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The Presidency

Jeffrey Cohen, Fordham University - Bronx
David Nice, Washington State University - Pullman

The President and Congress

End of Chapter Questions


1		What are the major sources of conflict and cooperation between the president and Congress? How much of this conflict and cooperation is a function of our constitutional design, and how much comes from other sources?



2		In what ways can we think of the president as helping to set the congressional agenda? How successful is the president in helping to set the congressional agenda? How has the president’s role as congressional agenda settler evolved over time? Why is agenda setting so important for presidential legislative success with Congress?



3		Compare the legislative politics of confirmation with that of passing legislation. In which is the president more successful? Why? What does the difference in presidential success between confirmations and passing legislation tell us about the nature of presidential-congressional relations?



4		Describe the role of the Office of Legislative Affairs and the congressional liaison operations of the White House. How has the Office of Legislative Affairs and the congressional liaisons operations evolved over time? How important are these to presidential successes in Congress?



5		Compare the different ways of calculating how successful a president is in Congress and how much support he receives from members of Congress. What are the major sources of high levels of presidential success and support in Congress? What, if anything, can presidents do to enhance their success with and support from Congress?



6		What makes a president skillful in his dealings with Congress? How important is such skill in building support for the president in Congress? Can you think of examples of presidents who were considered skillful yet were not very successful with congress? Are there examples of presidents who were not thought to be very skillful with Congress but were very successful in getting much of what they wanted from Congress?



7		How important to the president is the veto? Is the use of a veto a sign of a weak of a strong presidency? How can the threat of a veto affect the president’s success with Congress?



8		What were the founders’ intentions with regard to presidential impeachment? How often has Congress used impeachment against the president? When has it been used successfully? Is impeachment a useful device to curb the presidency?

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