The President Over the Public: The Plebiscitary Presidency at Center Stage

Authors

Lori Cox Han, Chapman UniversityFollow

Files

Description

"In this chapter, I will address the question of the usefulness of the public presidency in the current political environment (that is, can a president’s communication strategy make a difference in terms of what he achieves), as well as the constitutional danger, if any, posed by a president’s attempt at public leadership. Has the public presidency, and its focus on the public aspects of the office, thrown the constitutional balance of power between the three branches out of balance? Does the president really gain political power within the constitutional framework of our government if he is a skilled and effective communicator? Or have we just been duped into thinking that an image of strong presidential leadership on our television screens equates success in the arenas of domestic and foreign policymaking? Finally, I offer a brief assessment of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and their respective efforts at public leadership, and argue that our definition of what constitutes a “good communicator” may be permanently altered due to Bush’s reelection in 2004."

ISBN

9781403974228

Publication Date

2006

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan

City

New York, NY

Keywords

presidents, U.S., public presidency, communication strategy, constitution, public leadership, balance of power, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush

Disciplines

American Politics | Communication | President/Executive Department | Social Influence and Political Communication

Comments

In Michael A. Genovese and Lori Cox Han (Eds.), The Presidency and the Challenge of Democracy. Dr. Han's chapter begins on page 138.

Recommended Citation

Cox Han, Lori. 2006. “The President Over the Public: The Plebiscitary Presidency at Center Stage.” In The Presidency and the Challenge of Democracy, eds. Michael A. Genovese and Lori Cox Han. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Publishers, 119-138.

Peer Reviewed

1

Copyright

Palgrave Macmillan