Presidents and political scandal : managing scandal in the modern era / Richard P. Barberio.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Barberio, Richard P., author.

Series:

Evolving American presidency

The evolving American presidency

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Presidents--United States.

Presidents.

Scandals--Political aspects.

Scandals.

United States.

Scandals--Political aspects--United States.

Political corruption--United States.

Political corruption.

Physical Description:

xv, 173 pages ; 21 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cham, Switzerland : Palgrave Macmillan, [2020]

Summary:

This 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 publics view of the presidency and government are topics covered in the books explanation of the trends in scandal responses. Richard P. Barberio is Associate Professor of Political Science at the State University of New York's College at Oneonta, USA.

Contents:

1. The Role of Scandal in American Politics

2. Presidential Power, Scandal, and Misdirection

3. Nixon and Watergate

4. The Reagan Administration and Iran-Contra

5.Clinton and the Lewinsky Affair

6. President Trump: The Conquest of Backfire Scandal Management.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Electronic version: Barberio, Richard P. Presidents and political scandal.

ISBN:

3030455033

9783030455033

OCLC:

1144878378