Why Presidents Fail

White House Decision Making from Eisenhower to Bush II

Richard M. Pious

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Year: 2008
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780742563391
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: American Government
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Presidents are surrounded by political strategists and White House counsel who presumably know enough to avoid making the same mistakes as their predecessors. Why, then, do the same kinds of presidential failures occur over and over again? Why Presidents Fail answers this question by examining presidential fiascos, quagmires, and risky business-the kind of failure that led President Kennedy to groan after the Bay of Pigs invasion, 'How could I have been so stupid?' In this book, Richard M. Pious looks at nine cases that have become defining events in presidencies from Dwight D. Eisenhower and the U-2 Flights to George W. Bush and Iraqi WMDs. He uses these cases to draw generalizations about presidential power, authority, rationality, and legitimacy. And he raises questions about the limits of presidential decision-making, many of which fly in the face of the conventional wisdom about the modern presidency.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Presidential Fiascoes
• 1 Reputation: Eisenhower and the U-2 Flights
• 2 Power Stakes: Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs
• 3 Compellence: Johnson and the Vietnam Escalation
• 4 Command and Control: Ford and the Mayaguez
• 5 Rhetoric: Carter and the Malaise Speech
• 6 Prerogative Power: Reagan and the Iran-Contra Affair
• 7 Gamesmanship: Bush 41 and the Budget Summit
• 8 Program Innovation: Clinton and Health Care
• 9 Parallel Governance: Bush and Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction
• 10 Presidents Unbound: Crises of Authority and Legitimacy
• 11 Risk and Resilience: Toward a White House Learning Curve
• For Further Reading
• Index
• About the Author