Why presidents fail / Richard M. Pious.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pious, Richard M., 1944-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Presidents--United States--History--20th century.

Presidents.

History.

United States.

Presidents--United States--History--21st century.

Leadership--United States--History--20th century.

Leadership.

Leadership--United States--History--21st century.

United States--Politics and government--20th century.

Politics and government.

United States--Politics and government--2001-2009.

Physical Description:

xi, 317 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Md. : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, [2008]

Summary:

Presidents are surrounded by political strategists and White House counsel who presumably know enough to avoid making the same mistakes as their predecessors. Why, then, do the same kinds of presidential failures occur over and over again? Why Presidents Fail answers this question by examining presidential fiascos, quagmires, and risky business-the kind of failure that led President Kennedy to groan after the Bay of Pigs invasion, "How could I have been so stupid?"

In this book, Richard M. Pious looks at nine cases that have become defining events in presidencies from Dwight D. Eisenhower and the U-2 flights to George W. Bush and Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. He uses these cases to draw generalizations about presidential power, authority, rationality, and legitimacy, and he raises questions about the limits of presidential decision making, many of which fly in the face of the conventional wisdom about the modern presidency.

Contents:

Introduction : presidential fiascoes

Reputation : Eisenhower and the U-2 flights

Power stakes : Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs

Compellence : Johnson and the Vietnam escalation

Command and control : Ford and the Mayaguez

Rhetoric : Carter and the malaise speech

Prerogative power : Reagan and the Iran-Contra affair

Gamesmanship : Bush 41 and the budget summit

Program innovation : Clinton and health care

Parallel governance : Bush and Iraqi weapons of mass destruction

Presidents unbound : crises of authority and legitimacy

Risk and resilience : toward a White House learning curve.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 299-302) and index.

ISBN:

9780742562844

9780742562851

0742562840

0742562859

OCLC:

213080311