Pushing the agenda
Subtitle: presidential leadership in US lawmaking, 1953--2004
By: Matthew N. Beckmann.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 194
ISBN-13: 9780521760140; 9780521162913
Subjects: Presidents -- United States; Political leadership -- United States; Legislation -- United States; Executive power -- United States; United States -- Politics and government -- 1945-1989; United States -- Politics and government -- 1989-
Description: "Today's presidents enter office having campaigned on an ambitious policy agenda, eager to see it enacted, and willing to push so that it is. The central question of presidents' legislative leadership, therefore, is not a question of resolve but a question of strategy: By what means can presidents build winning coalitions for their agenda? Pushing the Agenda uncovers the answer. It reveals the systematic strategies president's employ to influence Congress and the conditions that determine when those strategies work - or don't. Drawing on an eclectic array of original evidence - spanning presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to George W. Bush - Matthew N. Beckmann finds that modern presidents' influence in Congress is real, often substantial, and, to date, largely underestimated."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: A theory of positive presidential power; title: Case study : pushing President Bush's 2001 tax cut; title: Winning key votes, 1953; title: 2004; title: Signing new laws, 1953; title: 2004; title: The practice and potential of presidential leadership.