Models of Presidency Essay

A model is a method for engaging theory-driven research in an attempt to explain how some specific characteristic of life works. Therefore, models of the Presidency attempt to explain the internal politics of the executive branch by explaining how the behavioral dynamics of actors within the White House shape presidential performance. James David Barber had four different classifications of character, which are active-positive, passive-positive, active-negative, and passive-negative. Barber’s classifications are considered the models of the Presidency. A good model is one that helps current students of the Presidency to understand past presidential behavior and to predict the future presidential behavior precisely. A good model will also help an incoming President to determine the best method possible for reaching successful terms in office. James Barber wrote a famous book called, “Presidential Character: Predicting performance in the White House.” In his book, he classified Presidents through the use of their differing worldviews. Barber sorted several Presidents into active-positive and passive-positive. He says that an active-positive President is flexible, self-confident, laid-back, and adaptive. He also says that they enjoy having power, use the power to their benefit, make opportunities happen, and emphasize the “rational mastery” of the environment. Barber says that a passive-positive classification means that the President is an attention-seeker. Passive-positive Presidents have low self-esteem, they have a sycophantic personality, and they can be easily manipulated. They are reactive instead of proactive and are very optimistic. Next, Barber sorts Presidents into active-negative and passive-negative. He says that an active-negative President is unconfident, compulsive, and pessimistic, but can be very driven also. They tend to use power as a source of self-realization and often tend to focus more on whether they are failing or succeeding rather