In addition, the perception of the president has changed as well. As a society, we come to expect more from our president. In addition, the current-day president faces more perils than the president did one hundred years ago.
McDonald also delves into the responsibilities of the president, from executing laws to how he handles his administration. A close observation of the how the administration works allows us to see how things have evolved over decades. McDonald describes a paralysis that evolved over years regarding Congress and how it interacts with the president. He asserts that the "history of the presidency in the twentieth century has been a history of presidents' attempts to gain control of the sprawling federal bureaucracy" (329).
The primary theme we find in the book is that the president of the United States is obligated to play the role of "king-surrogate" (459) even though this is not exactly what the framers of the Constitution had in mind. McDonald asserts that the presidency is essentially a monarchy in disguise. McDonald also maintains that the office has declined since George Washington and Thomas Jefferson with the exception of Ronald Reagan who, "like Jefferson, brought to the presidency a fully conceived set of goals" (342) that in domestic affairs "were mutasis mutandis, much the same as Jefferson's had been" 342). McDonald also favors Richard Nixon, who he predicts will be remembered as one of America's great presidents "depending upon the course of history takes in the future" (468). McDonald leaves us with the ultimate question concerning the presidency, which asks if the office has become a "troubled and somewhat...
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now