The American Presidency Under Siege (Suny Series on the Presidency. Contemporary Issues) (Suny Series, Presidency: Contemporary Issues) [Paperback]

Gary L. Rose (Author)

Book Description

Series: Suny Series, Presidency: Contemporary Issues | Publication Date: March 20, 1997

This book explores the failure of the modern American presidency, a failure the author attributes to the development of a political system that impedes creative leadership. The American presidency, Gary L. Rose argues, is under siege. Surrounded and blockaded by a reactionary Congress, an entrenched bureaucracy, an aggressive media, lobbyists, political action committees, and special interest groups, American presidents fail not because of a lack of ability or character but because of the political system and style of politics inside the Beltway. Rose ascribes this emergence of a political system that obstructs presidential leadership to the decline of political parties as electoral and governing mechanisms. As political parties have declined, presidents have lost vital political connections that historically have enhanced their capacity to lead. He presents a variety of prescriptive measures, including political-party and legal reform, that have the potential to restore political parties and the governing capacity of the presidency.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gary L. Rose is Professor of Political Science at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. He is the editor of Controversial Issues in Presidential Selection, also published by SUNY Press, and the author of Connecticut Politics at the Crossroads.

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press (March 20, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791433382
• ISBN-13: 978-0791433386
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,187,020 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clear and Concise, November 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The American Presidency Under Siege (Suny Series on the Presidency. Contemporary Issues) (Suny Series, Presidency: Contemporary Issues) (Paperback)

The author of this text is my professor at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT, and I found it to provide an in-depth examination of the modern presidency without going "over the head" of students. It is quite eye-opening to how the president holds less power than we think. It is not the quality of the president that is declining, but the quality of the system around him. I think that many people would look at the president in a different light if they read this book.