Why Presidents Fail: White House Decision Making from Eisenhower to Bush II

by Richard M. Pious

Overview

Presidents are surrounded by political strategists and White House counsel who presumably know enough to avoid making the same mistakes as their predecessors. Why, then, do the same kinds of presidential failures occur over and over again? Why Presidents Fail answers this question by examining presidential fiascos, quagmires, and risky business-the kind of failure that led President Kennedy to groan after the Bay of Pigs invasion, "How could I have been so stupid?"

In this book, Richard M. Pious looks at nine cases that have become defining events in presidencies from Dwight D. Eisenhower and the U-2 flights to George W. Bush and Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. He uses these cases to draw generalizations about presidential power, authority, rationality, and legitimacy, and he raises questions about the limits of presidential decision making, many of which fly in the face of the conventional wisdom about the modern presidency.

About the Author:
Richard M. Pious is Adolf S. and Effie E. Ochs Professor of American Studies in the political science department at Barnard College and is on the faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Columbia University

Product Details

ISBN-13:	2900742562850
Publication date:	07/17/2008
Pages:	330
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)

About the Author

Richard M. Pious is Adolf S. and Effie E. Ochs Professor of American Studies in the political science department at Barnard College and the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     ix
Introduction: Presidential Fiascoes     1
Reputation: Eisenhower and the U-2 Flights     11
Power Stakes: Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs     29
Compellence: Johnson and the Vietnam Escalation     47
Command and Control: Ford and the Mayaguez     77
Rhetoric: Carter and the Malaise Speech     91
Prerogative Power: Reagan and the Iran-Contra Affair     115
Gamesmanship: Bush 41 and the Budget Summit     149
Program Innovation: Clinton and Health Care     183
Parallel Governance: Bush and Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction     217
Presidents Unbound: Crises of Authority and Legitimacy     245
Risk and Resilience: Toward a White House Learning Curve     279
For Further Reading     299
Index     303
About the Author     317

Editorial Reviews

Barnard College political science professor Pious examines nine episodes in presidential politics from the past 60 years that illustrate the "fiascoes... 'deep doo-doo'...quagmires and swamps and risky business" that shake even the most powerful office in the free world. Pious has no shortage of material: among other events presented for consideration are the Bay of Pigs, Iran-Contra, the first Bush's "read my lips" tax promise, Clinton-era health care and Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Rather than "assigning blame after the fact," Pious discusses theories of politics, presidential decision-making and advisors, and how presidential actions play with voters to determine "how presidents might avoid crash-and-burn events in the future." For solutions, Barnard looks to "emerging sciences" like risk management, operations research, and information theory to create "robust decision making systems: those that will operate reliably even when component parts are unreliable and interact unpredictably." Pious has researched each case in great detail, yielding much information that may be new to readers, and provides a thorough bibliography. Appropriate for high school and college study, this will also have great appeal for devotees of poli-sci and presidential history.
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Publishers Weekly

In this scholarly book, Pious (American studies, Barnard Coll.; The War on Terrorism and the Rule of Law) addresses the problems of executive-branch shortcomings by using risk-management theory to illustrate the common denominator of all presidential failures. He analyzes egregious mistakes across party lines from Eisenhower to the current administration and postulates that it isn't the type of decision that leads to failure but inherent flaws in the way risk is ascertained by those in power. A lack of credible information, the prevalence of political posturing by staff, and weak adversarial understanding are some of the culprits. Unfortunately, Pious's prescribed solutions-e.g., shrinking the sphere of the President's personal influence to streamline decision making, eliminating bloated bureaucracy, and assuring that the executive branch uses political research instead of creating it-are not simple or easily applicable. This well-written work, which includes extensive footnotes and resources for further study, is recommended for academic libraries.
—Elizabeth White

Library Journal

His particular lens of anaylsis deepens our understanding of how presidents come to make failed policy choices.

Public Administration Review

Why Presidents Fail will engage students and educate us all. Filled with wisdom and innovative thinking, it is a volume everyone interested in the presidency will want to read.

George C. Edwards III

As Richard Pious traces the anatomy of presidential failures, he argues that, under conditions of high pressure and great uncertainty, presidents too often engage in “situational constitutionalism” and fail to distinguish between their personal stakes and the nation’s best interests. His carefully reconstructed and detailed case studies do not present merely the conventional wisdom about some obvious presidential blunders, but include incisive analyses of the underlying dynamics of presidential failures that contain important lessons for future presidents and citizens alike.

James Pfiffner

Government executives, for their part, should be required to study this book closely and incorporate the lessons of executive failure. Highly recommended.

Choice Reviews - S. Q. Kelly

Why Presidents Fail will engage students and educate us all. Filled with wisdom and innovative thinking, it is a volume everyone interested in the presidency will want to read.

Presidential Studies Quarterly

Government executives, for their part, should be required to study this book closely and incorporate the lessons of executive failure. Highly recommended.

Choice Reviews

Government executives, for their part, should be required to study this book closely and incorporate the lessons of executive failure. Highly recommended.

Choice

As Richard Pious traces the anatomy of presidential failures, he argues that, under conditions of high pressure and great uncertainty, presidents too often engage in "situational constitutionalism" and fail to distinguish between their personal stakes and the nation's best interests. His carefully reconstructed and detailed case studies do not present merely the conventional wisdom about some obvious presidential blunders, but include incisive analyses of the underlying dynamics of presidential failures that contain important lessons for future presidents and citizens alike.--James Pfiffner, School of Public Policy, George Mason University

This well-written work, which includes extensive footnotes and resources for further study, is recommended for academic libraries.--Library Journal

His particular lens of anaylsis deepens our understanding of how presidents come to make failed policy choices.--Public Administration Review

From the Publisher

Government executives, for their part, should be required to study this book closely and incorporate the lessons of executive failure. Highly recommended.

CHOICE