Going Public : New Strategies of Presidential Leadership

by Samuel Kernell

In this new edition of his authoritative work, Samuel Kernell examines the increasingly frequent presidential practice of "going public" - appealing for support directly to the American public, often bypassing Congress. Updated to include timely analyses of the public strategies of President Clinton, who by most measurements has engaged in more public activities than any other president, the third edition carefully traces the history of this practice and explores the key political role played by the news media. Trends in presidential speeches, public appearances, and travel receive special attention as does the influence of public opinion. Kernell contends that the presidential practice of going public has fundamentally altered the relationship between the executive and legislative branches. He supports his argument with many examples of going public from recent presidencies.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Political Science

276 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Jacob Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

For what the book is discussing, Kernell does a good, if not thorough job. But, I would not imagine a circumstance where I would read this outside of a classroom. While the interactions of a president and congress can be fascinating, the more dry topic of the president using public opinion made reading more laborious than I would have liked. Despite the book being shorter than what I usually read, it felt so much longer from the repetition of the explanation of the obvious (the bargaining president makes deals and favors with congressional factions x20 pages).

I most enjoyed the section on different administrations interacting with the news. Was also nice to learn about how the white house press conference came into being. The graphs were also a nice addition to drive details in, such as Reagan's PO during budget deliberations, but some were not needed.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for Poly Sci course on The Presidency

Review to come