7 research outputs found
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Barack Obama, the Democratic Party, and the Future of the New American Party System
Recommended from our members
Barack Obama, the Democratic Party, and the Future of the New American Party System
Ascending to the presidency in the midst of a severe economic crisis and an ongoing war on terrorism, Barack Obama faces numerous political and policy challenges. We examine an oft-obscured facet of presidential leadership: the president\u27s relations with his party. We argue that Obama has benefited from and abetted the development of a new relationship between the president and the parties that features presidents as strong party leaders who invest heavily in mobilizing voters, raising campaign funds, and articulating party doctrine. As we show, Obama\u27s party leadership may hold both promise and peril for the practice of American democracy. Just as previous Republican presidents such as Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush used their powers in ways that bolstered their parties, Obama\u27s exertions have strengthened the Democratic Party\u27s capacity to communicate with constituents, mobilize voters, and raise funds. However, Obama must take care to avoid the pitfalls of presidential party leadership that ultimately undermined Reagan\u27s and Bush\u27s presidencies. In particular, recent history suggests that Obama must avoid forms of administrative aggrandizement that alienate citizens from government; and that he must forego leadership strategies that threaten the independence and integrity of the party apparatus
George W. Bush, the Party System, and American Federalism
George W. Bush's presidency presents two major puzzles. The Republican Party has traditionally stood for "limited government," but Bush's principal legacy for federalism is centralization of power in the federal government and the executive branch. Most modern presidents have neglected their partisan duties, but Bush has been a uniquely vigorous party leader. Here, we show that Bush's puzzling lack of attention to federalism issues is in large part the result of his efforts to strengthen the Republican Party to cope with the political and electoral challenges characteristic of the contemporary political context. We explain why the Bush administration's strategy for redressing the Republican party's shortcomings has presupposed the deprecation of federalism, and consider the implications of our argument for the development of federal arrangements. Copyright 2007, Oxford University Press.