The provisional pulpit : modern presidential leadership of public opinion /

Rottinghaus (Univ. of Houston) asks "when and under what conditions do presidents find success at leading public opinion?" Going beyond Samuel Kernell's notion of "going public," he presents a theory of presidential leadership and offers examples of successful and unsuccessful presidential leadership of public opinion in domestic and foreign policy. Rottinghaus suggests successful presidential leadership requires a significant commitment of the president's prestige and focus. Surrogates will not do, speeches including a number of different messages do not succeed, and allowing the press to filter the message will not suffice. Presidential success in leading public opinion is predicated on taking a message to the people directly, presenting it as the most important issue facing the country, and hammering it home for an extended period of time. Rottinghaus uses an array of sources from both within and outside the White House. Rottinghaus cites Woodrow Wilson's 1901 assertion that "there is but one national voice in the country, and that is the voice of the President." Wilson would learn during the League of Nations debate that his voice alone could not ensure treaty ratification. Rottinghaus concludes that the task of presidents today, in the cacophony of voices on the political scene, is even harder. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate and research collections. J. F. Kraus Wagner College