Conversations about Donald Trump often begin with the question: how did he become president? In Questions of Character, Robert Smith provides some compelling answers based on his assessment of the role that personality and character played leading up to and during Trump's term in office. Smith traces the impact of Trump's character on the conduct of domestic and foreign policy,    More >

Scholars and pundits alike have spent more than a little time speculating about why Hillary Clinton lost the presidency to Donald Trump in 2016. Their conclusions may differ, but few would disagree that Clinton's nomination by a major party changed the political landscape in significant ways—nor that the results of the 2016 election provoked a large number of women to run for office at    More >

Choice Outstanding Academic Book! Robert Smith and Richard Seltzer offer fresh insights on the decisive, and often surprising, role of presidents and presidential candidates in polarizing US politics.     In a rich, multidimensional narrative, the authors show how presidential rhetoric and policies have served to divide voters along lines of class, party, race, and region. They    More >

Robert Watson's groundbreaking study on the presidents' wives proved that the first lady can be an influential force in presidential politics and is a subject worthy of scholarly attention. Now, this fully revised second edition incorporates the first ladyships of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama in each chapter. The new edition also includes a decade-and-a-half of    More >

In countries as diverse as Brazil, Ecuador, France, Russia, South Africa, and the United States, presidents have come to dominate the politics and political cultures of their nations. Michael Mezey offers a comprehensive cross-national study of the presidency, tracing the historical and intellectual roots of executive power and exploring in detail the contemporary forces that have driven a turn    More >

Do vice presidential candidates play any significant role in presidential elections? Challenging the conventional wisdom, Stacy Ulbig shows the important ways in which they do in fact affect election outcomes. She also assesses the impact of a range of vice presidential candidates and considers how the news media fits in the equation. Analyzing data from 1972 through 2008, Ulbig shows clearly how    More >

Senator Hillary Clinton won 18 million votes in 2008—nearly twice that of any presidential contender in recent history—yet she failed to secure the Democratic nomination. In this compelling look at Clinton’s historic candidacy, Regina Lawrence and Melody Rose explore how she came so close to breaking the ultimate glass ceiling in US politics, why she fell short, and what her    More >

Desegregating the military. The internment of Japanese Americans. Limiting stem-cell research. Each of these actions has been accomplished by way of executive order—bypassing the legislative process. Adam Warber offers an in-depth look at how modern presidents use this weapon in their arsenal of authority.   Warber systematically analyzes the strategic nature of close to 5,500    More >

Why do presidents bother to give speeches when their words rarely move public opinion? Arguing that "going public" isn't really about going to the public at all, Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha explores to whom presidential speeches are in fact targeted, and what—if any—influence they have on public policy.   Eshbaugh-Soha shows that, when presidents speak, their intent is    More >

The State of the Union is no ordinary speech on at least two accounts: it is a fundamental statement of how a president approaches current policy debates, and it is the one presidential address that US citizens are most likely to hear each year. Donna Hoffman and Alison Howard document the political significance and legislative impact or, often, lack of impact of this most visible of    More >

Kenneth Kitts offers entry into the highly political, behind-closed-doors world of blue-ribbon investigative commissions convened in the aftermath of national security crises.   Ranging from Pearl Harbor to the September 11 terrorist attacks, Kitts takes the reader into the "backroom" to watch as presidents, their advisers, and commission members confront an armory of pressures.    More >

How did a president-elect whose win was hardly convincing, and who had the narrowest margin of congressional support imaginable, create an advantage for himself that prevailed in the face of unexpected and unprecedented challenges? To answer this question, John Burke offers an in-depth account of George W. Bush's unconventional transition to power—and the significant developments that    More >

Madam President? The question is not if, but rather when the United States will elect a female president—but that may be the only certainty involved in shattering this most visible glass ceiling in U.S. society.   Who will be included in the field of candidates for Madam President, and why? How will she have to position herself for a viable run at the Oval Office? Once in office, will    More >

Florida 2000 offers a clear, but also nuanced, account of the legal and constitutional issues surrounding the disputed presidential election. Combining original sources with analyses, Mark Whitman traces the major developments in the Bush-Gore struggle. Section introductions and commentaries synthesize the often complex material, while editor's notes provide context for each selection. The    More >

Are female office holders most acceptable when they most resemble men? Why has a woman never led the Department of the Treasury, or Defense, or Veterans Affairs? Reflecting on these and similar questions, MaryAnne Borrelli explores women's selection for—and exclusion from—U.S. cabinet positions.   Borrelli considers how the rhetoric employed in the selection and confirmation    More >

Burke's detailed and comprehensive account of the four presidential transitions from Jimmy Carter to Bill Clinton explores how each president-elect prepared to take office and carefully links those preparations to the performance and effectiveness of the new administration. Enriched by interviews with the key participants, this sobering tale of the difficulties that new presidents have    More >

Jimmy Carter participated in more than two hundred interviews between 1976 and 1996. In the twenty-three conversations presented here, highly regarded interviewers lead President Carter to clarify his public stands and private beliefs.   The dialogue created through these encounters demonstrates the growth of a principled man, encapsulating the major debates and concerns of the last quarter    More >