Domestic Policy and Ideology: Presidents and the American State, 1964-1987

The presidential leadership in America can and does make a great deal of difference as to what is debated and eventually legislated. At the same time presidents are obviously constrained by what is always a complex and difficult political environment. This study examines the interaction between presidential policy preferences and the political environment, concentrating on welfare and urban policy and intergovernmental relations under Johnson, Nixon, Carter, and Reagan. The author traces th...