Title: Rivals for power : presidential-congressional relations /
Authors: Thurber, James A., 1943-
Year: 2013
Subjects: United States.; Presidents United States; United States Politics and government
Abstract: "In our current age of unprecedented political polarization, nothing has been more strained by partisanship than the relationship between our president and the Congress with which he must deal. Now in its fifth edition, Rivals for Power: Presidential-Congressional Relations provides students with an unmatched level of insight into the relationship between the executive and the legislative branches of our federal government. Edited by James A. Thurber, this new edition includes eleven new chapters by leading scholars, journalists, and former public officials detailing previously unexplored aspects of the necessary rivalry upon which our nation's governing philosophy was founded centuries ago. In addition to thorough analyses of the causes of macrolevel governmental conflict throughout our history, the chapters highlight many specific points of contention from President Obama's first term--from the Dodd-Frank Act, to the 'Fast and Furious' gunrunning scandal, to the ongoing battles surrounding the Affordable Care Act and its implementation--as examples of how power, no matter how concentrated or sweeping, is ultimately checked and balanced by our democracy. Students and policy makers alike will find this book a valuable contribution to their understanding of the current state of federal power and the historical narrative of how America's fundamental rivalry has arrived at the present state." --Back Cover
Contents: An introduction to presidential-Congressional rivalry / James A. Thurber -- Obama's first-term, legislative presidency: partisan, not personal / Stephen J. Wayne -- White house-Congressional relations in a polarized age / Gary Andres and Patrick Griffin -- Organizing the twenty-first-century White House / James P. Pfiffner -- The presidency and Congressional time / Roger H. Davidson -- The president and the Congressional party leadership in a hyperpartisan era / Barbara Sinclair -- The president, Congress, and lobbyists: has President Obama changed the way Washington works? / James A. Thurber -- The president, Congress, and the media / Ron Elving -- Presidents, Congress, and budget decisions / Joseph White -- The politics of federal regulation: Congress acts, the president hones his policies by regulations / Claudia Hartley Thurber -- The president, Congress, and foreign policy / Lawrence J. Korb and Alexander Rothman -- Obama's constitutional conflicts with Congress / Louis Fisher -- Congress and President Obama: a perspective / Mark J. Oleszek and Walter J. Oleszek -- Rivals only sometimes: presidentialism, unilateralism, and congressional acquiescence in Obama's "ongoing struggle" against terrorism / John E. Owens -- Assessing presidential-Congressional relations: a need for reform? / James A. Thurber.