MidTerm American Presidency - Term Paper Example

American Presidency Presidential power and what attributes to it is a of substantive debate as there have been various theories developed in trying to explain its concept. According to Richard Neustadt, presidential power is the power bestowed in a president to make persuasions (Neustadt 18). According to him, the aspect of presidential power is one that requires individuals to work more than that expected of him. Through the persuasion power, the presidents are able to influence the implementation of their various policies as well as for the other branches of government such as the congress (Neustadt 128).

In conclusion, the presidential powers should be used for persuasion and bargain purposes rather than command. According to him, there are only two types of presidential powers, which are to persuade and command, with the command acting as a dictatorial aspect whereas the persuasive type of power is for effective influencing (Neustadt 56). In order for one to maintain the power, one should engage all concerned parties in the governance. However, such powers also have a crucial barrier, which is the president making of personal decisions without engaging others.

Currently, President John F. Kennedy is one who applied the shared presidential power other than its separation. This engages a number of people on board in the decision making process. President Bill Clinton had been worst in the application of Neustadt’s theory of presidential powers. Based on my opinion, Neustadt’s theory of presidential powers is effective in ensuring the shared delegation of duties, which brings all individuals on board in effective management. Despite the strengths associated with Neustadt’s theory of presidential powers, Skowronek tends to be of the contrary opinion in which he states that the presidential powers should involve the utilization of informal authority in ensuring that things are done in the most effective way as a contribution of modernity (Skowronek 318).

On the two theories, the major difference is because according to Neustadt’s theory of presidential powers, power is for persuasion and not command while according to Skowronek, it is through the presidential command that things are done. Works CitedNeustadt Richard. Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan. Free Press; Revised edition (March 1, 1991) Skowronek Stephen, The Politics Presidents Make: Leadership from John Adams to Bill Clinton, Revised Edition.

Belknap Press; Revised edition (April 24, 1997) p.p 318, 462.