POLI 308: Review Sheet Two: Spring 2008
Bill Newmann
Format: Same as the previous exam. You will have three hours to do the exam, but the exam is written to be taken in 50 minutes.
List of terms: Those terms preceded by an asterisk (*) are primarily found in the readings.
NIXON:
Electoral Realignment
Democrats loss of the South
Impact of 1950s and 1960s changes on New Deal Coalition
Civil Rights -- successes and failures
Expansion of federal power -- Civil Rights and Great Society
Failure in
Division in Democratic Party Over Civil Rights
Losing the South
Labor and urban North
LBJ's challengers in the 1968 election
*Nixon's coalition
*The Silent Majority/Quiet Americans
*Southern Strategy
George Wallace
The Southern Presidential vote in 1968 and 1972 vs. previous years
The Administrative Presidency
White House control/management of the government
Domestic Council
John Ehrlichman
National Security Council staff
Henry Kissinger
Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman
Problems with the Administrative Presidency
Cabinet Government?
Isolation
Line vs. Staff
Their definition of their responsibilities
Staff Protecting the President
*Feeding Nixon's Flaws
*Nixon and constant crisis atmosphere
*Enemies List
*Paranoia
*Nixon’s obsession with image
*Nixon’s non-ideological conservatism/moderate policies (Nixon as a liberal)
*Tricky Dick
*Nixon and the press
*psycho-biographical portrait of Nixon
Watergate:
Cambodia Bombing and leaks
Secret investigative unit -- Plumbers
Their links to the White House and CREEP
Watergate Burglary
of DNC Headquarters
Nixon: “a third rate burglary”
Grand Jury -- Judge John Sirica
Senate Committee -- Senator Sam Ervin (D-NC)
Special Prosecutor -- Archibald Cox and Leon Jaworski
Howard Baker: “What did the president know and when did he know it?”
The Tapes
Nixon's position on the tapes
Saturday Night Massacre
Revelations in the Tapes:
Nixon part of cover-up
Abuse of Power
Nixon's claims of innocence -- lies
E. Howard Hunt's attempts at blackmail
Impeachment process in Constitution
House Judiciary Committee and articles of impeachment
Spiro Agnew
Gerald Ford
The Pardon:
CARTER:
1976 election
Ford and pardon
A Failure?
Historical or Character arguments
Post-Watergate Presidency:
No-win Presidency
American people's feelings about Presidents
New Media view of Presidents -- Woodward and Bernstein
Antagonism
Congressional Power:
War Powers Resolution
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Act 1974
Impoundment
Increase in Congressional ability to compete with Presidency (GAO, CBO, OTA, committee and personal staff)
Goals of New Congress
Carter character
US Navy
Businessman/Farmer
Views on Civil Rights
State Senate run
Governor
Carter's theory of Governing
Politics vs. what is right
Trusteeship Presidency
Carter's idea vs. LBJ model
Alienating the Democrats in Congress
Economic Problems
Crisis of Confidence speech
Carter's misunderstanding of leadership
A Crisis of Leadership?
What this implies about US people and the Post-Watergate Presidency? -- Bring back FDR?
REAGAN:
Reagan's past:
Happy Midwestern upbringing?
Acting
Anti-Communist Democrat
Goldwater supporter
Governor of
Reagan (conservative wing) vs. Bush (moderate wing) in
Landslide over Carter
Reagan as Republican FDR -- confidence, hope, leadership
Reagan and US political spectrum
*Reagan management style
*Spokesmodel Presidency/Reagan as actor portraying the president
*Overall policy guidance
*The Troika:
*Edwin Meese and his role
*James Baker and his role
*Michael Deaver and his role
*Power of Nancy Reagan
*Reagan and the media:
*The Teflon President
Popularity of Reagan vs. Popularity of his policies
Bargaining
*Going Public
Elements of Reagan Media Strategy:
*Bully Pulpit
*Stage Events in controlled settings
Feed the Media
*Consistency of message -- Line of the Day/Sound Bites
*Selling the President
*Popularity = Power
*Reagan as the "acting president"
*Iran-Contra
*Weapons to Contras
*Arms to
*Reagan’s hopes for getting hostages free
*Oliver North’s role
*lying to Congress
*North defense:
1. It was okay for us to lie because we were doing what we believe is right
2. Checks and balances don’t apply in foreign policy
Congressional reaction: enraged
Public reaction: North is a hero
BUSH 41:
Heir to Reagan legacy
Reagan vs. Bush in philosophy and political experience
Bush as Insider
Bush and party loyalty
"The Vision Thing"
Bush history:
Moderate Republican
1964 campaign platform vs. 1966 campaign platform
Appointed jobs for Republican party -- loyalty
Reagan vs. Bush 1980
Nastiness of 1988 campaign
Willie Horton ad
1988: No New Taxes
1990: Budget Deal
*Gulf War
Rally-round-the-flag-effect in Bush popularity
Wasting opportunities after the Gulf
Bush and failure to remake the party
Bush and leadership
*
Never count out Bill Clinton: A Weeble?
As Arkansas Governor
*Clinton's ideology: New Democrats vs. Old Democrats
Beyond stereotypes of Liberalism and Conservatism
Factions of each party
A moderate center/a middle ground
Governors in the center
Why the growth of a moderate center?
Democrats lost South
Impact of Reagan revolution (shifting US politics to the right)
Deficit
tax revolts of 1970s and 1980s
economic slowdown since 1970s
perceived failure of:
1. Democratic New Deal/Great Society
2. Reaganomics
The
Fight in each Party
Democrats: centrist vs. liberal – centrists win
Republicans: moderate vs. conservative – conservatives win
*New Democrats – Democratic Leadership Council
Socially liberal
Fiscally Conservative
Pro-Business
Government has limited, but important role
*
Education reform in
The logic of
1992 election: Three way race
*Pat Buchanan and Conservative anger at Bush
Reluctance of most Democrats to run
*Ross Perot
*President elected with only 43% of the vote
*Is
*--Homosexuals in the military
*--Health care
Budget
Triangulation and Welfare reform
Trade
Economic world order building and globalization
Pro-business Democrat
*Aggressive promotion of free trade
*economic policy as the key to foreign policy
*Republicans take the House and Senate
*The trust issue
*Slick Willie
*Scandals and accusations
*Whitewater, travelgate, Vince Foster, Paula Jones, Campaign finance
*Investigations and evidence
*Clinton and his spin team's defense against the accusations
*
*
Lewinsky
Whitewater
Lying in Paula Jones’ civil suit
Kenneth Starr
Lying to Grand Jury
Lying to US people
House impeaches
Senate acquits
Transforming the Democratic Party
but impeachment means
that
The 2000 Election
George W. Bush (Bush 43)
G. W. Bush’s background
underachiever – alcohol problems
Governor of
W’s administration as Bush II
W’s administration as Reagan III
*Priority: Tax cuts
*Faith-based initiative
*Bush 43 on his own: compassionate conservatism
*No Child Left Behind
*Weak mandate after 2000 and losing Senate in May 2001
Pre-modern presidency vs. modern presidency
Modern presidency as crisis presidency
Post-Modern Presidency?
Cold War ends
Fate of Bush 41, Clinton, and Bush 43 before 9/11
Impeachment of
Modern presidency really a crisis presidency and crisis has ended
Characteristics of Post-Modern Presidency
Weak executive
Powerful Congess
Madisonian style checks and balances
Small issue focus in presidency
Governor of the USA/Governization of presidency?
Then 9/11
Crisis presidency Reborn
Unitary Executive Theory
All power to the president
Examples:
1. Office of Homeland Security/Homeland Security Council
Expansion of Presidential Branch
But Congress Fights back: creation of Dept. of Homeland Security
2. Authorization to Use Military Force (
President assumes this gives him nearly unrestricted power to prosecute the war
US Supreme Court overrules several times
Edwards readings:
*Governing by campaigning
*permanent campaign
*Image control
*prepackaged news reports
*Bush as a polarizing president?
*social security reform