Presidency by Plebiscite: The Reagan-Bush Era in Institutional PerspectiveThe U.S. presidency has been characterized in a variety of ways - imperial, impossible, imperiled; personal, plural, postmodern - depending on the era and who was in office. In this book, Professor Rimmerman outlines the attributes of the plebiscitary presidency, a form of the office that dates from the FDR period but that has been most fully exploited by Ronald Reagan. By contrasting the Reagan and Bush administrations, the author points up the shortcomings of a presidency that operates by plebiscite and directs us toward a new standard for electing and evaluating presidents - one that insists on a respect for institutional limitations and effective citizen participation. Participatory democracy is essential to counter the dangers of trends toward "presidency by plebiscite" such as hero worship and direct tele-electronic democracy, which were illustrated by Ross Perot's appeal to the American public during the 1992 elections. |
Contents
3 | 43 |
The Rebirth of the Administrative Presidency | 65 |
The Plebiscitary Presidency and American Foreign Policy | 91 |
Copyright | |
4 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
action activities administration American American political appointments approach argued associated attempt authority budget Bush's cabinet cabinet government campaign Carter central challenge changes Chapter characterized chief citizen commitment concerns Congress congressional Congressional Quarterly consequences constitutional created decision democratic discussion domestic early effective effort elected established examining executive executive branch expectations failed federal forces foreign affairs foreign policy framers Franklin Delano Roosevelt George important increased individual institutional interests invasion issues John leadership legislative limited major meet military needed offered Panama participation party performance Persian played plebiscitary presidency political political system popular Powers Resolution prerogative presidential power Press problem questions Reagan administration Reagan and Bush reforms reinforced Representative response rhetorical Richard role Ronald Reagan scholars Senate sources staff strategy suggests symbolic term United University Press values Washington White House York