When a president's governing philosophy is out of step with the
dominant ideology of the culture, his options for leadership are
much different from those of a leader more in sync with the times.
Such "opposition leaders" face distinctive challenges and
opportunities. They should be judged by different standards, argues
political scientist David A. Crockett.
	
    Crockett has analyzed presidents from Whig times through the
Clinton presidency to develop a model for understanding
presidential success and the strategies that are appropriate to the
circumstances. Focusing on the terms of twelve opposition
presidents, Crockett details the approaches they have taken to
maximize their own goals and maintain political power. He
illustrates vividly how these leaders must balance personal and
partisan success, and he lays out the relationship between
personality or character and the larger political context.

    All opposition presidents face roughly the same type of
leadership situation—governing in an era in which they do not
control the power to define politics—but Crockett's broad
historical perspective demonstrates that they do not all handle this
situation in the same way. Studying the presidency in such a
political context enables Crockett to break free of the
one-size-fits-all model of presidential leadership. Leadership
strategies are contingent and context-bound, and the wise president
understands the constraints history places on his leadership. In the
case of opposition presidents, history demonstrates that pursuing a
path of moderation is far healthier than launching a frontal assault
on the governing party. It is healthier for the president and his party
and healthier for the political system as a whole.

   Breaking free of the standard focus on post-World War II
presidencies, this volume offers challenging understandings of
presidential effectiveness. Students of American politics will join
historians and scholars of the presidency in welcoming its tightly
argued perspectives.

_________________________________________________________

DAVID A. CROCKETT is an assistant professor of political
science at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. His
dissertation, the basis for the present volume, won the prize for the
Best Dissertation on the Presidency, awarded by the Center for
Presidential Studies.


The Presidency and Leadership, A Joseph V. Hughes, Jr., and
Holly O. Hughes Book


What people are saying about this book

"David Crockett offers the first in-depth treatment of one of the
emblems of constitutional governments in America . . . an important
step forward for thinking in 'political time.' He shows how our
understanding and appreciation of individual presidencies can be
enhanced by calibrating evaluations of success and failure according
to the limits of context."—Stephen Skowronek, Yale University

"An important and impressive advance in our understanding of the 
meaning of executive power and of the place of the presidency in
the American constitutional order."—Jeffery K. Tulis, University of
Texas at Austin
						
". . . advances a fascinating argument for assessing presidents
variously according to their ability to adapt to their circumstances
rather than uniformly by a single measure of greatness. This is a
provocative study that both challenges and enriches prevailing
conceptualizations of presidential leadership."—Robert L. Ivie,
Indiana University, Bloomington

"Saying something new about the American presidency is a
daunting challenge for anyone. David A. Crockett has done so with
great care and skill with his concept of the president as 'opposition
leader.' The book he has built around this concept is an
illuminating pleasure for the reader."—Michael Nelson, Rhodes
College