POLS 3150 - Second Exam Review

POLS 3150
Executive Branch
Second Exam Review

Presidential Power

Neustadt's conception of presidential power
President's position/authority in comparison with that of Prime Ministers
Evolution/Interpretations of the role of the Presidency

Evaluation of President

Dimensions of presidential "greatness"
Simonton's model

Presidential Character and Ability

Barber's and Renshon's conceptualization of presidential character/personality
- predictions of performance
Skills of presidential leadership
- "Models of competence"
  - Self-Reliant
  - Minimalist
  - Strategic
Impact of political context on presidential ability to govern
Alexander George's personality factors that determine management style
- Habitual ways of dealing with information
- Sense of competence
- Tolerance for competition and dissent among advisers

President and Media

Nature of the relationship
- Mutually dependent, but inherently conflictual
Nature of media coverage of the President
Grossman and Kumar's phases of presidential-media relations
- Alliance
- Competition
- Detachment

Presidents and Parties

Nature of American political parties and their impact/importance (or lack thereof) to Presidents
Evolution of relationship between Presidents and Parties
- Pendleton Act of 1883
- Executive Reorganization Act of 1939
- Presidential Transitions Act of 1963
- Actions taken by specific Presidents

President and Interest Groups

Difficulty dealing with entrenched interests in the executive branch
Tichenor's Model of Interactive Politics
- Breakthrough politics v. politics-as-usual
- Collaborative strategies v. adversarial strategies

Terms you should know:

active-negative
active-positive
ambition
breakthrough politics
collegial system of management style
competitive pattern of management style
cycle of decreasing influence
cycle of increasing effectiveness
demagoguery
Executive Reorganization Act of 1938

formalistic pattern of management style
integrity
management style
minimalist model
multiple advocacy
passive-negative
passive-positive
Pendleton Act of 1883
"politics-as-usual"
Presidential Transitions Act of 1963

psychobiography
regime time
relatedness
self-reliant model
spoils system
strategic competence
style (Barber)
White House Office of Communications
White House Press Office
world view

The exam will have one of the following essay questions. Your best bet is to be prepared to answer each of them. Furthermore, it is not wise to try to anticipate which one I will select because the decision will be a random choice.

We have seen a variety of theories that have been offered to help explain how well a president performs while in office. Most notably we saw how character, competence, and context each offer an explanation for presidential performance. Briefly discuss how each of these help to explain an individual president's success at governing.

Compare and contrast the governing process for presidents and prime ministers. What similarities does each type of chief executive face and how do their situations differ?

Describe the relationship that exists between the presidents and their party. Citing historical examples, explain how this relationship changed over the years and why.