

"Clinton promised to end welfare as we know it and to institute what sounded like a two-year time limit. This was bumper-sticker politics -- oversimplification to win votes....I am amazed at how many people have bought the line that the welfare bill was a little set of adjustments that could easily be done away with. Congress and the President have dynamited a structure that was in place for six decades."

-- Peter Edelman, "The Worst Thing Bill Clinton Has Done," The Atlantic Monthly, March 1997

"History shows that when the Executive and Legislative Branches are politically in conflict, politics in Washington runs riot. In these conditions, the public good goes begging while politics is played for politics' sake. Meanwhile, in the eyes of the world, we appear divided in council and uncertain in purpose."

-- Dwight Eisenhower, Address, October 8, 1954

"We're in the Roosevelt Room, listening to a presentation about the health care plan. We pore over charts and graphs and tables. It may be a good plan, but it's complicated as hell and I'm having a hard time understanding it. If I don't get it after concentrating for two hours, Joe and Mary Sixpack aren't going to get it after hearing about it for fifteen seconds on network television. Not a good omen."

-- Robert Reich, Locked In The Cabinet, 1997, p. 105

"The President must be greater than anyone else, but not better than anyone \else. We subject him and his family to close and constant scrutiny and denounce them for things that we ourselves do every day. A Presidential slip of the tongue, a slight error in judgement -- social, political, or ethical -- can raise a storm of protest. We give the President more work than a man can do, more responsibility than a man should take, more pressure than a man can bear. We abuse him often and rarely praise him. We wear him out, use him up, eat him up. And with all this, Americans have a love for the President that goes beyond loyalty or party nationality; he is ours, and we exercise the right to destroy him."

-- John Steinbeck, America and Americans, 1966, p. 46

Following the 1996 presidential election, Americans find themselves once again in a pattern of "divided government," in which the Presidency is in Democratic control and the Congress in Republican control. "Gridlocks" -- governmental shutdowns -- and showdowns on Capitol Hill with the Speaker are becoming more common as the struggles between President Clinton and the Republican controlled Congress take on new contours. As the Steinbeck quotation illustrates, the growth of presidential power and responsibility have created a daunting task for any chief executive. The love-hate relationship to which Steinbeck alludes seems an apt description for contemporary presidential politics. We will also examine the "scandal-prone" nature of the contemporary presidency.

It would seem that the American public and politicians have not heeded Eisenhower's advice on presidential selection. The 1996 election produced a giant yawn across most of the country, with turnouts dipping to a fifty year low. We will examine the presidential selection process, analyzing the recent contests of 1992 and 1996. Also, this course will focus to a significant degree on the limits and possibilities for presidential governance in our system of separated powers.

We will also attempt to understand the growth of presidential power and presidential rhetoric. The course will include such topics as the design of the office, presidential leadership, the president and congress, the administrative presidency, presidential policy making and the presidency and history. We will emphasize throughout the semester the role of the media and the manipulation by presidents or our perceptions of the institution and individual presidents. In addition, we will also concentrate on improving our writing and discursive skills as political scientists.

Course Requirements

Midterm Examination = 25% of final grade

Papers (2 @ 15%) = 30% of final grade

Mini-paper/exercise = 10% of final grade

Discussion/participation/Quizzes = 5% of final grade

Final Examination (cumulative) = 30% of final grade

The midterm and the final examinations will be essay, long and short, in format. A review sheet will be given out approximately one week prior to the examinations. Students are encouraged to work in study groups in preparation for these examination. This is in no way a violation of the Honor Code.

Papers

There will two major papers dealing with specific topics covering class materials and current dynamics of presidential politics. These papers should be no more than 15 pages in length (reasonable font, double-spaced, notations, & bibliography). Late work is subject to penalties.

It is imperative that you work on both papers simultaneously. Each requires sustained research and analysis.

Paper # 1 =Your first paper deals with any aspect of the presidency (not a particular president) and how this "power" or feature has evolved over time. You should emphasize the constitutional context

Paper # 2 = You may select any two or more "kiss & tell" memoirs of figures in the Reagan, Bush, or Clinton White Houses. Your task will be to assess their versions of the administration and their particular presidency. You should also be able to offer some independent assessment of their interpretation of events. A more specific sheet will follow, but students should begin formulating ideas on this paper in the first weeks of the semester, selecting their president and the memoirs to assess.

Class Participation

Students are expected to have read materials prior to class and to be prepared to engage in class discussions. You will be assessed a discussion grade; failure to participate in a meaningful manner in class usually results in a "C-" averaged into your final grade.

All work in this class is bound by the Honor Code. Any student not familiar with the college's definition of plagiarism should consult the handbook and should come to see me.

Attendance: Class attendance will be monitored and tallied. Students are expected to come to class regularly. In accordance with "The Red Book," students missing more than one-fourth of the classes will receive a failing grade. We will have several meetings outside the regular class time for films and pertinent lectures, and students are expected to make every effort to attend.

Office Hours and Consultations

Office: 329 C Chambers
Office Hours: 11:30 -12:00 MWF
1:30-2:45 M
1:00-2:45 Th and by appointment
Office Telephone: 2458
Home Telephone: 892-9874* (*please, no calls after 9p.m.)

I am normally in my office in times other than office hours, and students are encouraged to drop by for assistance. I will be available for lunch meetings with students on Mondays from roughly 11:30 - 1:00; please try to make plans in advance, either individually or in small groups.

Textbooks

Anonymous Primary Colors

Thomas, Pika & Watson The Politics of the Presidency (rev. 4th ed)

Milkis & Nelson The American Presidency: Origins & Development (2nd ed)

Ceasar & Busch Losing To Win: The 1996 Elections and American Politics

Renshon High Hopes: The Clinton Presidency and the Politics of Ambition

Thurber Rivals for Power

Hess Presidents & The Presidency

Rose The American Presidency Under Siege

Topics and Assignments

I. Introduction: Presidential Culture

Aug. 25 Introductory Remarks

Aug. 27 Anonymous Primary Colors

Aug. 29 News exercise

Sept. 1 Primary Colors

II. Origins, Creation & Constitutional Framework

Sept. 1, 3 An Unusual Invention

Sept. 5 Party & Presidents: Early Years

Sept. 8 Lincoln

Sept. 10, 12, 15 Presidential Power: A New Understanding

Sept. 17 The "Modern" Presidency

III. Presidential Selection

Sept. 19 Overview

Sept. 22, 24, Presidential Politics & Electoral College

Sept. 26, 29 Presidential Campaigns

Oct. 1 Film: The War Room

Oct. 3 The 1996 Election

Oct. 6 Losing To Win Chapters 5-6

MIDTERM EXAMINATION = WEDNESDAY OCT. 8

IV. Presidents, Personality & Politics

Oct. 10 Publics & Rhetoric

Oct. 13 Fall Break

Oct. 15, 17 Presidency & Media

Oct. 20,22 Character

Oct.24, 27 Clinton Appraisal

FIRST PAPER DUE = MONDAY, OCT. 27 BY 5:00PM

V. The Presidency & Congress: Governing With Gridlock & Shutdown

Oct. 29 Presidency & Congress: Both Ends of the Avenue

Oct. 31 Project

Nov. 3 Thurber Rivals For Power Chapters 1-5

Nov. 5 Thurber Rivals For Power Chapters 6-9

Nov. 7 Thurber Rivals For Power Chapters 10- 12

VI. Executive Branch Politics

Nov. 10 The Administrative Presidency

Nov. 12 Clinton Appraisal

Nov. 14 Judicial Politics

VI. The Presidency & Policy

Nov. 17, 19 Domestic Policy making

Nov. 21 Clinton Appraisal

SECOND PAPER DUE = MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24 BY 5:00PM

Nov. 24 Foreign Policy making

Nov. 26, 28 Presentations

VII. The Presidency and the Future

Dec. 1, 3, 5 Thomas, Pika & Watson Chapter 11 & Epilogue

We will make every effort not to use the optional class days so that you might synthesize the semester's material and review for the final, cumulative examination. Should we fall behind, I reserve the right to amend the syllabus, perhaps using optional days.