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The Presidents: Noted Historians Rank America's Best--and Worst--Chief Executives
by Brian Lamb Douglas Brinkley Susan Swain Richard Norton SmithThe complete rankings of our best -- and worst -- presidents, based on C-SPAN's much-cited Historians Surveys of Presidential Leadership. Over a period of decades, C-SPAN has surveyed leading historians on the best and worst of America's presidents across a variety of categories -- their ability to persuade the public, their leadership skills, the moral authority, and more. The crucible of the presidency has forged some of the very best and very worst leaders in our national history, along with much in between.Based on interviews conducted over the years with a variety of presidential biographers, this book provides not just a complete ranking of our presidents, but stories and analyses that capture the character of the men who held the office. From Abraham Lincoln's political savvy and rhetorical gifts to James Buchanan's indecisiveness, this book teaches much about what makes a great leader--and what does not.As America looks ahead to our next election, this book offers perspective and criteria that may help us choose our next leader wisely.
Presidents: Every Question Answered
by Carter SmithFrom George Washington to Barack Obama, an entertaining and educational overview of our nation’s chief executives.The highest office of our country has been a challenging one to occupy, from the times of a newly found nation to the global power seat it has become. Presidents: Every Question Answered reviews our leaders’ time in office and how their distinct characteristics became evident in the laws and improvements (or regressions) made during their terms. Biographical facts, First Ladies, and the administrative personnel that shared each president’s days are contained in these pages. Whether you’re a history major looking for extra credit, or just curious to know more about the melting pot of the United States, this book will give you insight and answers to your questions.
Presidents and Civil Liberties from Wilson to Obama
by Samuel WalkerThis book is a history of the civil liberties records of American presidents from Woodrow Wilson to Barack Obama. It examines the full range of civil liberties issues: First Amendment rights of freedom of speech, press, and assembly; due process; equal protection, including racial justice, women's rights, and lesbian and gay rights; privacy rights, including reproductive freedom; and national security issues. The book argues that presidents have not protected or advanced civil liberties, and that several have perpetrated some of worst violations. Some Democratic presidents (Wilson and Roosevelt), moreover, have violated civil liberties as badly as some Republican presidents (Nixon and Bush). This is the first book to examine the full civil liberties records of each president (thus, placing a president's record on civil rights with his record on national security issues), and also to compare the performance on particular issues of all the presidents covered.
Presidents and Democracy in Latin America
by Manuel Alcántara Jean Blondel Jean-Louis ThiébaultThis new textbook provides students with a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the presidents and presidential leadership in Latin America. Unlike other texts, Presidents and Democracy in Latin America integrates both political analysis and major theoretical perspectives with extensive country-specific material. Part One examines the developments in recent years in Latin American presidentialism and identifies different characteristics of society and politics which have influenced Latin American governments. The personalization of political life and of presidential government help to illustrate the character of Latin American politics, specifically on the type of political career of those who occupied the presidential office, the leadership style of these presidents and the type of government which they led. Part Two studies two presidents in each of six countries in the region which reflect the broad trends in the political and electoral life: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. Each case study first provides the biographical background of the president; it outlines the political career of the president both inside and outside of a party, including at the local level; the popularity of the president at the time of the presidential election is given, as well as the mode of selection of the candidates (selection by party leaders only, by party members or by a primary). The relation of the president with the government or ministers, especially if there is a coalition government, is detailed. This textbook will be essential reading for all students of Latin American Politics and is highly recommended for those studying executive politics, political leadership, and the state of democratic governance in Latin America.
Presidents and Political Scandal: Managing Scandal in the Modern Era (The Evolving American Presidency)
by Richard P. BarberioThis book explores presidential power through an analysis of the ways that U.S. presidents attempt to manage scandals. While presidents routinely stonewall to block or limit investigations into their alleged transgressions or, in some cases, cooperate with investigators, this book proposes the existence of a third way of responding to scandals—a “backfire” or the creation of a counter-scandal to try to extinguish the original scandal. The existence of possible backfires is surveyed through case studies of the major scandals that impacted the Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, and Trump administrations. The development of this form of scandal response has meaningful implications concerning the growth of presidential power and its impacts on the functioning of the U.S. political system and the quality of American democracy. Changes in partisanship, the media environment, and the public’s view of the presidency and government are topics covered in the book’s explanation of the trends in scandal responses.
The Presidents and the Constitution, Volume One: From the Founding Fathers to the Progressive Era
by Ken GormleyShines a light on the constitutional issues that confronted and shaped each presidency from George Washington to the Progressive EraDrawing from the monumental The Presidents and the Constitution: A Living History, published in 2016, the nation’s foremost experts in the American presidency and the US Constitution join together to tell the intertwined stories of how the first twenty-seven distinctive American presidents have confronted and shaped the Constitution and thus defined the most powerful office in human history.From George Washington to William Howard Taft, The Presidents and the Constitution, Volume 1 illuminates the evolving American presidency in a unique way—through the lens of the Constitution itself. Arranged chronologically by president, the book examines the constitutional issues confronting each president in the context of the personalities driving historical events.The contributors illustrate the extensive powers of the American presidency in domestic and foreign affairs, showing how they have been used by the men who were granted them, and brings to light the overarching constitutional themes that span this country’s history and tie each presidency to the other branches of government.
The Presidents and the Constitution, Volume Two: From World War I to the Trump Era
by Ken GormleyA revealing look at the constitutional issues that confronted and shaped each presidency from Woodrow Wilson through Donald J. TrumpDrawing from the monumental publication The Presidents and the Constitution: A Living History in 2016, the nation’s foremost experts in the American presidency and the US Constitution tell the intertwined stories of how the last eighteen American presidents have interfaced with the Constitution and thus defined the most powerful office in human history.This volume leads off with Woodrow Wilson, the president who led the nation through World War I, and ends with Donald J. Trump, who ushered the US into uncharted political and legal territory. In between, the country was confronted with international wars, the civil rights movement, 9/11, and the advent of the internet, all of which presented unique and pressing constitutional issues. The last one hundred years reveals the awesome powers of the American presidency in domestic and foreign affairs, illustrating how they have stood up to modern and novel legal challenges. The Presidents and the Constitution is for anyone interested in a captivating and illuminating account of one of the most compelling subjects in our American democracy.
Presidents and the Dissolution of the Union: Leadership Style from Polk to Lincoln
by Fred I. GreensteinThe strengths and weaknesses of the presidents who led the United States to the Civil WarThe United States witnessed an unprecedented failure of its political system in the mid-nineteenth century, resulting in a disastrous civil war that claimed the lives of an estimated 750,000 Americans. In his other acclaimed books about the American presidency, Fred Greenstein assesses the personal strengths and weaknesses of presidents from George Washington to Barack Obama. Here, he evaluates the leadership styles of the Civil War-era presidents.Using his trademark no-nonsense approach, Greenstein looks at the presidential qualities of James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Abraham Lincoln. For each president, he provides a concise history of the man's life and presidency, and evaluates him in the areas of public communication, organizational capacity, political skill, policy vision, cognitive style, and emotional intelligence. Greenstein sheds light on why Buchanan is justly ranked as perhaps the worst president in the nation's history, how Pierce helped set the stage for the collapse of the Union and the bloodiest war America had ever experienced, and why Lincoln is still considered the consummate American leader to this day.Presidents and the Dissolution of the Union reveals what enabled some of these presidents, like Lincoln and Polk, to meet the challenges of their times--and what caused others to fail.
Presidents and the Media: The Communicator in Chief (Media and Power)
by Stephen E. FrantzichIs Donald Trump’s "War on the Media" new news, fake news, or business as usual? Presidents have always "used" the media and felt abused by it. Tried and true vehicles such as press conferences, routine speeches and the State of the Union address have served presidents’ interests and received significant coverage by the print media. As new technologies have entered the media spectrum, the speed and pervasiveness of these interactions have changed dramatically. President Obama ushered in the social media presidency, while President Trump has become the tweeter-in-chief. This book shows how each of these developments affects what is communicated and how it is received by the public.
The Presidents and the People: Five Leaders Who Threatened Democracy and the Citizens Who Fought to Defend It
by Corey BrettschneiderAmerican presidents have often pushed the boundaries established for them by the Constitution; this is the inspirational history of the people who pushed back. Imagine an American president who imprisoned critics, spread a culture of white supremacy, and tried to upend the law so that he could commit crimes with impunity. In this propulsive and eminently readable history, constitutional law and political science professor Corey Brettschneider provides a thoroughly researched account of assaults on democracy by not one such president but five. John Adams waged war on the national press of the early republic, overseeing numerous prosecutions of his critics. In the lead-up to the Civil War, James Buchanan colluded with the Supreme Court to deny constitutional personhood to African Americans. A decade later, Andrew Johnson urged violence against his political opponents as he sought to guarantee a white supremacist republic after the Civil War. In the 1910s, Woodrow Wilson modernized, popularized, and nationalized Jim Crow laws. In the 1970s, Richard Nixon committed criminal acts that flowed from his corrupt ideas about presidential power. Through their actions, these presidents illuminated the trip wires that can damage or even destroy our democracy. Corey Brettschneider shows that these presidents didn’t have the last word; citizen movements brought the United States back from the precipice by appealing to a democratic understanding of the Constitution and pressuring subsequent reform-minded presidents to realize the promise of “We the People.” This is a book about citizens—Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, Daniel Ellsberg, and more—who fought back against presidential abuses of power. Their examples give us hope about the possibilities of restoring a fragile democracy.
The Presidents and the Planet: Climate Change Science and Politics from Eisenhower to Bush
by Jay HakesThe Presidents and the Planet recounts the story of the world’s greatest environmental dilemma through the eyes of early climate change pioneers. It begins in the 1950s, when American scientists first warned about the risks of pollution altering the natural climate in dramatic ways, the national media began covering the matter, and experts first offered testimony to congressional committees on the topic. The story ends in the early 1990s, by which time global efforts to confront the challenge were advancing, while political turmoil had begun to undermine U.S. leadership’s ability to address current and future environmental threats.While some early proponents endorsing climate action are well known, many of the major players have gone largely unrecognized. The oceanographer Roger Revelle exerted influence on eight White Houses during his life and even one after his death, when his former student Al Gore assumed the office of vice president. William Nordhaus had already written seminal studies on climate change when President Jimmy Carter appointed him to the Council of Economic Advisors. Four decades later, the Yale professor won the Nobel Prize in economics for his work on the subject. John Chafee, a Republican from Rhode Island, chaired the Senate’s first committee on the problem and provided concrete solutions to face the dangers of a warming planet during the Reagan administration. The drama reached a full pitch during the George H. W. Bush years, as vocal advocates for climate action and staunch foes of government regulation wrestled over the direction of U.S. energy and environmental policy.To better trace the evolving climate debate in America, author Jay Hakes inspected the archives and writings of prominent scientists and the pivotal reports of the National Academy of Sciences, and traveled to presidential libraries to discover how commanders-in-chief and their science, economic, and political advisors addressed the issue. The Presidents and the Planet affords fresh perspectives that will alter the public’s understanding of when officials first grasped the dire consequences of climate change.
Presidents and the Politics of Agency Design: Political Insulation in the United States Government Bureaucracy, 1946-1997
by David E. LewisThe administrative state is the nexus of American policy making in the postwar period. The vague and sometimes conflicting policy mandates of Congress, the president, and courts are translated into real public policy in the bureaucracy. As the role of the national government has expanded, the national legislature and executive have increasingly delegated authority to administrative agencies to make fundamental policy decisions. How this administrative state is designed, its coherence, its responsiveness, and its efficacy determine, in Robert Dahl’s phrase, “who gets what, when, and how.” This study of agency design, thus, has implications for the study of politics in many areas. The structure of bureaucracies can determine the degree to which political actors can change the direction of agency policy. Politicians frequently attempt to lock their policy preferences into place through insulating structures that are mandated by statute or executive decree. This insulation of public bureaucracies such as the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Election Commission, and the National Nuclear Security Administration, is essential to understanding both administrative policy outputs and executive-legislative politics in the United States. This book explains why, when, and how political actors create administrative agencies in such a way as to insulate them from political control, particularly presidential control.
Presidents and Their Generals: An American History of Command in War
by Matthew MotenA military historian traces the long struggle of American presidents to assert their power over uncooperative generals.Since World War II, the United States has been engaged in near-constant military conflict abroad, often with ill-defined objectives, ineffectual strategy, and uncertain benefits. In this era of limited congressional oversight and “wars of choice,” the executive and the armed services have shared the primary responsibility for making war. The negotiations between presidents and their generals thus grow ever more significant, and understanding them becomes essential.Matthew Moten traces a sweeping history of the evolving roles of civilian and military leaders in conducting war, demonstrating how war strategy and national security policy shifted as political and military institutions developed, and how they were shaped by leaders’ personalities. Early presidents established the principle of military subordination to civil government, and from the Civil War to World War II the president’s role as commander-in-chief solidified, with an increasingly professionalized military offering its counsel. But General Douglas MacArthur’s insubordination to President Harry Truman during the Korean War put political-military tensions on public view. Subsequent presidents selected generals who would ally themselves with administration priorities. Military commanders in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan did just that—and the results were poorly conceived policy and badly executed strategy.The most effective historical collaborations between presidents and their generals were built on mutual respect for military expertise and civilian authority, and a willingness to negotiate with candor and competence. Upon these foundations, future soldiers and statesmen can ensure effective decision-making in the event of war and bring us closer to the possibility of peace.Praise for Presidents and Their Generals“This highly readable book, impressive in scope, is a major contribution to understanding the important yet often-shifting dynamics of civil-military relations in the U.S.?past, present, and future.” —W. A. Taylor, Choice“The author's opinions are precise and witty and based on comprehensive knowledge of his subject, as he clearly demonstrates how wars are lost by the arrogant and/or incompetent. A brilliant, fascinating picture of how wars badly begun and poorly run can affect an entire country?usually at the hands of just a few men.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Presidents as Candidates: Inside the White House for the Presidential Campaign (Politics and Policy in American Institutions)
by Kathryn D. TenpasFirst published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Presidents as Candidates: Inside the White House for the Presidential Campaign
by Kathryn D. TenpasFirst published in 1998. Presidents as Candidates offers a truly unique treatment of the White House role in the re-election efforts of contemporary presidents since 1956. Throughout the volume, Kathryn Tenpas compares and contrasts these eight re-election efforts (from Eisenhower through Clinton). She considers the many unique differences and similarities of each White House-led effort. As with any good study, she considers the multitude of political, institutional and policy factors (domestic, economic and international) that affect the strategies and decisions made. She then develops a typology of three standard types of campaigns・victorious, defeated and takeover・that proves useful in understanding the re-election efforts.
Presidents, Assemblies and Policy-making in Asia
by Yuko KasuyaThe authors assess the constitutional and partisan powers of Asian presidents, and analyse how they are used in actual policy-making processes. Country case studies on Afghanistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan analyze how their constitutional and partisan powers are used in actual policy-making processes.
Presidents at War: How World War II Shaped a Generation of Presidents, from Eisenhower and JFK through Reagan and Bush
by null Steven M. GillonSteven M. Gillon, historian and New York Times bestselling author, is back with the story of how WWII shaped the characters and politics of seven American presidents.World War II loomed over the latter half of the twentieth century, transforming every level of American society and international relationships and searing itself onto the psyche of an entire generation, including that of seven American presidents: Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush. The lessons of World War II, more than party affiliation or ideology, defined the presidencies of these seven men. They returned home determined to confront any force that threatened to undermine the war&’s hard-won ideals, each with their own unique understanding of patriotism, sacrifice, and America&’s role in global politics.In Presidents at War, Gillon examines what these men took away from the war and how they then applied it to Cold War policies that proceeded to change America, and the world, forever. A nuanced and deeply researched exploration of the lives, philosophies, and legacies of seven remarkable men, Presidents at War deftly argues that the lessons learned by these postwar presidents continue to shape the landscape upon which current and future presidents stand today.
The President's Book Of Secrets: The Untold Story Of Intelligence Briefings To America's Presidents From Kennedy To Obama
by George H. W. Bush David Priess"One of the most interesting, exhilarating, and informative aspects of the presidency was my time with the CIA analysts and my PDB briefers. " --George W. Bush, correspondence with the author, November 2012. Every day a member of the CIA presents to the president a report detailing the most sensitive activities and analysis of world events. These can range from the behavior of America's allies to the maneuvering of its adversaries, from imminent dangers to long-term strategic opportunities, and are often based on the words of highly placed sources or the interceptions of astonishingly nimble technologies. This report forms the basis of the president's assessment of US intelligence and strength. It is for the president's eyes only. The story of the President's Daily Brief--the PDB, in the jargon--is a window into the character of each president and his administration, and the degree to which his worldview and policy was shaped by the information from the security services. It is a story that could only be told by a trusted insider. David Priess served during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations as an award-winning intelligence officer, manager, and daily intelligence briefer at the CIA. The CIA, despite its mission of secrecy, has diligently declassified and posted millions of pages of raw intelligence reports, analytic assessments, and memos from the late 1940s through the 1980s. These agency papers have been awaiting examination in a nondescript corner of the CIA's public website. Many more sit on an antiquated database terminal at the National Archives annex in College Park, Maryland. Few people know such documents exist. Fewer still made the effort to dig through them as Priess has, hauling in never-before-revealed insights about the PDB. The information base for this book, finally, includes largely untapped oral histories, memoirs from PDB recipients and intelligence leaders, publicly released CIA internal studies, and tidbits about key personalities and locations from previously published works.
The President's Child: A Novel (Portway Ser.)
by Fay WeldonFay Weldon&’s gripping novel asks the questions, Can a politician&’s life ever be private? And, Can the past ever stay buried? Isabel has a secret: Seven years ago, she had an affair and ended up pregnant. A few months later, she married Homer Rust, who has no idea that Jason isn&’t his son. Now, Isabel&’s former lover, a US senator poised for the presidential nomination, is threatening her contented family life and her career as a journalist. Dandridge Ivel has never forgotten Isabel. But his aides are making it their business to make sure she&’s erased from his life. Isabel is a dangerous liability that could destroy Dandy&’s political career—especially when her son is becomes a pawn in a murderous conspiracy. Part thriller, part love story, The President&’s Child exposes the secrets and lies at the heart of a marriage, the consequences of love, and how much a mother will sacrifice for her child.
The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity
by Nancy Gibbs Michael DuffyThe Presidents Club, established at Dwight Eisenhower's inauguration by Harry Truman and Herbert Hoover, is a complicated place: its members are bound forever by the experience of the Oval Office and yet are eternal rivals for history's favor. Among their secrets: How Jack Kennedy tried to blame Ike for the Bay of Pigs. How Ike quietly helped Reagan win his first race in 1966. How Richard Nixon conspired with Lyndon Johnson to get elected and then betrayed him. How Jerry Ford and Jimmy Carter turned a deep enmity into an alliance. The unspoken pact between a father and son named Bush. And the roots of the rivalry between Clinton and Barack Obama. Time magazine editors and presidential historians Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy offer a new and revealing lens on the American presidency, exploring the club as a hidden instrument of power that has changed the course of history.
Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools: The Politics of Education Reform
by Jack JenningsApril 2015 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the landmark legislation that has provided the foundation of federal education policy in the United States. In Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools, longtime policy analyst Jack Jennings examines the evolution of federal education policy and outlines a bold and controversial vision for its future. Jennings brings an insider&’s knowledge to this account, offering a vivid analysis of federal efforts in the education arena and revealing some of the factors that shaped their enactment. His rich descriptions and lively anecdotes provide pointed lessons about the partisan climate that stymies much federal policy making today. After assessing the impacts of Title I and NCLB, and exploring the variety of ways that the federal government has intervened in education, Jennings sets forth an ambitious agenda for reframing education as a federal civil right and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn.
Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools: The Politics of Education Reform
by Jack Jennings Michael J. FeuerApril 2015 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the landmark legislation that has provided the foundation of federal education policy in the United States. In Presidents, Congress, and the Public Schools, longtime policy analyst Jack Jennings examines the evolution of federal education policy and outlines a bold and controversial vision for its future. Jennings brings an insider's knowledge to this account, offering a vivid analysis of federal efforts in the education arena and revealing some of the factors that shaped their enactment. His rich descriptions and lively anecdotes provide pointed lessons about the partisan climate that stymies much federal policy making today. After assessing the impacts of Title I and NCLB, and exploring the variety of ways that the federal government has intervened in education, Jennings sets forth an ambitious agenda for reframing education as a federal civil right and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn.
The President's Counselor: The Rise to Power of Alberto Gonzales
by Bill MinutaglioThe first and only biography of the most controversial u.s. Attorney general in recent memoryIn defiance of expectations, statistics, and stereotypes, Alberto Gonzales has risen to become one of the most powerful men in America. Gonzales has been the nexus for key policy points for the Bush administration, and holds inflammatory and very influential positions on issues that seize and polarize the nation—privacy, capital punishment, and torture.Gonzales's unyielding loyalty to George W. Bush—during a time when to call his presidency "controversial" would be an understatement of massive proportions—is a fascinating study in the politics of ambition.From his modest beginnings in Humble, Texas, to his stone-faced refusal to buckle under the pressure of dissenters, The President's Counselor provides never-seen insight into the man whose influence over a very powerful president in very pressing times will undoubtedly impact people here and abroad for years to come.
The President's Daughter: A Thriller
by James Patterson Bill ClintonAll Presidents have nightmares. This one is about to come true. <P><P>Every detail is accurate—because one of the authors is President Bill Clinton. The drama and action never stop—because the other author is James Patterson. Matthew Keating, a one-time Navy SEAL—and a past president—has always defended his family as staunchly as he has his country. Now those defenses are under attack. <P><P>A madman abducts Keating’s teenage daughter, Melanie—turning every parent’s deepest fear into a matter of national security. As the world watches in real time, Keating embarks on a one-man special-ops mission that tests his strengths: as a leader, a warrior, and a father. <P><P>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
Presidents' Day (American Holidays)
by Connor DaytonIntroduces Presidents' Day and the two presidents it chiefly honors, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and describes monuments to the presidents.