91 B. Reading: How Presidents Get Things Done
Learning Objectives
After reading this section, you should be able to answer the following questions:
- How does the president try to set the agenda for the political system, especially Congress?
- What challenges does the president face in achieving his agenda?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the presidential veto?
- Can and do presidents lead Congress?
- What are the president’s powers as chief executive?
- Why do presidents give so many speeches?
- How do presidents seek public approval?
The political system was designed by the framers to be infrequently innovative, to act with neither efficiency nor dispatch. Authority is decentralized. Political parties are usually in conflict. Interests are diverse.[1]
Yet, as we have explained, presidents face high expectations for action. Adding to these expectations is the soaring rhetoric of their election campaigns. For example, candidate Obama promised to deal with the problems of the economy, unemployment, housing, health care, Iraq, Afghanistan, and much more.
As we have also explained, presidents do not invariably or even often have the power to meet these expectations. Consider the economy. Because the government and media report the inflation and unemployment rates and the number of new jobs created (or not created), the public is consistently reminded of these measures when judging the president’s handling of the economy. And certainly the president does claim credit when the economy is doing well. Yet the president has far less control over the economy and these economic indicators than the media convey and many people believe.
A president’s opportunities to influence public policies depend in part on the preceding administration and the political circumstances under which the new president takes office.[2] Presidents often face intractable issues, encounter unpredictable events, have to make complex policy decisions, and are beset by scandals (policy, financial, sexual).
Once in office, reality sinks in. Interviewing President Obama on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart wondered whether the president’s campaign slogan of “Yes we can” should be changed to “Yes we can, given certain conditions.” President Obama replied, “I think I would say ‘yes we can, but . . . it’s not going to happen overnight.’”[3]
So how do presidents get things done? Presidential powers and prerogatives do offer opportunities for leadership.
Link: Presidential Recordings
Between 1940 and 1973, six American presidents from both political parties secretly recorded just less than five thousand hours of their meetings and telephone conversations. Listen to some of them here.
Presidents indicate what issues should garner most attention and action; they help set the policy agenda. They lobby Congress to pass their programs, often by campaign-like swings around the country. Their position as head of their political party enables them to keep or gain allies (and win reelection). I