Using M. G. Hermann's Personality Assessment-at-a-Distance (PAD) profiling technique as well as exhaustive archival research and interviews with former advisers, the author develops a leadership style typology. He then compares his model's expectations against the actual policy record, using six foreign policy episodes.

This book traces the evolution of White House news management during America’s changing media environment over the past two decades. Comparing and contrasting the communication strategies of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, it demonstrates the difficulty that all presidents have in controlling their messages despite a seemingly endless array of new media outlets and the great advantages of the office. That difficulty is compounded by new media’s amplification of presidential character traits for good or ill. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube notwithstanding, presidential power still resides in the "power to persuade," and that task remains a steep challenge. More than ever, presidential character matters, and the media presidents now employ report on the messenger as much as the message. The book also looks at the media strategies of candidates during the 2016 presidential campaign, puts presidential media use in global context, and covers the early phase of the Trump administration, the first true Twitter presidency.

This book examines the foreign policy decisions of the presidents who presided over the most critical phases of America's rise to world primacy in the twentieth century, and assesses the effectiveness and ethics of their choices. Joseph Nye, who was ranked as one of Foreign Policy magazine’s 100 Top Global Thinkers, reveals how some presidents tried with varying success to forge a new international order while others sought to manage America’s existing position. The book shows how transformational presidents like Wilson and Reagan changed how America sees the world, but argues that transactional presidents like Eisenhower and the elder Bush were sometimes more effective and ethical. It also draws important lessons for today’s uncertain world, in which presidential decision making is more critical than ever.

Compares thirteen presidential roles from Franklin Roosevelt to William Clinton, and focuses on their political skill, communication style, organizational ability, and much more.

Fred Greenstein is among the top students of the American presidency - his book on Eisenhower, THE HIDDEN-HAND PRESIDENCY, is regarded as a classic. His pioneering work in political psychology has done much to illuminate the nature of power and leadership writ large. Now, as the culmination of a half century of study and firsthand experience, THE PRESIDENTIAL DIFFERENCE rewrites the book on greatness in the presidency. Greenstein looks at both personality and context to consider how well each president 'fit' his times. From FDR to Clinton, he paints a portrait, by turns sweeping and detailed, of the era of the imperial presidency. THE PRESIDENTIAL DIFFERENCE employs a concise set of six categories by which a chief of staff is rated: communication, organisation, natural skill, vision, cognitive style, and the unexpected key to the whole package - emotional intelligence. Not since Richard Neustadt's PRESIDENTIAL POWER has a scholar so clearly defined the keys to success for the world's most powerful office.

This book systematically examines the first terms of every president from FDR to Barack Obama and assesses the leadership style and policy agenda of each. Success in bringing about policy change is shown to hinge on the leadership style and skill in managing a variety of institutional and public relationships. The second edition of this timely book adds chapters on George W. Bush and Obama and focuses on the significant domestic policy challenges of their respective times. The authors have reconfigured the analytical framework of the book to take into account the 'dynamic opportunity structure' that emerged during the George W. Bush administration. The Presidency and Domestic Policy provides unique insights into contemporary presidential leadership in a highly partisan age.

Orman's Comparing Presidential Power is an important and insightful study of the American Presidency. The macho model of presidential leadership is developed well and supported by both primary and secondary research. In fact, a brief overview of the book cannot do justice to the detailed analysis and support provided in the work. The text is well documented and every assumption is illustrated by several specific examples. The humanistic study is written from an audience perspective providing a socio-psychological orientation of how the public interprets the office. Thus, the lasting value of the book is not so much in the comparison of the Carter and Reagan presidencies or the defense of the Carter administration but in the provision of a complete model or theory of the contemporary institutional presidency. The book is a valuable contribution to the literature and thus a must for scholars and students of the American presidency. Presidential Studies Quarterly The president of the United States may be considered the quintessential symbol of the country, and, as such, a reflection of society's dominent values. His actions and decisions are influenced by a number of factors, including the prevailing environment, bureaucratic policies, and the incumbent's personality. Over and above the abilities and opportunities of the person who holds the office, John Orman argues that success of a president's policy endeavors is ultimately dependent in luck and good timing. His hypothesis is that a president's success depends on the ability to align actions with a society that places a premium on machismo. Using this theory, he analyzes the presidencies of Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.