The American Presidency
Political Science 6369
Spring 2010
Professor: Brandon Rottinghaus
Email: bjrottinghaus@uh.edu
Phone: 33925 (on campus)
Office: PGH 393
Office Hours: W 11-1, Th (or by appointment)
This course is designed to provide you with an overview of the literature on the American
presidency. We revisit some classics (presidential power, the Constitutional authority of the
president) and more recent studies on presidential power (unilateral action) and leadership (or
non-leadership). Our investigation will span the range of approaches employed by presidency
scholars (historical, legal, statistical, formal, experimental). No graduate class can adequately
encompass all of the important literature on a subject, so these readings only represent a small
portion of the vast literature related to executive politics. The “suggested readings” will
provide you with a supplementary reading list for those of you who plan to pursue the
presidency as a field of study or those who are planning on taking comps in this area.
Evaluation
Your grade for the course will be measured by your five critical writing assignments (50%)
related to the readings, your participation (including performance in class) (25%) and a final
“field essay” (25%). Letter grades will be assigned (and translated numerically) for final
grading. Each are outlined with more detail below:
Critical writings: Every few weeks you will be responsible for reading critically and
comprehensively and crafting a four page response to the readings. There are five in total.
Additional details are provided on the separate sheet (attached) describing what I am looking
for in these assignments. Think about the readings and submit a four-page (double space, 12
point font) “reaction paper” each time one is due.
Paper Due Dates:
Paper 1:
Paper 2:
Paper 3:
Paper 4:
Paper 5:
February 17
March 10
March 31
April 14
April 28
These papers are an opportunity for you to organize your general assessments of the readings
and how they fit with the major theoretical and methodological questions of the course.
Reaction papers are not to summarize the readings; rather, they are intended to encapsulate
your summary of the usefulness, strengths and weaknesses of the research. Your papers
should focus on a theoretical or methodological concern from the readings during those
weeks. The papers should discuss the issue, raise questions about the week’s readings, and
suggest answers. You do not have to address each of the readings. It is important not to
exceed four pages (doubled space). I want you to learn to write a succinct argument.
Participation: Your weekly in-class discussion participation is critical to my ability to track
your progress and your own development in understanding the material. This requires you to
have a comprehensive understanding of the readings and (obviously) to come to class. You
should be prepared to answer the following questions for each reading each class:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
What is the main contribution of the reading to scholarly knowledge?
What theoretical tradition is the reading working within or in contrast to?
What hypotheses are offered for empirical evidence?
What are the data and measures used in the paper appropriate for evaluating the
theory and hypothesis?
(5) What are the main findings?
(6) What are the implications of the theory and results for understanding political
behavior?
(7) What are your criticisms of the research?
Field essay: Due Friday of finals week. Each student will turn in a 10-15 page “field” essay
during finals week. For this assignment, you should (a) pick a particular research area in the
presidency field that interests you, (b) identify the principal research questions within this
field, (c) discuss the major findings to date, noting any ambiguities or significant
disagreements among authors, and (d) highlight possible paths for future research. The
following are good examples of field essays:
Norrander, Barbara. 1996. “Presidential Nomination Politics in the Post-Reform Era,”
Political Research Quarterly 49:4, 875-915.
Leighley, Jan E. 1995. “Attitudes, Opportunities and Incentives: A Field Essay on Political
Participation,” Political Research Quarterly 48:1, 181-210.
These are longer in text and larger in scope than the one required here, but these give you a
sense of how to craft a summary and synthesis of a large body of literature. One strategy in
preparing for this project is to identify a smaller portion of a subfield’s literature (perhaps
structured around a question) and write a more narrowly focused field essay. Use the
“recommended” readings below to begin this process and please discuss it with me.
Cheating and Plagiarism: All students are expected to observe the University of
Houston’s rules against cheating and plagiarism. See the section on “Academic Honesty” in
the University of Houston Studies handbook for a full statement regarding UH’s rules against
cheating and plagiarism. A succinct discussion of the University’s policies with links to all
the relevant regulations can be found at http://www.uh.edu/provost/stu/stu_syllabsuppl.html.
Any violation may result in expulsion from the University. Cheating and plagiarism in this
class will be punished to the maximum extent possible.
ADA Statement: The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal antidiscrimination
statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities.
Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a
learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you
believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact UH’s Center for
Students with Disabilities (CSD) at (713) 743-5400.
Readings
The following eight books are required for the class and are available at the University of
Houston Bookstore or online. I ordered these from the bookstore because I think these are
books you will certainly want to keep in your collection. We will read portions of other
books not on this list (see below) but buying them is not required (but highly recommended).
Presidential Power: The Politics of Leadership. 1990. Richard Neustadt. Free Press.
Going Public. 2007 Kernell, Samuel. CQ Press.
On Deaf Ears. 2006. Edwards, George. Yale University Press.
The Politics Presidents Make. 1997. Skowronek, Stephen. Harvard University Press.
The Presidential Character. 1992. Barber, James David. Prentice Hall Press.
Power Without Persuasion. 2003. Howell, William. Princeton University Press.
The President in the Legislative Arena. 1993. Bond and Fleisher. U. Chicago Press.
Presidential Mandates. 2001. Conley, Patricia. U. Chicago Press.
In addition, readings marked with a (BR) denote articles I will distribute to you either via
email or my website. All others not in our book list above or marked with a (BR) can be
found in JSTOR or in the library’s database.
Schedule:
Week 1 (January 20) – Introductions and Overview of Course
Distribution of syllabus, introductions
Week 2 (January 27) – What We Want to Know About the
Presidency
“What we want to know about the Presidency” (PSQ Special Issue, December 2002) Read the
following essays: (BR)
Jones, “Knowing What we Want to Know About the Presidency”
Bechsloss, “Knowing What Really Happened”
Fisher, “A Dose of Law and Realism for Presidential Studies”
Hart, “Why do They Talk That Way?”
Neustadt, “Presidential Power and the Research Agenda”
Cameron, “Studying the Polarized Presidency”
Week 3 (February 3) – Constitutional Theories of Presidential
Behavior
Bessette and Tulis (1981) “The Constitution, Politics and the Presidency” (BR)
Corwin, 1984. The President: Office and Powers 1787-1984 (BR)
Federalist Papers (68-73) (BR or online)
Tulis, Jeffrey, 1990. “The Two Constitutional Presidencies” (BR)
Recommended:
Tulis, Jeffrey, 1987. The Rhetorical Presidency.
Bessette and Tulis, 1981. The Presidency in the Constitutional Order. LSU
Pious, 1979, The American Presidency
Fisher, 1991, Constitutional Conflicts Between the President and Congress (or other Fisher work)
Ellis, Richard, 1999, Founding the American Presidency
Week 4 (February 10) – Presidential Power
Neustadt, Presidential Power (all)
Sperlich, 1969, “Bargaining and Overload: An Essay on Presidential Power” (BR)
Ragsdale and Theis. 1997, “The Institutionalization of the American Presidency, 1924-92.” American
Journal of Political Science **
Recommended:
Neustadt, 2002, “Presidential Power and the Research Agenda” Presidential Studies Quarterly
Burns, 1978. Leadership. Perennial.
Week 5 (February 17) – Psychological Theories of Presidential
Behavior
Barber, The Presidential Character (read all but skim 5, 6 ,8 and 11)
Stanely, The Clinton Presidency (Chapter 4) (BR)
Recommended:
Alexander George, 1974. “Assessing Presidential Character,” World Politics 26
Greenstein, Fred, 1988. The Hidden-Hand Presidency. Princeton.
George and George, 1964. Woodrow Wilson and Colonel House. Dover.
George and George, 1998. Presidential Personality and Performance. Westview.
Hargrove, Erwin, 1966. Presidential Leadership, Personality and Political Style. MacMillian.
Renshon, Stanely, 1996. High Hopes: The Clinton Presidency and the Politics of Ambition. Routledge.
Pfiffner, James, 2004. The Character Factor. Texas A&M.
Week 6 (February 24) – “Going Public”
Kernell, Going Public (all)
Recommended:
Eshbaugh-Soha 2006, The President’s Speeches. Lynne Reinner.
McCarty, Nolan, Timothy Groseclose. 2000. “The Politics of Blame: Bargaining before an Audience.” AJPS
Tulis, Jeffrey, 1987. The Rhetorical Presidency. Princeton.
Laracy, Mel, 2002, Presidents and the People: The Partisan Story of Going Public. Texas A&M.
Medhurst, Martin (editor), 1996. Beyond the Rhetorical Presidency. Texas A&M.
Dorsey, Leroy (editor), 2002. The Presidency and Rhetorical Leadership. Texas A&M.
Week 7 (March 3) – Presidential Leadership in Historical Terms
Skowronek, The Politics Presidents Make (all)
Recommended:
Skowronek, 2002, “Presidency and American Political Development: A Third Look” Presidential Studies
Quarterly
Lowi, Theodore, 1985, The Personal President, Cornell.
Crockett, David, 2002, The Opposition Presidency: Leadership and the Constraints of History. Texas A&M
Sloan, John, 2008, Title of His New Book. Kansas
Week 8 (March 10) – Presidential Leadership and Agenda Setting
Edwards, On Deaf Ears: The Limits of the Bully Pulpit (all).
Rottinghaus, 2009 “Determining Successful Leadership Strategies” Political Communication (BR)
Edwards and Wood, 1999, “Who Influences Whom?,” American Political Science Review
Recommended Readings:
Ostrom, Charles W., and Dennis M. Simon. 1988. “The President's Public.” AJPS
Eisinger, Robert, 2003. The Evolution of Presidential Polling. Cambridge.
Brace, Paul and Barbara Hinckley, 1993. Follow the Leader. Basic Books.
Wood, “How Does Presidential Rhetoric on the Economy Affect Presidential Approval” (2005)
Canes-Wrone, Brandice, Michael C. Herron and Kenneth W. Shotts. 2001. “Leadership and Pandering: A
Theory of Executive Policymaking” AJPS 45(3)
Jacobs and Shapiro, 1994, “Issues, Candidate Image and Priming” APSR 88
Hard, Roderick, 1987, The Sound of Leadership. Chicago.
Geer, John, 1993. From Tea Leaves to Opinion Polls. Columbia.
Week 9 (March 17) – Spring Break!
Week 10 (March 24) – Presidential Responsiveness
Jacobs, Lawrence, 1992. “The Recoil Effect.” Comparative Politics 24
Canes-Wrone and Shotts, 2004. “The Conditional Nature of Presidential Responsiveness to Public
Opinion” AJPS
Rottinghaus, 2006. “Rethinking Presidential Responsiveness,” JOP
Brace and Hinckely, 1993. “Presidential Activities from Truman Through Reagan” JOP
Jacobs and Shapiro, 2000. Politicians Don’t Pander. Chapters 1 and 2 (BR)
Recommended Readings:
Cohen, Jeffrey, 1997. Presidential Responsiveness to Public Policy-Making. Michigan.
Towle, Michael, 2004. Out of Touch. Texas A&M.
Canes-Wrone, Brandice, 2006. Who Leads Whom? Presidents, Policy and the Public. Chicago.
Week 11 (March 31) – Presidential Approval, Elections and
Mandates
Kernell, 1978 “Explaining Presidential Popularity” APSR
Ostrom and Simon, 1985, “Promise and Performance: A Dynamic Model of Presidential Popularity”,
APSR
Rivers and Rose, 1985. “Passing the President’s Program: Public Opinion and Presidential Influence
in Congress” AJPS
Cohen and Powell, 2005. “Building Public Support from the Grassroots Up” Presidential Studies
Quarterly
Calvert and Ferejohn, 1984, “Presidential Coattails in Historical Perspective” AJPS **
Conley, Presidential Mandates (all)
Recommended:
Brody, 1991. Assessing the President: The Media, Elite Opinion and Public Support. Stanford.
Edwards, 1983. The Public Presidency. St. Martin’s Press.
Hibbs, 1982, “The Dynamics of Political Support for American Presidents Among Occupational and Partisan
Groups,” AJPS 26
Recommended:
Aldrich, John, 1980. Before the Convention: Strategies and Choices in Presidential Nominations. Chicago.
Bartels, Larry, 1988. Presidential Primaries and the Dynamics of Public Choice. Princeton.
Brady, David, 1988. Critical Elections and Congressional Policy-Making. Stanford.
Week 12 (April 7) - Congress and the Presidency
Bond and Fleisher, The President in the Legislative Arena (all)
Krehbeil, Pivotal Politics, Chapters 1 and 2. (BR)
Sullivan, Terry, 1990, “Bargaining with the President: A Simple Game and New Evidence.” APSR
Canes-Wrone, 2001, “The President's Legislative Influence from Public Appeals,” AJPS
Recommended:
Jones, 1994. The Presidency in a Separated System. Brookings Press.
Cameron, Charles. 2000. Veto Bargaining: Presidents and the Politics of Negative Power. Cambridge U. Press.
Covington, et. al., “A “Presidency-Augmented” Model of Presidential Success on House Roll Call Votes.” AJPS
(1995).
Bond & Fleisher 1990, The President in the Legislative Arena. Chicago.
Peterson 1990, Legislating Together. Harvard.
Eshbaugh-Soha 2006, The President’s Speeches. Lynne Reinner.
Thurber (editor) 2005, Rivals for Power. CQ Press.
Rhode and Simon, “Presidential Vetoes and Congressional Response,” AJPS (1985)
Edwards, 1989. At the Margins. Yale.
Fiorina, 2002. Divided Government. Longman.
Matthews, Stephne, 1989, “Veto Threats: Rhetoric in ad Bargaining Game” Quarterly Journal of Economics 104
Peterson, Mark, 1990. Legislating Together. Harvard.
Week 13 (April 14) – Foreign Policy
Wildavsky, “The Two Presidencies,” Trans-Action 4 (BR)
Peppers, 1972, “’The Two Presidencies’ Eight Years Later” (BR)
Meernik, 1994, “Presidential Decision Making and the Political Use of Military Force” JOP
Marra, Ostrom and Simon, 1990, “Foreign Policy and Presidential Popularity” JCR
Kam and Ramos, 2008, “Joining and Leaving the Rally” POQ
Recommended:
Allison, Graham, 1971. Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis. Longman.
Krasner, Steven, 1972, “Are Bureaucracies Important? (Or Allison Wonderland)” Foreign Policy 7
Burke, John and Fred Greenstein, 1989. How Presidents Test Reality. Russell Sage.
Mueller, John, 1973. War, Presidents and Public Opinion. University Press.
Muller, John, 1994. Policy and Opinion in the Gulf War. Chicago.
Schlesinger, Arthur, 1989. The Imperial Presidency. Mariner.
Week 14 (April 21) – No Class, Midwest Political Science Meetings
Week 15 (April 28) – Unilateral Presidency
Moe, Terry. 1985. “The Politicized Presidency.” In The New Direction in American Politics, ed. John
E. Chubb and Paul E. Peterson. Brookings Press. (BR)
Howell. Power Without Persuasion, all
Rottinghaus and Maier, 2005. “The Power of Decree” PRQ
Recommended:
Mayer, Ken, 1999. “Executive Orders and Presidential Power” JOP 61 (2)
Rudaveledge, Andrew. 2005 . The New Imperial Presidency. Harvard.
Mayer, Ken, 2001. With the Stroke of a Pen. Princeton.
Cooper, Phillip, 2002, By Order of the President: The Use and Abuse of Executive Direct Action
Deering and Maltzman, 1999. “The Politics of Executive Orders.” PRQ
Cooer, Phillip, 2005. “George W. Bush, Edgar Allan Poe, and the use and abuse of presidential signing
statements.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 35 (3): 515-32.
Howell, William D., and Jon Pevehouse. 2005. “Presidents, Congress and the use of force.” International
Organization 59 (1): 209-32.
Krause, George A., and Jeffrey E. Cohen. 2000. “Opportunity, Constraints and the Development of the
Institutional Presidency: The issuance of executive orders, 1939-1996.” Journal of Politics 62 (1): 88-114.
Mayer, Kenneth R., and Kevin Price. 2002. “Unilateral Presidential Powers: Significant Executive Orders, 194999.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 32 (2): 367-86.
Marshall, Bryan W., and Richard L. Pacelle Jr. 2005. “Revisiting the two presidencies: The Strategic use of
Executive Orders.” American Politics Research 33 (1): 81-105.
Moe, Terry M., and William Howell. 1999. “Unilateral Action and Presidential Power: A Theory.” Presidential
Studies Quarterly 29 (4): 850-73.
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Additional Readings for:
Bureaucracy and Policymaking
Peterson, Mark, 1992. “The Presidency and Organized Interests” APSR 86 (3)
Burke, John. The Institutional Presidency, Chapters 3 and 4
Light, Paul, 1999. The President’s Agenda, Chapters 1 and 11
Recommended:
Burke, John, 1992. The Institutional Presidency. Johns Hopkins.
Arnold, Peri, 1986. Making the Managerial Presidency. Kansas.
Benze, James, 1987. Presidential Power and Management Techniques. Greenwood.
Hess, Stephen, and James Pfiffner, 1988. Organizing the Presidency. Brookings.
Hult and Walcott, 1995. Governing the White House. Kansas.
Moe, Terry, 1998. “The Presidency and the Bureaucracy: The Presidential Advantage”
Kingdon, John, 1984. Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policy. Longman.
Nathan, Richard, 1983. The Administrative Presidency. Wiley.
Comparative Executive Politics
Rockman, Bert. 1998. “The American Presidency in Comparative Perspective: Systems, Situations
and Leaders.” In The Presidency and the Political System (ed. Michael Nelson).
Shugart, M. and Steino. 1992. Presidents and Assemblies.