ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some basic questions: Where do we go from here? How can we bring substance back into the presidency, and can it be done? Public expectations are particularly important in our governmental system because our constitution does not clearly articulate the parameters of presidential power. Changes in public expectations also have been associated with changes in historical images over time. The public did not expect its presidents to be politically ambitious, nor was the presidency an activist institution. Along with the growth of the Washington outsider image, we have identified what we believe to be a disturbing development in the evolution of the presidency: the creation of the Image-Is-Everything Presidency. If presidents and the media are thus both responding to the present political environment in rational ways, there is little likelihood that the system will change anytime soon. In short, we can think of no magical solution to the image-Is-Everything presidency.
