The Presidential Leadership Dilemma: Between the Constitution and a Political Party

Contents

Contents List of Illustrations vii Preface ix Introduction A Rock and a Hard Place: Between a Party and the People 1 Julia R. Azari, Lara M. Brown, and Zim G. Nwokora 1 Pathways to the Nomination: An Analytic Framework 17 Zim G. Nwokora 2 Presidential Mandates and the Leadership Dilemma: William J. Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack H. Obama 39 Julia R. Azari 3 Playing for History: The Reelection Leadership Choices of Presidents William J. Clinton and George W. Bush 61 Lara M. Brown 4 Presidents, Leverage, and Significant Public Policy 89 Daniel E. Ponder 5 The Base Realignment and Closing Commission: Difficult Choices, Electoral Considerations, and the Future of National Leadership in a Partisan Age 113 Lilly J. Goren vi Contents 6 The Paradoxes of Presidential Leadership in Pursuing Policy Goals: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the Lifting of the Ban on Gays and Lesbians in the Military 139 Benjamin A. Copeland and Victoria A. Farrar-Myers 7 Taking Credit and Avoiding Blame: The Politics of Rhetorical Signing Statements under Unified and Divided Government 159 Christopher S. Kelley, Bryan W. Marshall, and Deanna J. Watts 8 President Obama and Counterterrorism Policy: When Campaign Pressures Meet Governing Imperatives 185 Nancy Kassop and Steven R. Goldzwig Conclusion The Right Choice at the Right Time 213 Julia R. Azari, Lara M. Brown, and Zim G. Nwokora Bibliography 221 Contributors 241 Index 245 ...