consider: what makes a great president? homework: assignment 12 for fri; discussion prep tomorrow
TRANSCRIPT
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?