Presidents on the textbook presidency

Abstract

Recent research shows that idealized accounts of the presidency still dominate pre-college textbooks on American government. Little attention has been given to presidential presentations of the office and their relationship to the textbook presidency, despite the symbolic significance of the presidency and a president's opportunity to further define or refine the institution through rhetoric. This study compares the presentation of the presidency by three post-Watergate presidents to the textbook presidency. This study finds that while presidents do present a more realistic portrait of a president's economic and legislative leadership, they describe life in the White House, and their roles as Chief of State, Publicly Accountable Leader, and Commander in Chief, in ways that more frequently support than modify the textbook version of the presidency.