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  The Family and Religion

  Gordon Babst

  This introduction focuses on religious beliefs in American families.

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

  Lori Cox Han

  "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."

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  The Rose Garden Strategy Revisited: How Presidents Use Public Activities

  Lori Cox Han

  "The overall goal of this study was to determine how often, and in which formats, presidents choose to go public, and if differences exist in that pattern during their reelection efforts. This chapter also considers the major developments within the public presidency during the twentieth century, and how those developments contributed to the patterns in public activities that have emerged for Presidents Hoover through Clinton."

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  Life After the White House: The Public Post-Presidency and the Development of Presidential Legacies

  Lori Cox Han and Matthew J. Krov

  "This chapter considers two distinct yet related issues: First, we examine the role that continuing press coverage of a former president plays in the development of a presidential legacy; and second, we consider the impact of Clinton’s lingering presence in the news media in the first year after he left office and how that has shaped the early phase of his legacy. While the historical rankings and public approval ratings of former presidents can and do shift—sometimes dramatically—in the years after leaving office, news coverage during the first year can be important in setting a tone as to how the president will be viewed and the public role that he will assume, as well as what news organizations view as significant from his time in office. A recent study on press coverage of former presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush suggests that the amount of post-White House coverage decreases after the first year out of office; once both the press and the public are satisfied in knowing how the former president is adjusting to his new responsibilities, then he is no longer viewed as tremendously newsworthy. Therefore, the first year of coverage is important if the former president hopes to create positive coverage through his public activities by working 'toward the goals in which he believes in the hopes of drawing both media and public attention . . . [since] an ex-president with a rigorous agenda is bound to capture more media attention than one with a less rigorous postpresidential schedule.'"

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  Buddhism

  Gordon Babst

  This section looks at the way Buddhism views homosexuality.

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  Ernst Röhm

  Gordon Babst

  This section focuses on Ernst Röhm, was both an avid supporter of the national socialist movement in Germany and a homosexual.

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  Evelyn Hooker

  Gordon Babst

  This section focuses on American psychologist Evelyn Hooker and her pioneering studies on male homosexuality in the 1950s and 1960s. These studies challenged the "sickness" model of homosexuality then prevalent, and helped pave the way for the modern gay rights movement.

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  Hate Crimes

  Gordon Babst

  This section looks closely at the hate crimes committed against the LGBT community.

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  Libertarians

  Gordon Babst

  This section looks at the the views of homosexuality in the libertarian party.

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  Natural Law

  Gordon Babst

  This section looks at the definition of natural law in regards to homosexuality.

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  The Federal Marriage Amendment Threatens the Foundations of the U. S. Constitution

  Gordon Babst

  This section focuses on the changing of the Constitution in regards to gay marriage.