Syllabus 140B-F21 v5 (Last modified 2021-09-20-10-41) PDF

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syllabus for this class that guides your information regarding expectation and what is required of your personal time...

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POLITICAL SCIENCE 140B The American Presidency Fall Quarter, 2021 Instructo Office: Telephone: E-mail:

Scott C. James 3343 Bunche Hall 310-825-4331 (main office) [email protected] (please use this email to communicate with the professor) Lectures: T-Th,12:30pm-1:45pm, Haines 118 Office Hours: Mondays, 9:00am-10:30am Final Exam: Friday, December 10, 11:30am start time

INTRODUCTION Contemporary American government is president-centered government. Modern presidents are expected to formulate the nation's domestic and foreign agendas, lead public opinion, build winning coalitions in Congress, and manage the administration of public policy throughout the executive branch. Yet, as both scholarly and journalistic accounts make clear, the limited formal authority of the president and the presence of competing centers of power (e.g., Congress, the bureaucracy, the media, and organized groups) make successful presidential leadership a sporadic and contingent affair. In the words of one leading political scientist, "the expectations surrounding presidential performance far outstrip the institutional capacity of presidents to perform." As a result, presidents since Franklin Roosevelt have sought aggressively to enhance their control over the structures and processes of government, to build up the institutional powers of the office, and, on occasion, to test the limits of the Constitution itself. This course constitutes an inquiry into the origins, structure, and operations of the modern American presidency. Its purpose is to familiarize students with concepts and issues at the center of contemporary political science scholarship on the presidency. Three normative concerns broadly guide the organization of this course: First, do Americans get the kind of president they want? Put differently, what are the qualities we expect our presidents to possess in office and how successfully do our electoral institutions select for such individuals? Second, what are the determinants of effective presidential leadership? Why are some presidents more successful than others at exerting their influence over the governing process? Third, what is the proper role of the presidency in the contemporary American political system? Are the powers of the presidency adequate to the responsibilities we have thrust upon our presidents? Does the growth of presidential power present a challenge to traditional notions of republican government? We will begin with an examination of the constitutional origins of the presidency. What role did the Framers expect the president to play in the American political system, and to what extent did the early presidency conform to these expectations? Subsequent weeks will focus on the nature of the modern presidency. Topics will include the Electoral College, the presidential primary system, the elements of presidential leadership, and the administrative presidency.

REQUIRED BOOKS 1. 2. 3. 4.

Brendan J. Doherty, The Rise of the President’s Permanent Campaign George C. Edwards III, Overreach: Leadership in the Obama Presidency Michael Nelson, ed., The Presidency and the Political System (12th edition) Stephen Skowronek, The Politics Presidents Make: Leadership from John Adams to Bill Clinton (revised edition) 5. Jeffrey Tulis, The Rhetorical Presidency

POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS I will post to the course website all PowerPoint (PPT) slides used in lecture (they are usually just prior to the lecture in question). I do not post them earlier as I continue to make edits up to the moment class begins. Should you like to access this resource early to preview a given day’s lecture, you will find PPTs from the last iteration of the course on the class website in a folder appropriately labeled “Winter 2021 PowerPoints”. Just be aware that, for exam purposes, the course content does evolve over time and you are responsible for the material contained in the most recent PPT slides. BRUINCAST BruinCast will record and post audio files of all lectures given this quarter. These files are stored on the course website inside a folder labeled “Media Resources.” Please note that this resource is offered as a study aid, not as a substitute for attending class. Not only is the use of podcasts an inferior substitute for in-class learning, sometimes the recording process fails. You are responsible for all material presented in class, regardless of the status of a given day’s taping. By enrolling in this course, you are declaring yourself available to attend all its lectures for the entirety of the quarter.

EXAMINATIONS AND GRADES To receive a final grade for this class, you must complete all the following assignments: one inclass midterm exam, one in-class final exam, and one 15-page essay paper. The midterm will be worth 30% of your grade, the final 30%, and the essay 30%. The remaining 10% will be based on your performance in discussion section, attendance in which is mandatory. Study guides for both the midterm and the final are available through the class website, as well as a brief PowerPoint on strategies for successful exam preparation (I strongly encourage you to have a close look at this). All exam questions will be drawn from the study guide. A model exam answer has been appended to the back of the midterm study guide The midterm date is October 19. The final exam date is Friday, December 10 (11:30am start time Both exams will last 75 minutes. Your essay will be due Friday of week 10 by 5pm. Students will submit a digital copy of their essay to Turnitin.com. Late essays will be heavily penalized (one full grade for each day past your due date). Manage your time and get it in on time!

COVID-19 POLICY Students must adhere to the current campus directives related to COVID-19 mitigation, and refusal to do so may result in the student being asked to leave the classroom or referred to Office of Student Conduct. Most importantly, this means that faces must always be properly masked during lecture, discussion section, and office hours. Consumption of food or drink in class is strongly discouraged because it requires mask removal. In extreme cases, a student who refuses to comply with campus masking policy will not receive a final grade for the class.

SCHEDULE FOR LECTURES AND EXAMS

SEP 23:

INTRODUCTION AND COURSE OVERVIEW Lecture Topic: Governance, Democracy, Constitutionalism and Presidential Leadership Readings: ***Scott C. James, “The Evolution of the Presidency: Between the Promise and the Fear.” In Joel Aberbach and Mark Peterson, eds., The Institutions of Democracy: The Executive Branch (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), ch. 1. (Please download this reading from course web site). *** William Howell and Terry Moe, “How a Stronger Presidency Could Lead to More Effective Government.” Washington Post, September 14, 2020. (Please download this reading from course web site).

MODULE ONE SEP 28-30:

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY Lecture Topics: 1. Creating a National Executive: Republican Experimentation in the Founding Era 2. Situating the Presidency in the American Constitutional System Readings ***(Recommended) Jack N. Rakove, Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution (New York: Vintage Books, 1996), ch. 9. (Please download this reading from course web site). Jeffrey Tulis, chs. 1-5.

MODULE TWO OCT 5-14:

PRESIDENTIAL SELECTION Lecture Topics:

1. The Electoral College 2. Choosing Presidential Party Nominees: From “the Smoke-Filled Room” to a System of Presidential Primaries 3. The Presidential Primary System: Frontloading, the Horse Race, and Momentum 4. Video (CNN): “True Believers” (An inside look at Howard Dean’s campaign for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination).

Readings: OCT 5 & 7) Lara M. Brown, “The Presidency and the Nominating Process: Aspirants, Parties, and Selections” (ch. 7 in Nelson). Lori Cox Han, “The Presidency and General Elections” (ch. 8 in Nelson) Doherty, chs. 1-4 (begin)

(OCT 12 & 14) Doherty, chs. 1-4 (finish)

MODULE THREE OCT 26NOV 16:

PRESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP Lecture Topics: 1. Presidential Leadership in Political Time 2. Political Time and Secular Time (and the essay paper) 3. Presidential Leadership of Congress: Internal and External Resources 4. “Bargaining” and “Going Public” as Alternative Strategies of Presidential Leadership 5. Unilateral Forms of Presidential Leadership: Executive Orders 6. Unilateral Forms of Presidential Leadership: Signing Statements Readings: OCT 26 & 28) Skowronek, chs. 1-3, 7-8, epilogue **Stephen Skowronek, “What Time Is It? Here’s What the 2016 Election Tells Us About Obama, Trump, and What Comes Next.” The Nation (November 22, 2016) (Please download this reading from course web site or paste to URL: https://www.thenation.com/article/what-time-is-it-heres-what-the2016-election-tells-us-about-obama-trump-and-what-comes-next/)

NOV 2 & 4) Matthew Dickenson, “The President and Congress” (ch. 15 in Nelson). Bruce Miroff, “The Presidential Spectacle.” (ch. 9 in Nelson). NOV 9 & 1 [November 11 is a Veterans’ Day]) Stephen Skowronek, “The Development of Presidential Power: Conservative Insurgency and Constitutional Construction” (ch. 3 in Nelson) Andrew Rudalevige, “The Presidency and Unilateral Power: A Taxonomy” (ch. 17 in Nelson)

MODULE FOUR NOV 18DEC 2:

THE INSTITUTIONAL SOURCES OF PRESIDENTIAL INFLUENC Lecture Topics 1. Decline of the Presidential Counsel System and the Rise of the Institutional Presidency 2. The Administrative Presidency: The White House Office of Personnel 3. The Administrative Presidency: The Office of Management and Budget 4. The “Going Narrow” Presidency: The White House Office of Communications and the Strategy of “Narrowcasting” (and a short 60 Minutes video segment, “It’s the People Stupid,” on the political uses of polling and focus groups) Readings NOV 18 & 23) John Burke, "The Institutional Presidency" (ch. 13 in Nelson). Doherty, chs. 5-6 Sidney Milkis, “The President and Political Parties” (ch. 12 in Nelson) David E. Lewis and Terry M. Moe, “Presidents and the Bureaucracy: The Levers of Presidential Control” (ch. 14 in Nelson) (*Start reading the Edwards book*)

NOV 30 & DEC 2) Edwards III, all...