The Rhetorical Presidency [Paperback]

Jeffrey K. Tulis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1988 | ISBN-10: 069102295X | ISBN-13: 978-0691022956

Modern presidents regularly appeal over the heads of Congress to the people at large to generate support for public policies.  Jeffrey K. Tulis argues that this political development, born at the outset of the twentieth century, is neither simply logical nor unequivocably benign.  Rather it is the product of conscious political choices that fundamentally transformed the presidency and the meaning of American governance.

Changes in rhetorical practice reflect and amplify changes in large perspectives upon the constitutional order.  Tulis examines successive understandings of the founders, of Theodore Roosevelt, and of Woodrow Wilson, and he traces the altered meanings of presidential practice.

The author displays American politics as a layered text with later developments superimposed upon, rather than simply elaborating or replacing, earlier theories and practices. He shows how presidents today inhabit a polity that is governed simultaneously by the theory that bears the modern rhetorical presidency and by the theory that underlies the older constitutional order.  It is in this political twilight that the dilemmas of presidential statecraft may be seen.

Extending a tradition of American political writing that begins with The Federalist and continues with Woodrow Wilson's Congressional Government, The Rhetorical Presidency views an institution from the perspective of the polity.  It treats ideas as constitutive of political life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Rhetorical Presidency is one of the two or three most important and perceptive works written by a political scientist in the twentieth century, and it is the one that may help the most to explain the pathological aspects of modern politics -- not only in the United States but in all social democracies." - Jeffrey Friedman, Critical Review (Fall 2007)

"Brilliant."  George Will, Newsweek, June 29, 1992.

"Writing in 1988, I argued that The Rhetorical Presidency was right in all its essentials, and beseeched political scientists to center future presidential studies on its perceptive interpretations and practical insights.  Now, some two decades and one White House experience later, I must revise that assessment. Upward, that is.  . . . The Rhetorical Presidency has proven to be even better as political development crystal ball than it was as a rear view mirror." -  John J. DiIulio, Critical Review (Fall 2007)

Over the past few years the conceptual foundations of presidential studies have been recast. Jeffrey Tulis's The Rhetorical Presidency stands . . . as one of the benchmarks of the new formulation. . . . a formidable piece of scholarship. (Stephen Skowronek The Review of Politics )

From the Back Cover

"This is a brilliant book. The author does not overlap with the existing literature as much as offer an entirely new way of thinking about the phenomenon he describes. The book should draw respectful attention in a variety of disciplines--history, philosophy, and communications, as well as political science. . . . I could go on and on; there is no end to my appreciation for this work."--Michael Nelson, Vanderbilt University

"This book is full of good writing, sound judgment, and the exactly appropriate rhetoric for an analysis of the rhetorical presidency. Everyone is aware of references to the presidency as a bully pulpit and to presidents as great (or poor) communicators. But it takes a book like Tulis's to put all this together as an essential, perhaps the essential, political dimension of the presidency."--Theodore J. Lowi, Cornell University

"Making an image for presidents today is a sham rhetoric that must be judged within the history of presidential rhetoric since the Founding.  In this brilliant and original work, Jeffrey Tulis finds a new aspect on the presidency and rediscovers a forgotten topic in political science." -- Harvey C. Mansfield, Jr., Harvard University

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (September 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 069102295X
• ISBN-13: 978-0691022956
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 10.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,343 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent -- an absolute must-have. October 6, 2004

By Newsman78

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Tulis has written a brilliant account of the changing styles of presidential rhetoric. His essential argument is that the Framers intended the President to use rhetoric only to speak directly to Congress, rarely if ever to the masses, and always to put his ideas in a constitutional framework. But post-Woodrow Wilson, presidents speak directly to the public, even when ostensibly speaking to Congress, and have tried to overcome the constitutional barriers on their power.

This book is well-written and is compact enough to be read quickly, but these features take nothing away from the superlative scholarship (in fact, many dense books could use some judicious editing down to this size). A must-have for all scholars of the presidency, and for the casual reader who wants to learn more about presidential rhetoric.