1. TODAY:
1. Limitations on presidential power
2. "Coherent" policy making in the United States
3. Congress' many functions and its inability to govern.



2. INSTITUTIONAL AND CONTEXTUAL CONSTRAINTS:
1. The nature of the problems people expect presidents to solve
2. "Controlling" the bureaucracy:
1. The limitations include:
1. Bureaucratic permanence and inertia
1. The Reagan "response"
2. Bureaucratic politics
3. "Sub-governments" or "iron triangles"
4. "Group think" and advisors
1. Example: LBJ and Vietnam?
3. Separation and fragmentation of power
1. Congress, the Federal Reserve (FED), the Supreme Court, state governments, and so forth fragment power.
2. Executive-legislative battles define American politics
4. The absence of mechanisms to create and sustain a governing message
1. Note how frequently current political commentary bemoans the lack of "vision" on the part of presidents and presidential candidates: Bush, Clinton, Dole,...have all been accused of not having or articulating a clear idea of what they want to do.
2. In point of fact, their message is "elect me and I'll deal with programs and policy specifics later."
3. This situation stems in part from the way we elect presidents and the lack of party policy formation and discipline.
1. Plebiscitary president: presidents must constantly appeal to the public without institutional or party support.
5. Weakness of the party system
6. "Fishbowl" phenomenon: intense media scrutiny
7. The contradictions of general-welfare liberalism
1. Liberalism versus the "positive state"
8. The bottom line is that the political system and popular culture places enormous burdens on presidents but does not give them the "tools" (e.g., strong party leadership) to carry them.



3. THE ABSENCE OF NATIONAL POLICY:
1. Proposition: for the most part the United States fails to create and sustain coherent national policies in major areas of the economic and social life.
1. One can argue that in the late twentieth century coherent policy making is essential to deal with problems and conserve national resources.
2. Most Americans recognize the need, especially in times of "crisis"
3. But, the system is poorly structured to facilitate debate and implementation of coherent national policies.
4. A legislature is ideally suited for this role.
2. Policies on a scale of "coherence"
1. Foreign, defense - moderate to low (state planning)
2. Labor, communications, education - minimal
3. Transportation, energy - none (market)



4. CONGRESS IN THEORY AND PRACTICE:
1. Generalizations:
1. Congress' capacity to deal with national problems and our ability to hold its members accountable are limited by the factors already considered.
2. Expectations and demands on Congress exacerbate the situation further.
3. So, too, does its structure, as seen below.
2. What do we want Congress to do? Functions:
1. Legislative: law making
2. Representation of geographical and other interests
1. Case work: service, and the permanent campaign
3. Instructed delegates
4. Administrative oversight (Example: Senate oversight committee on intelligence.)

1. Advise and consent (Examples: Supreme Court nominees, approval of cabinet officers)
2. Investigative (e.g., Burton, Thompson committees)

1. Judicial (e.g., impeachment)
1. Summary: legislators have so many responsibilities and are pulled in some many directions that they have relatively little time for deliberation.
2. Deliberation: a surprisingly obvious duty but one that is seldom performed is overall policy "deliberation."



1. NEXT TIME:
1. Energy policy as a case study of policy failure.
2. Reading:
1. Squire and others, Dynamics of Democracy, finish Chapter 12, pages indicated last time. Start Chapter 11.

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