Debating the Presidency: Conflicting Perspectives on the American Executive / Edition 4

by Richard J. Ellis, Michael Nelson

Overview

The study of the presidency—the power of the office, the evolution of the executive as an institution, the men who have served—has generated a great body of research and scholarship. What better way to get students to grapple with the ideas of the literature than through conflicting perspectives on some of the most pivotal issues facing the modern presidency? Richard Ellis and Michael Nelson have once again assembled a cadre of top scholars to offer a series of pro/con essays that will inspire spirited debate beyond the pages of the book. Each essay—written in the form of a debate resolution— offers a compelling yet concise view on the American executive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506344485
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	01/31/2017
Edition description:	Fourth Edition
Pages:	312
Sales rank:	1,012,988
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Richard J. Ellis is Mark O. Hatfield Professor of Politics at Willamette University. His books include The Development of the American Presidency (2015; 2nd ed.); Debating Reform: Conflicting Perspectives on How to Fix the American Political System (with Michael Nelson, 3nd ed., 2016); Judging the Boy Scouts of America: Gay Rights, Freedom of Association, and the Dale Case (2014); Judging Executive Power: Sixteen Supreme Court Cases That Have Shaped the American Presidency (2009); and Presidential Travel: The Journey from George Washington to George W. Bush (2008). In 2008 he was named the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Oregon Professor of the Year.

Michael Nelson is Fulmer Professor of Political Science at Rhodes College and a senior fellow at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. A former editor of the Washington Monthly, his most recent books include Trump’s First Year (2018); The Elections of 2016 (2018); The Evolving Presidency: Landmark Documents (2019); The American Presidency: Origins and Development (with Sidney M. Milkis, 2011); and Governing at Home: The White House and Domestic Policymaking (with Russell B. Riley, 2011). Nelson has contributed to numerous journals, including the Journal of Policy History, Journal of Politics, and Political Science Quarterly. He also has written multiple articles on subjects as varied as baseball, Frank Sinatra, and C. S. Lewis. More than fifty of his articles have been anthologized in works of political science, history, and English composition. His 2014 book, Resilient America: Electing Nixon, Channeling Dissent, and Dividing Government, won the American Political Science Association’s Richard E. Neustadt Award for best book on the presidency published that year; and his 2006 book with John Lyman Mason, How the South Joined the Gambling Nation, won the Southern Political Science Association’s V.O. Key Award.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Contributors ix

1 Resolved, The framers of the Constitution would approve of the modern presidency 1

Pro David Nichols 3

Con Terri Bimes 8

2 Resolved, The unitary executive is a myth 15

Pro Richard J. Ellis 17

Con Saikrishna Prakash 26

3 Resolved, Political parties should nominate candidates for the presidency through a national primary 37

Pro Michael Nelson 40

Con Andrew E. Busch 46

4 Resolved, The president should be elected directly by the people 57

Pro Burdett Loomis 59

Con Byron E. Shafer 65

5 Resolved, The Twenty-second Amendment should be repealed 76

Pro David Karol 78

Con Thomas E. Cronin 84

6 Resolved, The new media have brought the president closer to the people 95

Pro Matthew R. Kerbel 97

Con Jeffrey E. Cohen 101

7 Resolved, Presidential success and failure have more to do with political time than with a president's character and leadership qualities 113

Pro Stephen Skowronek 115

Con Fred I. Greenstein 128

8 Resolved, Presidential power is (still) the power to persuade 137

Pro Matthew J. Dickinson 138

Con George C. Edwards III 146

9 Resolved, Congress should be required to vote up or down on legislation proposed by the president 163

Pro William G. Howell Terry M. Moe 164

Con B. Dan Wood 173

10 Resolved, Presidents have usurped the war power that rightfully belongs to Congress 181

Pro Nancy Kassop 183

Con Richard M. Plous 193

11 Resolved, Presidential signing statements threaten the rule of law and the separation of powers 205

Pro Peter M. Shane 207

Con Nelson Lund 216

12 Resolved, Executive orders and other unilateral presidential directives undermine democracy 226

Pro Gene Healy 228

Con Andrew Rudalevige 237

13 Resolved, The president has too much power in the selection of judges 250

Pro David A. Yalof 252

Con John Anthony Maltese 261

14 Resolved, The vice presidency should be abolished 273

Pro Douglas L. Kriner 274

Con Joel K. Goldstein 283

Editorial Reviews

A tried and true teaching tool, provocative topics, and an outstanding group of scholars. Debating the Presidency delivers it all. Discussing critical issues helps people to learn different angles and how to construct winning arguments. This useful supplement is easy to read and useful in the classroom. It contains historical and current events, giving readers a broad range of information about the presidency, American politics, and global affairs.

Sean Foreman

Among the books I use for this course, Debating the Presidency is the students’ favorite...There is no alternative that I have found to be worth substituting.

Barry L. Tadlock

Richard J. Ellis and Michael Nelson’s edited volume, Debating the Presidency: Conflicting Perspectives on the Presidency, is a tour de force. It mightily enhanced my 2015 course on the executive process. Political science students engaged in spirited arguments over topics as classic as the direct election of the president and as prescient as whether the president has too much power in the selection of judges. Particularly given the plethora of U.S. presidential debates in 2016, such a volume promises to be even more pedagogically powerful in coming years.

Henry Sirgo

This is one of my favorite books to use as a teaching tool—students respond well to the challenge to think critically about both sides of important arguments about the presidency. The chapter introductions are tremendously valuable and quite well done.”

Brendan Doherty

This text is a great supplement to the main text I assign. The brief introduction in each chapter nicely frames the issue and the format of the text exposes students to both sides of the debate. My students have responded very positively to the text, particularly because the essays are relatively short and written appropriately for undergraduate students.”

Andrew H. Sidman