Presidential power and the modern presidents : the politics of leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan

Richard E. Neustadt presents research and analysis on the judgement of presidential leadership and creates a framework of the modern president. In an effort to identify what America uses to measure the success of a president and his leadership, Presidential Power and the Modern President approaches the president himself by looking directly at his influence on governmental action. From Roosevelt to Reagan, Neustadt examines presidential success and suggests a theory of presidential power, testing it against the events in the administrations of postwar presidents. Neustadt presents a reexamination of his seminal theory of presidential power, and includes extensive material on Ronald Reagan. His understanding of the presidency is based on the belief that all presidential decisions influence the events they aim at and also impact the future possibilities of presidential power. Less interested in the presidency as an institution than as an office constructed by an individual, he focuses mainly on the personal exercise of power. He defines the office as one chiefly characterized by weakness. He believes that this is less the result of personal failure on the part of the President and more the product of a great gap between what is expected of a man and his assured capacity to carry through. ISBN 0-02-922795-X: $22.95 Leader Or Clerk? -- Three Cases Of Command -- The Power To Persuade -- Professional Reputation -- Public Prestige -- Two Matters Of Choice -- Men In Office -- The Sixties Come Next -- Appraising A President -- Reappraising Power -- Hazards Of Transition -- A Matter Of Detail -- Two Cases Of Self-help. Richard E. Neustadt. Rev. Ed. Of: Presidential Power. C1980. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 319-362) And Index. This book re-examines the theory and practice of presidential leadership. It considers events and decisions in the administrations of the presidents who followed FDR, Truman and Eisenhower and appraises the styles and skills of Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Carter and Reagan. Suggests a theory of presidential power, and tests it against the events in the administrations of the postwar presidents