Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents: The Politics of Leadership from Roosevelt to Reagan

Explain what Neustadt means when he characterizes presidential power as “the power to persuade” and a form of bargaining power regarding the constituencies with which this power may be enhanced or squandered and with whom it must be exercised.

In the time since the 1960 edition was released, we have seen that the president has authority to send military troops into a conflict, presides over an increasingly important and influential set of administrative agencies within the executive branch, and possesses apparent constitutional authority to have large impacts in the real world without congressional backing. How do these developments support or undermine the theory of the presidency set forth in the 1960 edition of the book? Does the 1990 edition reply to such challenges? Why or why not?

Neustadt suggests that his theory of the presidency applies to the “modern presidents” beginning with (or after) Franklin D. Roosevelt. How well does this view hold up if one seeks to apply Neustadt’s insights to 19th- or early-20th-century presidents? How does comparative analysis of the presidents covered by Neustadt with presidents from earlier times inform your agreement or disagreement with this premise of Neustadt’s book?