The President's Agenda: Domestic Policy Choice from Kennedy to Reagan

Abstract

In this third edition of THE PRESIDENT'S AGENDA, Paul Light brings his acclaimed study up to date by weighing successes and failures of Bush and Clinton presidencies in setting a legislative agenda of domestic issues for Congress. The most noticeable development, according to Light, is shrinking of agenda and absence of fresh new ideas. Explaining emergence of the derivative Presidency he attributes this increasingly limited agenda to problems associated with end of welfare state, thickening of government, problems of budget, Reagan effect, and changing nature of party politics. With Light's latest judgments and insights, THE PRESIDENT'S AGENDA remains an invaluable text for courses on American presidency. What has changed is content of President's agenda. Even under similar political conditions, both Bush and Clinton had fewer proposals than their predecessors, and both tended to favor modifications of status quo over bold breaks with past. Although there are important differences between two Presidents, not least of which is Bush's high proportion of small-scale, old ideas, two share a pronounced tendency to look backward for inspiration rather than forward.-from Preface Praise for previous editions: Superb ...An important and well-thought-out analysis of presidential domestic politics, examining many variables in a president's term ...A vital addition to libraries of those interested in our most idiosyncratic political institution.-Perspectives on Political Science

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