Consider: What makes a great president?

Homework: Assignment 12 for Fri; discussion prep tomorrow

Presidential Leadership and the Importance of Public Opinion

Chapter 8: AP GovUnit 4b: PresidencyAP Government and Politics

Video: Thinking Like a Political Scientist

http://media.pearsoncmg.com/ph/hss/SSA_SHARED_MEDIA_1/polisci/presidency/Seg4_Presidency_v2.html

7.5

The President and Public Opinion

Approval ratings What do they signify? Are they important?

Is the president able to “do more” as a result of high public approval?

“these increased approval ratings [after a crises or similar situation] generally do not last long, as the cumulative effects of governing once again catch up with the president.” – O’Connor

The President and Leadership

Historians, journalists, pundits and the public disagree about what makes a president a great leader, or simply “great”. We all might choose different characteristics,

beliefs, or accomplishments, view them through our own biased lens, and then draw our own conclusions.

Which would you choose?

Is the president “all that”? Or do we place too much emphasis on the man and/or the office?

2009 C-SPAN Great Presidents survey

65 historians and presidential scholars took part Rated presidents in 10 categories of leadership, with score

from 1 (ineffective) to 10 (effective) used. Categories Used

Public Persuasion Moral Authority Relations with Congress Performance Within Context of Times Crisis Leadership International Relations Vision/Setting An Agenda Economic Management Administrative Skills Pursued Equal Justice For All

Keys to Presidential greatness Rated Intelligence – Although we did not have intelligence test scores, we did ask our raters how intelligent,

inventive, insightful, complex, and wise they perceived the various presidents to be.  Assertiveness,

is the single most important trait to presidential success. Presidents are an assertive group, and on the average score higher than eight of ten typical Americans.

 Positive Emotions – Optimism and enthusiasm are important for performance on the job, but also for

getting elected.  Activity Level –

Highly energetic chief executives like TR, LBJ, and Carter tend to be rated higher on this scale by historians than more placid characters like Grant, Taft, and Coolidge.

 Achievement striving (having high goals and working towards them in a systematic and focused manner) is

an obvious asset and is related to success in most all walks of life apart from the arts. Low Straightforwardness –

Historians tell us that a president's credibility is essential to the ability to lead. Yet, the tendency and ability to deceive is correlated with historians' ratings of presidential success.

 Tender-Mindedness predicts both presidential success and ethical behavior on the job.

 Competence – Seek appropriate information when faced with a decision, have good judgment, and

are broadly capable.  Low Vulnerability –

Presidents who feel unnerved by stress and unable to cope with problems on their own (score high on Vulnerability) are likely to be given low marks by historians.

CSPAN Presidential Rankings

President's Name2009 Final

Score

Overall Ranking

2009 2000

Abraham Lincoln 902 1 1

George Washington

854 2 3

Franklin D. Roosevelt

837 3 2

Theodore Roosevelt

781 4 4

Harry S. Truman 708 5 5

John F. Kennedy 701 6 8

Thomas Jefferson 698 7 7

Dwight D. Eisenhower

689 8 9

Woodrow Wilson 683 9 6

Ronald Reagan 671 10 11

The Worst…2009

Overall Score

2009 Rank 2000 Rank

George W. Bush 362 36 NA

Millard Fillmore 351 37 35

Warren G. Harding

327 38 38

William Henry Harrison

324 39 37

Franklin D. Pierce 287 40 39

Andrew Johnson 258 41 40

James Buchanan 227 42 41

Recent presidents

Are they great? Is it all a matter of ideology or party

affiliation?• Is there really an objective way to evaluate a president’s leadership and success?• What are they really responsible for?

• Who do you add to Mt. Rushmore?

Consider: Barack Obama – good, bad, or ugly?

Homework: Assignment 12 for Fri

"In a speech today, President Obama said that Michelle Obama is very strong and talented and she frequently tells him that he is wrong. As a result, Michelle Obama is now the Republican front-runner for 2016." –Conan O'Brien

"President Obama said the small drone that flew over the White House fence yesterday could be bought at any RadioShack. After hearing this, the RadioShack CEO said, 'I'm shocked to find out we still sell something people want.'" –Conan O'Brien

"CNN is developing a game show to be hosted by Anderson Cooper. It will be just like the other CNN shows except the contestants will make wild guesses instead of the news anchors." –Seth Meyers

"A new helicopter service called Gotham Air is now offering users cheap flights from Manhattan to JFK or Newark airports that start at just $99. If there's two words I trust together in the same sentence, it's 'cheap' and 'helicopter.'" –Jimmy Fallon

"The IRS suggests filing early to reduce the chance that someone will steal your identity and file before you. Honestly, if somebody wants my identity so badly they'll file my tax return for me, go crazy. You can mow my lawn while you're at it, too." –Jimmy Kimmel

The Obama Presidency

Good president? Bad president?

Good for America? Bad for America?

What is/are the gauge(s), or criteria?

Feedback

What can I/we improve to make discussion work better? Or what worked well?

Is this better than the online discussion board?

Were the resources helpful?

How could we generate topics in the future?