At the Margins: Presidential Leadership of CongressIn this book George Edwards seeks a deeper understanding of the relationship between the president and Congress, exploring how and under what conditions presidents lead Congress, what we can reasonably expect of them, and how we should evaluate their performance. He makes a persuasive case for his thesis that presidential leadership of Congress is typically at the margins, not the core, of policymaking. Edwards focuses on three important resources for presidential leadership: party, public opinion, and legislative skills. For each source of influence he analyzes the president's strategic position, the theoretical potential of the resource as an instrument of leadership. He then examines presidents' attempts to employ each resource to obtain support in Congress, showing that they are rarely able to expand their resource base or manipulate their resources reliably. Integrating quantitative analysis with documentary and historical research, Edwards argues that the effective leader is not the dominant chief executive of political folklore who restructures the contours of the political landscape to pave the way for change but is rather a facilitator who works at the margins of coalition building to exploit opportunities presented by a favorable configuration of political forces in his environment. Presidents are not by themselves going to bring about major changes in public policy, says Edwards, and we must adjust accordingly our expectations of their leadership. The implications of his book are broad, and his findings are an important corrective for those who personalize politics and attribute more influence to a single person or strategy than is usually merited. |
Contents
Measuring Presidential Success | 16 |
Strategic Position as Party Leader | 34 |
The Two Presidencies | 54 |
Leading the Party | 70 |
Strategic Position of Public Approval | 101 |
Leading the Public | 126 |
Mandates and Misperceptions | 144 |
Strategic Position of Legislative Skills | 167 |
Employing Skills | 186 |
Presidential Leadership | 213 |
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administration aide American Enterprise Institute appeals Baines Johnson Library Barbara Kellerman bargaining bill budget campaign candidates Carl Albert coattails Congressional Quarterly Weekly constituents David Stockman Democratic presidents Democrats Republicans Democrats Southern Democrats dent domestic policy efforts Eisenhower electoral example Ford Foreign Policy Support Gerald Ford gress Harry McPherson impact important Influence in Congress interview issues Jimmy Carter John Journal of Political leadership of Congress legislative skills Lyndon Baines Johnson Lyndon Johnson majority mandate margins members of Congress Nixon Northern Democrats Southern opposition party party leader party leadership percent percentage points Political Science potential Presidency New York President Reagan President's Agenda president's legislative president's party presidential approval Presidential Influence presidential leadership presidential support programs proposals public approval public opinion public support Quarterly Weekly Report Quoted Republican presidents Richard Richard Nixon Ronald Reagan Support Key Votes tion Tip O'Neill transcript victory voters White House