PRESIDENTIAL SERIES: BIBLIOGRAPHY - LANDSLIDE (SPOILER THREAD)

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

No problem - you did great with adding so many wonderful books

[Kressel]

Here's a great article on LBJ's relationship with the Jewish world community: http://www.aish.com/jw/s/48942551.htm...

[Kressel]

John wrote: "A couple of books that came out this year that focuses on Reagan, Gorbachev and the Cold War:
[bookcover:The Triumph of Improvisation: Gorbachev's Adaptability, Reagan's Engagement, and the End of ..."

Thanks. I've been looking for a book about Gorbachev for a long time.

[John]

Glad to help!

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Thank you John and Kressel

[Katy]

Not just a book reference, but a good article on "the presidency" with great pictures of LBJ.

PERSUASION



I am far from an expert on the presidency, although I do hope for my students' sake that I have a decent understanding of the office and its powers. Like the vast majority of people who teach it, I subject my students to Richard Neustadt's Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents. Students hate Neustadt. I mean, they loathe it. The book is 49 years old, laden with references to names and events of the 1950s for which today's reader has little context. Worse, his dull writing style reads like the owner's manual for an appliance. But we can never get away from Neustadt because he nails the fundamental dilemma of the presidency (and its solution) so completely.

Briefly, the expectations on the modern president are far greater than the powers of the office. There is an "Expectations Gap" wherein the public expects President Obama to fix a lot of things he lacks the power to fix. The president's control over the economy is indirect at best and his role in the legislative process is extremely limited. When Candidate Obama promises health care reform, what he does is paint himself into a corner from which he must find some way to get Congress to provide reform. He can't just do it himself. Most of us realize this.

The academic study of the presidency is largely a matter of explaining how presidents overcome this gap – how to get done what the powers of the office do not allow. Neustadt's answer? (This is where my former students start having flashbacks and chanting the answer without being fully aware of doing so). Persuasion. Presidents have myriad tools at their disposal for persuading Congress to do their bidding. Note well that this is not talking about persuading the public, which is a different animal altogether. He means persuading the people who matter most.

The discomfort with Obama's performance which has been gnawing at me since January 20th has nothing to do with betraying ideology. He simply does not appear to understand how to get things done as President. Congressmen and Senators are persuading him, not vice-versa. I almost wept with joy upon reading the comments of Tom Johnson, who served a President who understood persuasion like no other ("What LBJ Would Do.") He is right. On every single point he is right. Without realizing it, I assume, he is summarizing Neustadt's view of presidential power. It is the power to persuade Congress. We can throw out all of the justifications we want – and I've trafficked in a few on this site, like blaming the spread of right-wing media – but despite all of it, LBJ would get this motherfucker done. And it would be as he wanted it, not as some watered-down piece of compromise legislation.

(Read the entire article here: http://www.ginandtacos.com/2009/08/25...)

by Richard E. Neustadt (no photo)

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

You may want to read this one:

by Robert S. McNamara (no photo)

Synopsis:

The #1 national bestseller--an indispensable document for anyone interested in the Vietnam War. McNamara's controversial book tells the inside and personal story of America's descent into Vietnam from a unique point of view, and is one of the most enlightening books about government ever written. This new edition features a new Foreword by McNamara. of photos. (Military History)

[Bryan]

by Malcolm Byrne (no photo)