The Presidency and Domestic Policy: Comparing Leadership Styles, FDR to Clinton

by William W. Lammers and Michael A. Genovese

Book Overview

Each president brings to the White House a distinct set of personal characteristics and a preferred leadership style, but just how much have individual presidents shaped domestic policy? To understand and assess what factors determine one president′s success and another′s limited accomplishments, it is important to examine both the individual′s leadership roles and the circumstances which shape their opportunities for success...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568021240
• ISBN13: 9781568021249
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: CQ Press
• Length: 383 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Great Review of How Successful Presidents Were in their Contexts

This book was fun to read because it separated all the presidents into groups depending on how many opportunities they had. For example, comparing WBush to Lincoln is absurd--apples to oranges. This book groups the Presidents by their levels of opportunity and then evaluates how they performed given their context. Very enlightening book, I'd recommend it to anyone interested in Presidential history or Poly Sci. -Matt

Excellent analysis of presidential leadership

I am using excerpts of this very good analytical text in a graduate course I teach on leadership. It has several advantages in terms of the method it uses to analyze presidential leadership. First, author William Lammers focuses only on domestic policy, which levels the analytical playing field in that it allows readers to compare the various presidents without the variables that foreign policies and world affairs can introduce into the mix. Also, Lammers offers a useful framework for analysis, which consists of four dimensions of presidential leadership: administrative leadership (how a president organizes his staff and administrative systems), public leadership (how a president inspires and motivates the public through speeches and press events), congressional leadership (how a president manages relationships with Congress) and opportunity level (the level of opportunities that the external environment offers and how well a given president takes advantage and/or copes with them). This last dimension is very useful in that it gives readers a chance to assess a president against the national mood and external circumstances that prevailed at the time of his service. So, for instance, FDR is classified as a "high opportunity" president because he came into office at a time when there was an obvious need for change due to the economic collapse of the Great Depression. Reagan is also considered a "high opportunity" president because he came to office immediately following Jimmy Carter, when the nation wanted changes sparked by the Iran hostage debacle. George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, on the other hand, are classified as "low opportunity" presidents because at the time they came into office the nation was divided as to political philosophy, partisanship and satisfaction with current conditions. "Moderate opportunity" presidents include Truman and Eisenhower, both of whom had some opportunities to achieve changes in domestic policies but less so than did FDR et. al. Lammers covers the "modern presidents" in this analysis, by which he means those presidents since and including FDR. Bill Clinton is the last president covered in this book, as it was published in 2000 before George W. Bush came into office. Finally, as others have noted, Lammers writes in a clear and concise way that is free of jargon and easily understood by general readers who are interested in the material. I highly recommend this book for anyone seeking to explore political leadership and/or assess the relative merits of modern presidents.

Excellent book

Excellent book. One of the best choices for understanding the domestic policymaking by U.S. Presidents. They even include the political dynamics of Congress and Executive agencies. Most important, their writing is not complicated and is perfect for a class on U.S. politics or American Presidencies. I assign this book for my college course and students love the book and want to read it!

An outstanding book

The role of the President is domestic policy is often overlooked. This book provides an outstanding analysis of Presidential attempts at shaping domestic policy. This books builds on the already outstanding achievements of Professor Lammers.