Presidential Character Assignment: Barber and Brooks Articles
Read the two attached articles:
 “The Presidential Character”, by James David Barber
 “The C.E.O. in Politics”, by David Brooks
For the Barber article: Using Barber’s ideas analyze Barack Obama by answering the following
questions:
1. Barber defines a president’s style as “the habitual way of performing his three political
roles: rhetoric, personal relations, and homework. Using Barber’s definition, describe
Obama’s style.
2. Barber defines a president’s worldview as “his primary, politically relevant beliefs,
particularly his conceptions of social causality, human nature, and the central moral
conflicts of the time. Using Barber’s definition, describe Obama’s worldview.
3. Barber discusses the “climate of expectations” a president faces as consisting of three
recurrent themes: the public’s need for reassurance, their demands for a sense of progress
and action, and their need for legitimacy. Briefly describe (1-2 examples for each theme)
the climate of expectations Obama has faced and how he has reacted to it.
4. Barber describes four types of presidential character. Which type best fits Barack H.
Obama? Support your answer.
For the Brooks article answer the following questions:
1. What four traits does Brooks attribute to presidential success?
2. How would you evaluate those traits in Barack Obama?
Presidential Character Assignment: Barber and Brooks Articles
Read the two attached articles:
 “The Presidential Character”, by James David Barber
 “The C.E.O. in Politics”, by David Brooks
For the Barber article: Using Barber’s ideas analyze Barack Obama by answering the following
questions:
1. Barber defines a president’s style as “the habitual way of performing his three political
roles: rhetoric, personal relations, and homework. Using Barber’s definition, describe
Obama’s style.
2. Barber defines a president’s worldview as “his primary, politically relevant beliefs,
particularly his conceptions of social causality, human nature, and the central moral
conflicts of the time. Using Barber’s definition, describe Obama’s worldview.
3. Barber discusses the “climate of expectations” a president faces as consisting of three
recurrent themes: the public’s need for reassurance, their demands for a sense of progress
and action, and their need for legitimacy. Briefly describe (1-2 examples for each theme)
the climate of expectations Obama has faced and how he has reacted to it.
4. Barber describes four types of presidential character. Which type best fits Barack H.
Obama? Support your answer.
For the Brooks article answer the following questions:
1. What four traits does Brooks attribute to presidential success?
2. How would you evaluate those traits in Barack Obama?