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Homework: Assignment 12 for Tuesday
Consider: What makes a great president? Homework: Assignment 12 for Tuesday
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Presidential Character and Personality
Chapter 8: AP Gov Assignment #12 Tuesday
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Unit 4: Presidency AP Government and Politics
Presidential Leadership, Greatness and the importance of public opinion Unit 4: Presidency AP Government and Politics
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Presidential Leadership and the Importance of Public Opinion
7.5 Presidential Leadership and the Importance of Public Opinion Presidential Leadership and Personality Going Public President and Public Opinion To gain support for his programs or proposed budget, the president uses a variety of skills, including personal leadership and direct appeals to the public. The president’s leadership skills and personal style, which are affected by his ability to persuade, determine how he goes about winning support. Since the 1970s, as we will elaborate in this section, the American public has been increasingly skeptical of presidential actions, and few presidents have enjoyed the extended periods of popularity needed to help win support for programs.
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Video: Thinking Like a Political Scientist
7.5 Video: Thinking Like a Political Scientist Why do presidents try to persuade you to support their policies? In this video, University of Oklahoma political scientist Glen Krutz discloses why persuasion is vital to a president’s success and how technology has created obstacles and opportunities for presidents.
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Presidential Leadership/Character according to Barber
Style Made up of rhetoric, personal relations, and homework All presidents have to deal with some level of each of these; how they tackle them determines their presidential style The balance between the three will vary depending on the president His “way of acting” World-view Primary, politically relevant beliefs, primarily his conceptions of social causality, human nature, and the central moral conflicts of his time His “way of seeing” Character The way a president orients himself toward life; not momentary, but enduringly
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Political Situation The previous three factors are purely psychology. Political Situation is environmental. It is the particulars of the political environment the president faces. Does he or she face a friendly or hostile Congress? What about the Supreme Court? Does he or she have the support or opposition of the majority of the public? What is the situation internationally? Is it a time of relative peace and prosperity, or a time of conflict and hardships? Lincoln and FDR faced a world of strife, but had a lot of support in Congress. Madison and Wilson faced a world of strife, but also opposition in the political system. Eisenhower was blessed with peace and prosperity, public popularity, and a relatively friendly Congress. Clinton likewise served during a time of prosperity, but faced a hostile political system. Summed up by the phrase, “the man and the moment have met.”
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Climate of Expectations
Climate of Expectations describes what is expected of a president. As we have discussed, a lot is expected of all presidents, and those expectations have been increasing over time. However, some presidents certainly face more or less expectations when they entered office. There were incredible expectations for President Obama, for example. He was expected to save the economy, fix our health care system, and successfully resolve two foreign wars. By contrast, presidents like Coolidge and George H.W. Bush faced much lower expectations upon taking office. Primarily they were expected to just uphold the status quo of the previous administration.
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Typology of Presidents
Together these five factors are what Barber uses to create his typology: Active-Positives are presidents that are positively motivated individuals who enjoy their job and seek results. Active-Negatives are motivated primarily by the goals of getting and keeping power, but receive little emotional benefit from their job. Passive-Positives seek power as a way to obtain the love and admiration of the others. They are less interested in absolute power or policy ends, but enjoy the job as long as they are popular. Passive-Negatives seek the office out of civic duty, but are relatively unhappy in doing the job. Active/Passive – how much you do Positive/Negative – how much you like what you do
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Categorizing Presidents
Presidential Character Active-Positives Thomas Jefferson Active-Negatives John Adams James Madison Passive-Positives George Washington Passive-Negatives Categorizing Presidents Barber argues that the first four presidents fit nicely into the four categories of the typology…
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Categorizing Presidents
Presidential Character Active-Positives Thomas Jefferson Franklin D. Roosevelt Teddy Roosevelt JFK Active-Negatives John Adams LBJ Woodrow Wilson Richard Nixon James Madison Ronald Reagan William H. Taft Passive-Positives George Washington Calvin Coolidge Dwight D. Eisenhower Ulysses S. Grant Passive-Negatives Categorizing Presidents Other presidents have fit nicely into these categories as well. Can you categorize other presidents? Do you find that some presidents do not fit into this schema very well?
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The President and Public Opinion
7.5 The President and Public Opinion Approval ratings How important are they? What do they signify? Decline as term progresses Presidents pay close attention to their approval ratings. When they are high, they interpret them as giving them a mandate to implement their policy agenda and take the country in the direction indicated by their party’s platform. When they are low, their influence with Congress wanes, making it more difficult for them to secure support for their policy proposals. When presidential approval ratings are high, candidates from the president’s party appreciate when he makes an appearance to support their campaign. Conversely, when approval is low, candidates of the president’s party often attempt to distance themselves from him. Approval ratings are usually at their highest when a president takes office, and decline throughout his term. A crisis, such as the 9/11 terrorist attack, may cause a brief spike in presidential approval ratings as the national bands together and puts partisan differences and other policy issues aside to deal with the crisis, but these upticks do not last long.
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This figure shows how presidential approval ratings vary over time
This figure shows how presidential approval ratings vary over time. When is the president’s approval the highest? The lowest? How does the president’s approval rating change over his term? Have any presidents broken the usual approval rating patterns? Activity: Have students search the Web for public opinion on the presidency—both the office and current inhabitant. They should discuss why Americans are dissatisfied with the office of the presidency and whomever seems to inhabit it. What proposals have been made to reform the presidency? Do they adequately reflect the problems and conflicts of the office? Can we “fix” the presidency so that the majority of Americans are satisfied? Discuss. “these increased approval ratings [after a crises or similar situation] generally do not last long, as the cumulative effects of governing once again catch up with the president.”
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2009 C-SPAN Great Presidents survey
65 historians and presidential scholars took part Rated presidents in 10 categories of leadership, with score from 1 (ineffective) to 10 (effective) used. Categories Used Public Persuasion Moral Authority Relations with Congress Performance Within Context of Times Crisis Leadership International Relations Vision/Setting An Agenda Economic Management Administrative Skills Pursued Equal Justice For All
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Keys to Presidential greatness
Rated Intelligence – Although we did not have intelligence test scores, we did ask our raters how intelligent, inventive, insightful, complex, and wise they perceived the various presidents to be. Assertiveness, is the single most important trait to presidential success. Presidents are an assertive group, and on the average score higher than eight of ten typical Americans. Positive Emotions – A president's optimism and enthusiasm are important for performance on the job, but also for getting elected. Activity Level – Highly energetic chief executives like TR, LBJ, and Carter tend to be rated higher on this scale by historians than more placid characters like Grant, Taft, and Coolidge. Achievement striving (having high goals and working towards them in a systematic and focused manner) is an obvious asset and is related to success in most all walks of life apart from the arts. Low Straightforwardness – Historians tell us that a president's credibility is essential to the ability to lead. Yet, the tendency and ability to deceive is correlated with historians' ratings of presidential success. Tender-Mindedness predicts both presidential success and ethical behavior on the job. Competence – High scorers on this scale seek appropriate information when faced with a decision, have good judgment, and are broadly capable. Low Vulnerability – Presidents who feel unnerved by stress and unable to cope with problems on their own (score high on Vulnerability) are likely to be given low marks by historians.
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CSPAN Presidential Rankings
President's Name 2009 Final Score Overall Ranking 2009 2000 Abraham Lincoln 902 1 George Washington 854 2 3 Franklin D. Roosevelt 837 Theodore Roosevelt 781 4 Harry S. Truman 708 5 John F. Kennedy 701 6 8 Thomas Jefferson 698 7 Dwight D. Eisenhower 689 9 Woodrow Wilson 683 Ronald Reagan 671 10 11
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The Worst… 2009 Overall Score 2009 Rank 2000 Rank George W. Bush 362
NA Millard Fillmore 351 37 35 Warren G. Harding 327 38 William Henry Harrison 324 39 Franklin D. Pierce 287 40 Andrew Johnson 258 41 James Buchanan 227 42
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What Makes a President Great?
Historians, journalists, pundits and the public disagree. We all might choose different characteristics, beliefs, or accomplishments, view them through our own biased lens, and then draw our own conclusions. Which would you choose?
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