Richard Neustadt's Presidential Power - Essay Example

Richard Neustadt's Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents, and Bob Woodward's The Agenda The two books, Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents and The Agenda, present different analyses of the American Presidency in general (in Neustadt's study) and the Clinton White House in particular. Together they offer a comprehensive view of the changing influence and powers of the presidency in the modern period. While some of Neustadt's arguments are perhaps a little dated as it was originally published in 1960, although updated to include the Reagan Presidency, it does give a sound background on which to consider the specifics of a very unique Presidency: that of President Clinton. Neustadt starts his book with a sober appraisal of the American Presidency. He states that the American people tend to rate a President "from the moment he takes office . . . we are quite right to do so . . . his office has become the focal point of politics and policy in our political system" (Neustadt, p.1). He also argues that "we often make our judgments upon images of office that are far removed from the reality" (Neustadt, p.1). It is this discrepancy between image and reality which is one of the most important elements of Neustadt's book. Neustadt also argues that while it is perhaps natural to concentrate on the President as a single individual, a more accurate portrayal would consider the "presidency" as an institution that includes "two thousand men and women" (Neustadt, p.1). The overall argument that Neustadt makes is that Presidents who lead by persuasion rather than relying upon Constitutional power are more successful. While there are complex reasons for this, the overarching reason is that the President is innately weak under the US Constitution according to Neustadt. How can President Clinton be viewed through the prism of Neustadt's theory of the Presidency Bob Woodward's The Agenda: Inside the Clinton White House takes a very close and unsparing look at the first one hundred days of the Clinton presidency. While a convenient figure, the first 100 days also has historical importance because it was within the first 100 days that President Roosevelt introduced the major elements of the New Deal and swept into existence a whole range of government programmes. This achievement is perhaps an impossible target for any President, but it is the one that inevitably seems to be made. In The Agenda Woodward paints a portrait of a President who was essentially nave, but who nevertheless had good intentions. The idea that Clinton should use persuasion rather than constitutional powers to actualize his agenda is seen perhaps within the surprising fact that Clinton appears to have been greatly influenced by the Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan. Although much older, a staunch conservative and possessed of a distinct lack of charisma (and thus the opposite of the new President), Greenspan and Clinton actually got on very well and the Fed Chairman soon persuaded the Democratic President of the need to take bold action in order to reduce the national deficit. It was the economic success that would ultimately be Clinton's most powerful achievement and one that was based upon constitutionally derived powers rather than charisma. Clinton had attempted to use charisma, persuasion and a Democratic Congress in order to push through a comprehensive healthcare plan that would have introduced universal coverage to American for the first time. Based upon a moral certainty that this was the only ethical course for America, Clinton ignored the practical problems of getting the legislation through Congress when very powerful interests (the healthcare industry) were laid out against it. The picture that Woodward paints is of a President who is often torn between what he wants to do ideologically and what he can do pragmatically. For example, the following occurred during one early Cabinet meeting. The Cabinet was discussing fiscal policy and the two sides of Clinton, the Liberal idealist and the Conservative pragmatist appeared in an explosion aimed at his cabinet members: "I hope you're all aware we're all Eisenhower Republicans", . . . Clinton yelling at his Cabinet. "We stand for lower deficits and free trade and the bond market. Isn't that great" (Woodward, p.143) Obviously, at least within Clinton's point of view, it is not "great". But as Woodward shows, politics is the art of the possible rather than the ideal, and this is a lesson that this relatively inexperienced, young President from Arkansas learns painfully but quickly. Yet idealism still exists within the Presidency even as Clinton and his wife start to realize that perhaps not all they want is possible. One small but revealing quote shows Hillary Clinton at her very idealistic. Thus after a meeting with Senators in which Hillary Clinton has told Republicans that the new health-plan will require $100 billion in new taxes she is asked by Woodward whether she is perhaps being a little too open. Clinton turns to Woodward and states, "that's the truth, and they better get used to it" (Woodward, p. 212). Woodward shows the importance of successful personal relationships for a successful Presidency, thus seeming to support Neustadt's contention that persuasion is needed more than lawful powers. Yet along with charismatic persuasion comes what one might term threatening persuasion. In one memorable passage Woodward recounts a phone conversation between President Bill Clinton and Senator John Kerry in which Kerry stubbornly states that he will not vote for the President's budget as it is too conservative. Clinton ends up telling Kerry to "go f*** himself" and hangs up the phone. Eventually Kerry votes for the Budget, making it a 50-50 tie in the Senate, giving Vice President Al Gore the casting vote and thus the Budget was passed. Thus it can be seen that each individual President takes his (and perhaps soon her) own unique style and adapts it to the legacy of the Presidency that they have inherited from their predecessors. The constitutional power of the presidency, together with its concomitant responsibilities would eventually be used against the President by a Republic Congress bent on destroying him. This is an irony that rings through Woodward's book from the benefit of hindsight. The fitting of a powerful mind, ego and political skill as Clinton possessed into the "Presidency", in Neustadt's idea of an organization of thousands of talented men and women has fascinating glimpses into the tendencies that would nearly bring about Clinton's downfall. To conclude, the Presidency is at the center of American politics, and, as one of the three co-equal branches of government is one of the pillars of American government. Enough space is allowed within the Constitution for the President to carve his own distinct personality and cast it upon the position. Ultimately it is the portrayal of this young President taking advice from an ideological opposite, in the form of Alan Greenspan, that is one of the most optimistic points of the book. It shows that caring for the country can at times transcend the vicissitudes of partisan politics. __________________________________________ Works Cited Neustadt, Richard. Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan. Free Press, New York: 1991. Woodward, Bob. The Agenda: Inside the Clinton White House. Simon & Schuster, New York: 1994. Read More