ABSTRACT
Presidential government is an illusion-an illusion that misleads presidents no less than the media and the American public, an illusion that often brings about the destruction of the very men who hold the office. Presidential capacities to coordinate the activities of the executive branch were created and countenanced because they met the needs of Congress. Any managerial device that fails to meet the test, however much the president might want it, is undoubtedly doomed to extinction. The media of print and pictures are the president's only means of communicating his message directly to the public. They allow him to gain the attention of bureaucrats and congressmen faster than any official presidential document within the government ever can. The modern media industry has a vested interest in the illusion of presidential government. Its technology is far from neutral for our understanding of government. The media need simple "shots" and clean lines of conflict to communicate a "story."
