Presidential Image Research Articles

Image of the American Presidency--Part II of An Exploration into Popular Views of Presidential Power

THE NATURE OF POLITICAL leadership in the United States has become a subject of increased interest for political scientists and political sociologists. Crucial though their studies have been to our understanding of American governmental system and of American politics, most of them have told us little about the nature of the presidential image among those people on whose behalf presidential leadership is exerted, namely the public. The concurrent persistence of two themes in popular discussion, the dislike of authority and power, and the contradictory admiration for dynamic leadership suggests that Americans are highly ambivalent regarding power. They admire power and yet they fear it' Our study was designed on the basis of this ambivalence theory. Following from it we developed three hypotheses which we tested in a public opinion survey administered in Detroit, Michigan.2 Our first hypothesis was: Voters want strong presidents who know how to lead and how to make their will prevail. They want them to be far more than chief executives.3 They want them to be people with programs and ideas of their own, with the power to carry them out. In case of conflict between president and Congress or president, and public opinion, they want to see the president's 'will prevail. The second hypothesis takes account of apparent contradictions in our political tradition. Because Americans are afraid of political power * This paper was delivered, in abbreviated form, at the American Political Science Association's Annual Meeting in Washington, D. C., in 1963. 1 Wm. C. Mitchell, Ambivalent Social Status of the American Politician,

The President as a National Symbol - *W. Burlie Brown: The People's Choice: The Presidential Image in the Campaign Biography (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1960. Pp. 178. $4.00.)

The President as a National Symbol - *W. Burlie Brown: The People's Choice: The Presidential Image in the Campaign Biography (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1960. Pp. 178. $4.00.)

The People's Choice: The Presidential Image in the Campaign Biography

The People's Choice: The Presidential Image in the Campaign Biography

The People's Choice: The Presidential Image in the Campaign Biography

The People's Choice: The Presidential Image in the Campaign Biography

The Presidential Image

The Presidential Image