Political Science 308 United States Presidency
Section 001
T/TH 12:30-1:45, Harris 2138
Fall 2022
Bill Newmann
Office Hours: 318 Founder’s Hall (827 W. Franklin St): Tuesday and Thursday 3:30-5:00, or by appointment, and zoom appointments too.
E-mail: wnewmann@vcu.edu;
Newmann's home page with links to other course syllabi (http://www.people.vcu.edu/~wnewmann)
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Syllabus Policy Statements
POLI 308. U.S. Presidency.
3 Hours.
Semester course; 3 lecture hours. 3 credits. A political
and institutional study of the chief executive, focusing especially on the presidential
personality and relations with Congress, the bureaucracy, the courts and the
shaping of domestic and foreign policy.
Structure of the Class
This course will be taught in
class, the old fashioned pre-pandemic way.
In addition, all lectures will be recorded and placed in the Media
Gallery of the Canvas site. They will
also be linked to the syllabus online.
The recorded lectures will be available within 24 hours of the
class. I do this because even though
we’re trying to get back to normal, not everything is back to normal. State
regulations prohibit faculty from mandating that everyone in class wears a
mask; for that reason, I will be providing the recordings for people who are
unconfutable in a small classroom.
Both exams
will be take home versions. I’ll give
more details below.
Links to the Presidency that will
be useful or interesting (some might even be both).
Polls and Sites
with Electoral College Charts
·
Real
Clear Politics Poll tracking
·
Washington Post
polling page
·
Wall
Street Journal/NBC news polls
The American National Election Studies (ANES) is a scholarly database
with everything. You need to register to use it (just info; no cost), and then
create a password. There is a ton here,
so it may require some playing around to find what you’re looking for.
Use These for References to Voting in this election
and past elections
·
270 to Win
(info on presidential elections)
·
Dave
Leip’s Atlas of US Presidential Elections The best info on every US presidential
election and more
Sites with Coverage from All Perspectives
·
Real Clear Politics links to articles from everywhere
·
Politico
comprehensive coverage of political
events
Possibly
the two most important sites that exist (These examine claims made by
politicians, candidates, and pundits.
Are they true or are they half-truths, or are they complete lies? It also checks media stories and official pronouncements
of the president and congress)
·
Fact
Check.Org From the Annenberg Center at the University
of Pennsylvania
·
PolitiFact.com From several newspapers
·
The Fact Checker From the Washington Post
·
Snopes.com (fact checking and debunking
urban legends and internet hoaxes that are often about politics)
Reference
·
Statistical
Abstract of the United States (US Census Bureau compilation of statistics on social and
economic conditions in the US)
·
Charts
on Presidential Approval Ratings (from Wall Street Journal;
composites of several polling organizations)
Introduction
The presidency is a huge topic. Recognizing this reality, the course will take a sweeping look at the US Presidency, arguably the single most powerful office in the history of the planet. Getting a handle on the presidency is a difficult, if not impossible job. Probably the best way to start learning about the subject is to think of the US presidency as the nexus of three streams: (1) the times -- the ebb and flow of American political culture, national trends, and international historical forces; (2) the institution -- the office and powers of the office as it has evolved from the US Constitution to the media-focused, celebrity presidency of the 1980s and 1990s; and (3) the individual -- the character, vision, strengths and weaknesses of the man or woman who occupies the Oval Office. As these three streams come together the political history of the nation is shaped. The US has been called a "Presidential Nation." It is in the office of the presidency where the US people have decided to place power time and again. In the historical grappling for power between the president and congress the US people have continually sided with the president. It is the place where we look for leadership and direction. The person who occupies that office is given a stature like no other. (Has anyone seen any monuments to senators or representatives?) The president gets too much credit when things go well and too much blame when things go wrong. For better or worse, the president has become the embodiment of the nation, and therefore, his or her character, personal habits and infirmities become the stuff of national obsession, and national security.
The office of the president is the repository of the greatest powers in the land, not just in terms of physical power (the authority to use military force, even nuclear weapons), but moral power -- the ability to shift the ethical standards of a nation and to influence, if not define, the national mood. Our presidential elections often focus on issues of personal character, not issues of economic, social or foreign policy. We seem to be choosing not simply someone to run the country, but someone to represent us -- half-prime minister, half-monarch. Our choices seem to depend on the national mood.
We’re studying politics in this class, but we want to approach it as scholars, not as partisans – supporters of any specific political party or ideology. In this sense, when we think of how to judge a president or presidency, we should not try to define success subjectively -- in terms of individual political goals that those on one side or the other of the political spectrum might have, such as reducing poverty through government action or shrinking the size of the welfare state. Using these notions as the judgment of success would lead to endless debate about the purposes of government from a partisan point of view. We’ll probably have a little bit of that, but we don't want it to dominate the course. It is better to try for some scholarly objectivity, by defining success in the following manner -- did the president achieve what he set out to do? Did the president improve the quality of US democracy? Whether you, as an individual, shared the goals of one president or another, is irrelevant to this question. Analytically, the focus should be upon how successful was any president in attaining the goals that he sets for himself, and of upholding and protecting the constitution.
By the "modern" presidency I refer to the presidency as it has been defined since Franklin Roosevelt. It is FDR who, with the help of national crises of the Depression and WW II, transformed the presidency into the focus of power that it is today. He also raised expectations so high that it is doubtful that any president can meet those expectations for any length of time. Can the job be done? That is what we will focus on during the course of the semester. We will examine the powers of the presidency, the men who have held the office, and the shifting demands that our political culture places on both the office and the individual.
We, of course, will look at how the last few presidencies operated (Bush 43, Obama, and Trump), and we’ll also spend a lot of time examining how President Trump shattered some of the established norms of the presidency.
Some of the issues we will discuss include: The Presidency and the Constitution; Presidential Character; The Roosevelt Revolution; "The Personal Presidency;" Presidential Management Styles; Bureaucracy, Organizations, and Presidential Power; The "Imperial Presidency" and Foreign Policy; The White House Staff and its power; Watergate and the abuse of power; The post-Watergate Presidency; The Reagan Revolution; The President and the media; Presidential Campaigns; Expectations of the President; Image making; Shifting Coalitions in Presidential Voting; Red and Blue America; and the Trump Phenomenon.
We will also spend some time looking at the current crisis in American Democracy. In the long run, presidential power has been expanding in ways that are often seen as detrimental to the checks and balances built into the system. In essence, some think we are evolving into a system where congressional oversight disappears and presidential authority is unchallenged. President Trump challenged or obliterated long standing norms in American politics, both in terms of the tone of presidential communication and the limits to presidential power. As he repeatedly said: Article 2 allows him to do whatever he wants, and gives him “total authority.” That is terrifying. The fundamental nature of democracy rejects total authority by anyone at any time. Only dictators or monarchs have total authority. Our extreme polarization has led us to a critical juncture. If we evolve into a system where parties believe that presidents from their own party can have absolute power, while presidents of the opposition party can have no power, we are no longer a functioning democracy. I can’t emphasize enough the crisis we are facing. A majority of the members of the current Republican Party believe that the 2020 election was stolen by the Democratic Party and that Biden is not legally president. This is absolutely 100% false, but they still believe it. The certification by congress of the 2020 election was disrupted by a violent riot, during which protestors attacked and invaded the Capitol Building in search of members of congress they verbally threatened to kill. Read that sentence again, and think about that. The refusal to accept the outcome of an election and an armed attempt to stop the transfer of power are two of the hallmarks of the death of the democratic process in a country. Our continued ability to hold elections and transfer power peacefully is at risk. By the end of the semester you’ll know multiple perspectives on how we got to this unstable era in American history. It is possible that scholars writing fifty years from now might label this era “the collapse of the first American Republic.” This is what keeps me up at night. I apologize for sharing my nightmare.
Learning
Outcomes
1. Students will be able to differentiate between and evaluate approaches to studying the presidency, particularly the historical, institutional, and character.
2.
Students
will be able to differentiate between and evaluate theories of the pre-modern,
modern, and post-modern presidencies.
3.
Students
will be able to evaluate the evolution of presidential power, in the context of
American history, tools of presidential persuasion, and the relationships
between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches
4.
Students
will be able to evaluate the impact of significant presidencies, in terms of
both successes and failures in presidential leadership
5.
Students
will be able to evaluate the relationship between political realignment and the
presidency, particularly in the context of coalition formation and ideological
change within the US and within US political parties.
6.
Students
will be able to evaluate the evolution of presidential economic policy and its
central role in shaping the politics of the nation
7.
Students
will demonstrate the ability to research and write a paper for political
science
Texts: You need to read them;
you don't need to buy them. There is a lot of reading for this course, but it
is fun reading. I've tried to keep the dry political science textbook style to
a minimum. I've assigned mostly journalistic accounts that are entertaining and
educational. The books are available at
the Virginia Book Company, BookHolders, and the VCU Bookstore. Some of them may
be found also at the large chain bookstores in town (Barnes and Noble) or
online. You might find them there at a discount. If anyone has problems getting
access to the texts, for any reason, let me know as soon as possible so you
don't get too far behind in the reading. You may find these texts other places;
be sure you get an edition of the text that includes everything that is in the
edition I have assigned. I will place books on reserve as well, and let you
know when that is done.
Assigned Texts:
·
Fred
I. Greenstein. Inventing the Job of
President: Leadership Style from George Washington to Andrew Jackson (Princeton University Press, 2014) Available
online through the VCU Library: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/vcu/detail.action?pq-origsite=primo&docID=729943
·
Doris
Kearns Goodwin. Leadership in Turbulent Times (New York: Simon
and Shuster, 2019)
·
Chris
Whipple. The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs
of Staff Define Every Presidency (New York: Broadway Books, 2018)
·
Ronald
Brownstein. The Second Civil War (New
York: Penguin Books, 2007)
·
Charlie
Sykes. How the Right Lost Its Mind
(New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2018)
Grading System: Grades will be determined through
the following:
|
Exam One |
October 11: Placed in the Files folder of
Canvas on October 10 at about 9:00 AM.
Due by midnight on October 11 (as October 11 becomes October 12,
but that deadline is a soft one; don't sweat an extra hour or so). Type
or write the exam. |
30% of the grade |
|
Rough drafts
accepted until November 17 (optional) December 1: due
at the beginning of class in hard copy or emailed to me by the beginning of
class. |
30% of the grade |
|
|
Initial Due
Date: September 22 Final Due Date: November 17 |
5% of the grade |
|
|
Exam Two |
December 13: I
will place the exam in Files folder of Canvas at about 9:00 AM on December
12. It will be due back to me (emailed) by midnight on December 13 (as
December 13 becomes December 14). Again, this is a soft deadline. Type or write the exam. |
35% of the grade |
How do you calculate your grade? Use the percentages from the above table. So, if you received the following grades, you would calculate your grades in the following manner:
I give you this very detailed formula for a number of reasons. You should never be unaware of what your class average is. You can calculate it at any point in the semester. If your grade is not what you'd like it to be, you should know, and you should come see me about it. Please don’t wait to come to my office hours until after the final exam and say then tell me that you're having trouble in the class. It's too late at that point; there’s nothing that I’d be able to do to help at that point. But any time in the semester that you feel you are having trouble, or not doing as well as you feel you should, come talk to me. During my office hours and by appointment I am happy to talk to you about the class
Grading scale: I use a typical scale: A = 90-100; B = 80-89; C = 70-79; D = 55-69. Borderline grades are considered in the following manner.
· If your grade is 69.5, 79.5, or 89.5 or higher, then you may be a candidate for a round up to the higher grade (Notice those numbers in the sentence; do not ask for a higher grade if your average is a 68 or 78 or 88 or lower; those are not borderline averages).
· You may become a candidate if your grades are borderline and if your grades have been going up during the semester.
· That means that if you are borderline, but your last exam is lower than the previous exams (you are between a B and C, but your third exam is a C for example), you will probably get the lower grade.
· If you are borderline, and your last exam is higher than the previous exams (you are between a B and C, but your third exam is a B), you will probably get the higher grade.
· Another factor I consider is the typical grade you receive. Let’s say we have three grades for the class and two are grades of B and one is a C (bad day) and your average is a 79.6, you are a candidate for receiving a B. If you have three grades and two grades are grades of C and one is a grade of B, you are probably not candidate for a round up to the next grade.
· There is no extra credit for this class. Please do not ask.
One more thing: The withdrawal date is October 28.
EXAMS: The exams are take home exams. You will have roughly two days to complete each exam. The exams will be short answer and essay. At least one week before the exam I will out a review sheet online. It will be linked to the syllabus below this paragraph. In general, the review sheets should be used as your study guide for the exam. The review sheet will include some terms that are from the readings only, so that you can go back and review those items from the readings. Once you have the review sheet, feel free to ask me questions about the terms. This is the best way to study for the exam. If you understand the terms on the review sheet, you can define each one and see how each one relates to the larger concepts and issues we've discussed in class, you should do just fine on the exam. How does a take home exam work?
Basics
And, important:
Citation
Assignment
I
will explain this the first day of class and you can follow this link to get
the detailed instructions. This is a super easy assignment, but it will
give you some research skills that will be essential to writing research papers
in upper level classes like this one.
The basic idea is this: you will write a basic paragraph that is
designed to help you practice citing material and writing a bibliography. September 22 is the initial due date for it.
If you do it right, you’re done, and you get a 100% on the grade. If you do it
wrong, you’ll be asked to do it again based on my comments. You’ll keep working
on it until you’ve got it right. There
is, however, a final deadline (November 17). If you haven’t done it right by
then (and this can only happen if you don’t even try), you’ll get a zero. For the initial due date this assignment is
due at the beginning of class in hard copy.
There is a ten point penalty for each day it is late with a maximum of a
50% penalty. If it is not completed
correctly by the final due date, the grade is a zero (and nobody wants that;
I’ll be sad; you’ll be sad). The
benefit of this is that you’ll learn to do citations correctly before the paper
is due. That means you’ll do the citations correctly on the paper. Hooray. That’s very good because the main reason
students get grades of C or D on a paper is because they didn’t do their
citations correctly.
Research
Paper: The full assignment is in the Files
folder or linked right here. The topic is an assigned topic, but you have lots
of leeway about how you want to approach it. Your assignment should be fun or
maybe scary: Explain the Trump Phenomenon: How has Donald Trump captured the
loyalty of the Republican Party in ways that no American politician ever
has? Some basics:
COURSE AND READING SCHEDULE
The following are
some fun or useful PPT slideshows. Take
a look if you’re interested. They are not required; none of the material will
be on a test.
Being a Good Political Consumer
Presidential Library Tour
Week 1: August 22-26: Introduction
· Greenstein, Chapters 1-9
· Read the Constitution
o Official US Government Printing Office version
o National Archives original text annotated version (with links to changes in the constitution)
·
Lecture
One: August 23: Intro
·
Lecture
Two: August 25: Origins I
Week 2: August 29--September 2: Powers of
the Presidency
· Goodwin, Chapters 1 and 5 and 9
·
Electoral
College to January 6 PPT
·
Lecture
Three: August 30: Origins II
·
Lecture
Four: September 1: Origins III
Week 3: September 5-9: The Pre-Modern Presidency
·
Goodwin,
Chapters 2, 6, and 10
·
Lecture
Five: September 6: Origins IV
·
Lecture
Six: September 8: Origins V
Week 4: September 12-16 FDR: The Modern Presidency Begins
· Goodwin, Chapters 3, 7, and 11
·
Lecture
Seven: September 13: Pre-Modern Presidents I
·
Lecture
Eight: September 15: Pre-Modern Presidents II
Week 5: September 19-23: FDR to Ike
·
September 22: Citation Assignment First Draft
Due (at the beginning of class in hard copy or emailed by the start of class)
·
FDR PPT
·
Lecture
9: September 20: FDR I
·
Lecture
10: September 22: FDR II
Week 6: September 26-30: Ike to JFK: Managing the Presidency
Goodwin, Chapters
4, 8, and 12
· Leadership, Management, Advising PPT
·
Lecture
11: September 27: FDR to Ike
·
Lecture
12: September 29: Ike to JFK
Week 7: October 3-7: LBJ and the Power of Persuasion
· Brownstein, Chapter 1 and Chapter 4 pages 93-127
· Whipple, Introduction, Chapter 1
·
LBJ
PPT
·
Lecture
13: October 4: LBJ 1
·
Lecture
14: October 6: LBJ 2
Week 8: October 10-14: Exam One and Nixon’s Rise and Fall
· Exam One: October 11: Placed in the Files folder of Canvas on October 10 at about 9:00 AM. Due by midnight on October 11 (as October 11 becomes October 12, but that deadline is a soft one; don't sweat an extra hour or so). Type or write the exam.
·
No
Class October 11
· No Readings
·
Lecture
15 October 13: Nixon 1
Week 9: October 17-21: Nixon and the Post-Watergate Presidency
· Whipple, Chapters 2 and 4
· Brownstein, Chapter 4 pages 127-136, and Chapter 5
·
Lecture
16: October 18: Nixon and Watergate
·
Lecture
17: October 20: Nixon, Watergate, Impeachment
Week 10: October 24-28: The Reagan Realignment
· Brownstein, Chapter 6
· Whipple, Chapters 5 and 6
·
Post-Watergate
Presidency PPT
· Lecture 18: October 25: Post-Watergate Presidency and Reagan
· Lecture 19: October 27: Reagan
Withdrawal Date
October 28
Week 11: October 31-November 4: Reagan and Bush
·
Brownstein,
Chapters 7-8
·
Lecture
20: November 1: Reagan 2
·
Lecture
21 was not recorded (made me very sad), but I have similar recordings from last
year. Use the following recordings, and listen to them as indicated below.
·
Lecture
21A: November 3: Reagan 3 (Begin at 47 minutes)
·
Lecture
21B: November 3: Reagan 3 (End at 56 minutes)
Week 12: November 7-11: Bush and the Changes in the Republican Party
·
No class November 8: VOTE!
Because the people who believe that the earth is flat will be voting and you
don’t want them deciding the future of the US.
Sykes, Introduction, Chapters 1-8
·
Lecture
22: November 10: Reagan and Bush 41
Week
13: November 14-18: Clinton
·
Optional rough drafts accepted until November
17
· Final Due Date for Citation Assignment November 17
· Sykes, Chapters 9-10
·
Bush 43
·
Lecture
23: November 15: Clinton
·
Lecture
24: November 17: Clinton to GW Bush
Fall Break: November 21-25
Week
14: November 28—December 2: GW Bush and Obama
·
December 1:
Paper Due, at the beginning of class in hard copy or emailed to me by the
beginning of class.
·
No
Readings
·
Obama
·
Lecture
25: November 29: GW Bush
·
Lecture
26: December 1 Bush to Obama
Week 15: December 5-9: The Trump Presidency
· Sykes, Chapters 11-17
·
Lecture
27: December 6: Obama to Trump
·
Lecture
28: December 8: Trump
Final Exam: December 13: I
will place the exam in Files folder of Canvas at about 9:00 AM on December 12.
It will be due back to me (emailed) by midnight on December 13 (as December 13
becomes December 14). Again, this is a soft deadline. Type or write the exam.
Other Important
Stuff
Political Science Advising
If you are a Political Science major we highly recommend that you
meet with your friendly and helpful POLI advisors, Nathan Bickett and Jen
Clayton, at least once a semester to make sure you are on track - doing what
you need to do and not doing what you don’t need to do - and to discuss your
academic and professional goals. Current minors and those considering a POLI
major or minor are also encouraged to visit.
You may make an appointment through the Navigator app or through a
link on your VCU Portal (remote advising webpage). You may also reach us at poliadvisor@vcu.edu
Political Science Librarian
Nia Rodgers is the librarian for Political
Science. She can help you find peer-reviewed materials to use in your research.
She can be reached at: slrodgers@vcu.edu
or you can make an appointment at: https://vcu.libcal.com/appointment/8778