Factors That Affect Presidential Leadership - Coursework Example

Factors That Affect Presidential Leadership Introduction Presidential leadership can be considered one of the topics at the forefront of the political hierarchy as this position carries with it a large responsibility and whoever holds the office needs to be prepared to deal with the various setbacks, complications and obstacles that come across the way. There are various factors that affect presidential leadership and Patterson attempts to identify a number of main issues that relate to this subject. The operations of the presidential office are affected by other branches of the government and thus a level of cooperation between these different groups such as Congress and the Judiciary is required if actions are to be successful (Patterson 97).The factors that affect a presidential office need to be examined closely with the aim to come up with solutions that are fitting to not only the particular situation in hand, but has the potential to avert any future deviations that may attempt to derail the improvement of the conditions that are being set up. The issue of presidential success depends upon diverse factors that need to be considered such as the amount of support a president is able to garner from both the government and the public and the particular status that the nation is currently experiencing (Patterson 13). It is essential for these factors to be reflected on when determining the potential success that a president may have during their term in office. Factors Affecting Presidential Leadership Some of the factors that affect presidential leadership according to Patterson’s “We the people” include: 1. The Force of Circumstance This can be described as the particular situation that a nation is experiencing at the moment. The force of circumstance looks at the seriousness of a situation in relation to the level of influence a president is able to hold over his citizens (Patterson 49). Crisis is an aspect that enhances the level of influence a president has, for example, this influence reduces during times of relative peace. A good example of this is the level of influence that Pres. George Bush had after the terror attack on the Twin towers on 9/11. This crisis allowed the President to push for the invasion of Iraq declaring the move as war on terrorism which was a message that received unanimous support at the time, however, as the situation gradually returned to normal this military action began to lose its popularity as peace returned to the country. 2. The Honeymoon Period The honeymoon period can be depicted as the initial period that a new president has in office when he enjoys relative support from the public (Patterson 55). This can be seen as a period whereby the majority vote influences the public’s perception of the candidate and, as a result gives them the benefit of the doubt. This majority support can decline as people begin to take issue with their government. An example where this has been seen to happen is with the ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak who had previously enjoyed massive support with the Muslim brotherhood before seeing the public turn on him afterwards once they were not satisfied with his form of rule. 3. Government Support It is essential for the president to receive support from other sides of the government if they wish to have a smooth term in office. Having the congress on the president’s goes a long way in getting things done as actions will meet less resistance if a majority of the members of congress show support for the president’s moves (Patterson 51). The President can use the Veto power when the congress needs to be curbed, but it should be noted that this ability cannot serve as an efficient substitute to an amicable relationship between the two parties (that is, the president and members of congress). An example can be seen in the current gun control debates that in the United States with the president having a hard time implementing stricter gun laws as there are members of congress that are strongly against it. 4. Potential Impeachment The president can be said to be under the mercy of the congress to a certain point as they are able to remove them from office through legal processes that can be activated should doubts be raised over the president’s capability. This ability though not used often has to be considered because it directly affects the potential period a president can hold in office. A recent example of such a situation is the accusation of former US President Bill Clinton who was found guilty of two charges – Perjury and obstruction of justice. 5. Legal Actions by Congress Impeachment is not the only way that Congress is able to affect the president’s term in office and other legal actions that may not be as serious, but still hold limiting implications can be taken when deemed necessary. These actions can include holding hearings on alleged abuses of power as well as the passing of a number of legislation that can be obtrusive to certain practices. Bill Clinton is also a good example for such scenarios as hearings were held on alleged abuses of power. 6. Public Support The level of support that the president receives from the public can also affect their leadership (Patterson 23). The more support a president has the more stable his leadership is and this allows them to carry out their projects with more ease than would have been possible otherwise. There are various issues that affect the level of public support that the president is able to enjoy and some of these include aspects such as the use of the media to garner support on certain issues, the state of the country and certain international issues that may affect the nation directly or indirectly. An example of this was when US President Barrack Obama managed to capture Osama Bin laden which increased his popularity in the process. 7. Hierarchal Illusions Some individuals have developed the view that the president is in command of the entire government which is an inaccurate description (Patterson 67). This illusion has led to an increase in responsibilities whereby the president should share with other branches of the government and this can serve to be an advantage or disadvantage depending on the circumstances. When all is well, the president receives a lot of the credit and when they are going badly they receive most of the blame this despite the actual involvement that the president had to do with any of the matters. An example of such situations can be found with the current issue of American jobs whereby a positive growth results in increased popularity of the President and vice versa. Conclusion Public support should be considered to be the most important factor when it comes to factors affecting presidential leadership. This is due to the fact that, in the end, the citizens of the nation are responsible for choosing whom they want as their leader thus it should be assumed that the loss of this support will make it next to impossible for the president to carry out their duties. If the president does not have the support of their people then they are no longer able to properly govern their nation effectively (Patterson 102). However, the other factors should not be ignored as they all hold a level of importance for a president’s leadership. A good way for the president to go about this is to first concentrate on the public support and then move on to the other factors. Reference Patterson, T. E. (2003). We the People. New York: McGraw-Hill Read More