1. TODAY:
1. Generalizations about the presidency
2. Thoughts about how to judge a president



2. A FEW OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY:
1. The expectations gap: difference between public wants and what a president can do.
1. Americans expect presidents to be all things to all people.
1. And why not? Listen to campaign promises.
2. Listen, also, to popular political discourse and symbols.
3. Assumptions about presidential power and expectations are thus virtually limitless.
2. Presidential popularity frequently declines the longer a president is in office.
1. See "Presidential Approval Ratings" on the web site.
1. The trend shown in the figure summarizes, I think, the American political experience.
3. Presidents themselves feel frustrated and disappointed.
1. These feelings have led to enormous antagonisms and brought many presidents into bitter conflict with the media, the Congress, voters, and parties.
4. At the height of the cold war (about 1966 to 1974) many scholars and journalists fretted about the "imperial presidency."
1. The White House, many in and out of Congress felt, needed to be controlled.
5. Explaining the gap tells us a great deal about the American political system.
6. Ironically, given expectations and beliefs about presidential power, the office has surprisingly limited power.
1. The institutions, structures, practices, and traditions that seem to give presidents their influence and authority actually limit what they can do.
2. Sources of strength are simultaneously sources potential sources of weakness.
3. Note, for example, how commonly president "drift" into foreign affairs, an area in which they come to feel more comfortable. Why? Because they may feel they have greater control over foreign policy than domestic politics.

1. PRESIDENTIAL POWER IN THEORY AND PRACTICE:
1. Institutional powers (see Squire and others, Dynamics of Democracy for the nuts and bolts)
1. Constitutional
1. Administrative, checks (veto) on congress, appointment (subject to senate approval), commander in chief, etc.
2. Executive Office of the President
1. White House Office
3. The Cabinet and bureaucracy
2. Personal and informal "levers"
1. Prestige, visibility, legitimacy, expectations etc.
2. Reputation



2. ASSESSING PRESIDENT CLINTON'S PERFORMANCE:
1. The American way of judging merit
2. Two lines of thought about President Clinton
1. Film: "What Happened to Bill Clinton": Personality faults wasted institutional resources
2. Film "The Fixers": Corruption is undermining his effectiveness.



3. NEXT TIME:
1. Film clips on the Clinton presidency
2. An evaluation of presidential powers
3. Reading:
1. Squire and others, Dynamics of Democracy: finish Chapter 10 (for background information) and start Chapter 12.

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