Empowering the White House: Governance Under Nixon, Ford, and Carter Contributor(s): Hult, Karen M. (Author), Walcott, Charles E. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0700612998 ISBN-13: 9780700612994 Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Binding Type: Paperback - See All Available Formats & Editions Published: January 2004 Annotation: "On the surface the new president seems to inherit an empty house," Hugh Heclo, a recognized expert on American democratic institutions, has noted. "In fact, he enters an office already shaped and crowded by other people's desires." "Empowering the White House examines how Richard Nixon entered that crowded Oval Office in 1969 yet managed to change it in a way that augmented the power of the presidency and continues to influence into the twenty-first century how his successors have governed. Nixon's White House is perhaps best remembered for the growth in the size of the staff, which operated under the supposed iron fist of H. R. Haldeman. But more important than size and management style to the character of the Nixon White House were the assigned tasks, complexity, and dynamics of the burgeoning staff. Faced with hostile majorities in Congress and executive branch careerists assumed to be committed to a Democratic agenda, Nixon sought to control his political fate by engaging more actively than earlier presidents in public relations and the mobilization of support. At the command and under the control of the Oval Office, the staff carried out assignments designed to fulfill Nixon's aims. This theoretically informed and well-researched study explains how Nixon changed and expanded the institutionalized presidency and how that affected the Ford and Carter administrations. Nixon ushered in a new stage in the modern presidency by organizing and using his increasingly complex staff in new ways that have persisted beyond the 1970s to this day. To a greater degree than any predecessor, Nixon systematized outreach, legal advice and policy formulation. His White House staffing, then, has cometo be regarded as a "standard model" that influences incoming presidents regardless of party affiliation. Leavening this organizational study are revealing accounts of how the Nixon, Ford, and Carter staffs operated behind the scenes in the West Wing. Anyone needing to know how the White House worked during those presidencies--or how it has worked since--will find this book invaluable. Click for more in this series: Studies in Government & Public Policy |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Political Science | American Government - Executive Branch - Political Science | History & Theory - General - Political Science | Political Process - General |
Dewey: 973.92 |
LCCN: 2003017059 |
Series: Studies in Government & Public Policy |
Physical Information: 0.7" H x 6.24" W x 8.96" L (0.79 lbs) 272 pages |
Themes: - Chronological Period - 1960's - Chronological Period - 1970's - Chronological Period - 1980's |
Features: Bibliography, Illustrated, Index, Table of Contents |
Review Citations: Choice 07/01/2004 pg. 2125 |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: On the surface the new president seems to inherit an empty house, Hugh Heclo, a recognized expert on American democratic institutions, has noted. In fact, he enters an office already shaped and crowded by other people's desires. Empowering the White House examines how Richard Nixon entered that crowded Oval Office in 1969 yet managed to change it in a way that augmented the power of the presidency and continues to influence into the twenty-first century how his successors have governed. Nixon's White House is perhaps best remembered for the growth in the size of the staff, which operated under the supposed iron fist of H. R. Haldeman. But more important than size and management style to the character of the Nixon White House were the assigned tasks, complexity, and dynamics of the burgeoning staff. Faced with hostile majorities in Congress and executive branch careerists assumed to be committed to a Democratic agenda, Nixon sought to control his political fate by engaging more actively than earlier presidents in public relations and the mobilization of support. At the command and under the control of the Oval Office, the staff carried out assignments designed to fulfill Nixon's aims. This theoretically informed and well-researched study explains how Nixon changed and expanded the institutionalized presidency and how that affected the Ford and Carter administrations. Nixon ushered in a new stage in the modern presidency by organizing and using his increasingly complex staff in new ways that have persisted beyond the 1970s to this day. To a greater degree than any predecessor, Nixon systematized outreach, legal advice, and policy formulation. His White House staffing, then, has come to be regarded as a standard model that influences incoming presidents regardless of party affiliation. Leavening this organizational study are revealing accounts of how the Nixon, Ford, and Carter staffs operated behind the scenes in the West Wing. Anyone needing to know how the White House worked during those presidencies--or how it has worked since--will find this book invaluable. |
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