The provisional pulpit : modern presidential leadership of public opinion / Brandon Rottinghaus.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rottinghaus, Brandon, 1977-

Series:

Presidency and leadership (Unnumbered)

Joseph V. Hughes Jr. and Holly O. Hughes series on the presidency and leadership

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Presidents--United States--Public opinion--Case studies.

Presidents.

Political leadership--United States--Case studies.

Political leadership.

Communication in politics--United States--Case studies.

Communication in politics.

Persuasion (Rhetoric)--Political aspects--United States--Case studies.

Persuasion (Rhetoric).

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

United States.

United States--Politics and government--21st century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (345 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

College Station : Texas A&M University Press, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The cornerstone of the public presidency is the ability of the White House to influence, shape, and even manipulate public opinion. Ultimately, although much has been written about presidential leadership of opinion, we are still left with many questions pertaining to the success of presidential opinion leadership efforts throughout the modern presidency. What is still missing is a systematic, sequential approach to describe empirical trends in presidential leadership of public opinion in order to expand on important scholarly queries, to resolve empirical disputes in the literature, and to check the accuracy of conventional political wisdom on how, when, and under what conditions presidents lead public opinion. In "The Provisional Pulpit," Brandon Rottinghaus develops a simple theory of presidential leadership, arguing that presidential messages are more likely to be received if there are fewer countervailing agents or messages to contradict the president's message. He concludes, based upon the findings presented in this book, that the "bully pulpit" is largely provisional for modern presidents. The more the president can avoid the political echo chamber associated with partisan battles or communications, the better the chance the president has to lead public opinion. " The Provisional Pulpit" adds an important layer of understanding to the issue of how and under what conditions presidents lead public opinion. All modern presidents clearly attempt to lead public opinion; often, due to factors outside their control, they fail. This book is an exploration into how and when they succeed.

Contents:

Questions and quandaries of presidential leadership

The constrained presidency: a conditional theory of presidential leadership

Presidential (non-) leadership of public opinion

Successful presidential leadership of public opinion

Case studies of successful leadership (domestic policy)

Nixon implements wage and price controls

Reagan and the negotiation over the budget

Clinton and the budget debate

Case studies of unsuccessful leadership (domestic policy)

Kennedy's Medicare proposal

Ford attempts to 'whip inflation now'

Reagan 'reforms' social security

Case studies of successful leadership (foreign policy)

Evolution of Johnson's Vietnam policy

Carter on the Panama Canal treaties

Bush and the initiation of the Gulf War

Case studies of unsuccessful leadership (foreign policy)

Nixon (temporarily) escalates Vietnam

Reagan presses for 'contra' funding

Clinton withdraws from Somalia

Implications for leadership and the public presidency

Epilogue: Presidents 43 and 44

Appendix A. Case selection and matching statements and opinion polling

Appendix B. Case study selection and archival data collection

Appendix C. Models and data.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [289]-306) and index.

ISBN:

1-60344-359-2

OCLC:

680622506