Woll #54: The Presidential Character

Woll #54: The Presidential Character
• When a citizen votes for a presidential candidate, he is predicting that Mr. X will surpass Mr. Y
• We must see the president as a man and view his life holistically o What is his world view? o What are his political tendencies? o What other factors contribute to making up his character?
• The founders loosely defined the roles of the president o It is an institution made a piece at a time by successive men o Jackson extended electoral partisanship o Lincoln vastly expanded the administrative powers o Each president has left his mark
• Personality shapes performance o Presidential decision-making involves two parts
 Outer: rational and calculating
 Inner: emotional and feeling o All presidents have similar characteristics but just in different amounts
 Such as aggressiveness, compliancy, detachment and other human drives
• The pattern of Character, World View, Style o Style: the president's habitual way of performing his three political roles
 Rhetoric
 Personal relations
 Homework o World view: his primary, politically relevant belief
 Social causality
 Human nature
 Central moral conflicts of the time o Character: Greek word for engraving; how he orients himself toward life; enduringly
• The power situation and "Climate of Expectations" o People look to the president for reassurance o People demand progress and action; a take-charge man to direct the nation's course o People expect a sense of legitimacy from, and in, the presidency
• Predicting Presidents o Life defines a presidents character, world view, and style
 Character in childhood
 World view during adolescence
 Style throughout adulthood
• Four Types of Presidential Character o Activity-passivity: Johnson cyclone or Coolidge sleeper? o Positive-negative: Is his political life happy or sad, enjoyable or discouraging?
• Active-Positive o Enjoys his job and has a high activity level o Productive, flexible, growing