Description
Original and important. Presidential Rhetoric and the Public Agenda is a well-conceived contribution to the literature on the rhetorical presidency and bureaucratic action. -- Andrew Rudalevige, Dickinson College President Nixon announced the war on drugs forty years ago, and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof recently wrote that 'it appears that drugs have won.' In their careful analysis in this important book, Whitford and Yates demonstrate that the rhetoric of presidents can influence the course of public policy, particularly including implementation. Words matter, even in the supposedly technical aspects of policy implementation, and they do so in a way that frames and, yes, 'constructs' the policy itself. -- Bryan D. Jones, The University of Texas at Austin Whitford and Yates make a strong case for the proposition that presidents can, and do, use public rhetoric to affect how policy is implemented by executive agencies. Whereas most previous studies of presidential rhetoric have focused on appeals made to the mass public, they focus on the effects of public speeches on field agents charged with implementing policy. That such an effect might exist is not obvious. Nonetheless, their argument is nuanced and well-crafted and their evidence-both qualitative and quantitative-is compelling. The end result is a thought-provoking study that challenges standard views of executive power. I have no doubt that this book will become required reading for all students of the presidency and the bureaucracy. -- Kevin Quinn, Harvard University
About the Author
Andrew B. Whitford is a professor of public administration and policy at the University of Georgia's School of Public and International Affairs. Jeff Yates is a professor of political science at Binghamton University and the author of Popular Justice: Presidential Prestige and Executive Success in the Supreme Court.
Reviews
"Original and important. Presidential Rhetoric and the Public Agenda is a well-conceived contribution to the literature on the rhetorical presidency and bureaucratic action." - Andrew Rudalevige, Dickinson College"
Book Information
ISBN 9780801893469
Author Andrew B. Whitford
Format Hardback
Page Count 232
Imprint Johns Hopkins University Press
Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press
Weight(grams) 454g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 21mm