The American founding fathers were dedicated to the project of creating a government both functional and incapable of devolving into tyranny. To do this, they intentionally decentralized decision making among the legislative, executive, and judiciary branches. They believed this separation of powers would force compromise and achieve their goal of "separating to unify." In the second edition of this Very Short Introduction, Charles O. Jones delves into the constitutional roots of the American presidency to show how presidents faced the challenges of governing within a system of separation of powers. This updated edition of The American Presidency reviews crucial themes, including democratization of presidential elections, transitioning into and organizing a presidency, challenges in leading the permanent government, making law and policy, and reforming and changing the institution. It also introduces new case studies from the Obama administration, providing compelling insights into contemporary critical issues such as military power, the role of the First Lady, and the new trends in electoral campaigning-including the stunning advances in mass media and campaign technology. Jones lucidly shows that American presidents are not, and simply cannot be, as powerful as most Americans believe them to be. Accordingly, he stresses the necessity to acknowledge the president's political status and style within the constitutional structure: the president is not the presidency, and the presidency is not the government.

About the Author
Charles O. Jones is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. He served as editor of the American Political Science Review and president of the American Political Science Association. He has written many books on various aspects of the American Presidency.

Reviews
"Jones has a section called "Learning to be president" that offers good advice." - Ray Smock, Director of the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education



Book Information
ISBN 9780190458201
Author Charles O. Jones
Format Paperback
Page Count 208
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 159g
Dimensions(mm) 109mm * 170mm * 8mm