Provisional Pulpit: Modern Presidential Leadership of Public Opinion

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments In writing this book, many colleagues and friends along the way gave helpful comments for improving the manuscript, working through methodological issues, and sharpening my focus on the key arguments. These include Jeff Cohen, Dan Wood, Matt Eshbaugh-Soha, Lori Cox Han, Jamie Druckman, Nick Jorgensen, Dan Bergan, Justin Vaughn, Elvin Lim, Noah Kaplan, John Sloan, Scott Basinger, Harrell Rodgers, Kent Tedin, Diane Heith, and Bill Cunion. Earlier versions of this manuscript were also thoughtfully read by Dennis Chong and Brandice Canes-Wrone, both of whom seemed preternaturally able to critique the work with an anticipation of what I wanted to say but didn’t. My colleagues at the University of Houston have also provided their sage advice, listened to me opine about presidential leadership, and a generally made Houston a wonderful place to work. But perhaps more than their intellectual abilities , I value their friendship. Texas A&M University Press Editor-in-Chief Mary Lenn Dixon and series editor Jim Pfiffner were both helpful and enthusiastic in ushering this project to completion. In particular, Jim’s comments on the earliest drafts (along with an anonymous reviewer) significantly helped to press me to explore the main contribution of the book and clarify my contribution to the field. I cannot imagine working with a kinder or more efficient group. Several organizations and institutions have been immensely supportive financially of this project from the beginning. Thanks are due to (in order of award) an Albert M. Greenfield Research Grant from the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, a Moody Research Grant from the Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation, a Theodore Sorenson Research Grant from the John F. Kennedy Library, a travel grant from the Gerald R. Ford Library, and a grant from the Scowcroft Institute at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service. Also making this research possible was the assistance of the White House Historical Association, which provided a substantial research grant for a visit to several presidential libraries. Dennis Chong (who holds the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Endowed Chair at Northwestern University) also provided xx : ACKNOWLEDGMENTS research funds for travel. Support from the University of Idaho and the University of Houston (especially a sabbatical in the spring of ) also provided much-needed assistance to complete the book. Thanks are also due to several research assistants who assisted in data collection over the life of this project, including Terry Starkey, Josh Harman , Jill Dawson, Chris Nicholson, and Alan Steinberg. I also owe a special debt to several specific individuals whom I am fortunate to call friends and colleagues. Jay McCann went above and beyond his duty in providing early comments on the book and made many excellent suggestions about how to proceed when I was stumped by a problem. From my days as an undergraduate, he has been an unflappable mentor and friend. My most significant intellectual debt goes to my graduate school adviser at Northwestern, Benjamin I. Page. His measured and methodical approach to crafting a project of this magnitude helped keep me on track and guided me through the rough patches. He is the perfect “leader by example,” and I feel very privileged to have studied with him and learned from him about the academic world. To my mentor and friend Martha Joynt Kumar I also offer a few grateful words of thanks. Martha was always quick with an encouraging e-mail and good-natured about my anxiety about finishing the book. Her perspectives on framing the questions and thoughts on the scope of the topic were most helpful in shaping my arguments. Her terrific insight into the connection between politics and scholarship made this book better. Without question, this book would not exist without the insight, ideas, guidance, and support of George Edwards, who was generous with his time and sharp with his critiques. His savvy and good humor helped me clarify the arguments and finish the book. Finally, to B. J., I apologize for irritability and preoccupation taking away from the joy it is to be your father. Perhaps most importantly, to Tracy, who has been with this project from the start, mere thanks are not enough. This is all because of you. —Brandon Rottinghaus Humble, Texas The Provisional Pulpit ...