ABSTRACT
During the 1960s and the 1970s many politicians, political commentators and political scientists, as well as current and former White House aides and even Presidents joined ranks to argue that it had become increasingly difficult for the President and his men to bring effective legislative leadership to the American political system. Paralysis in government and rudderless government were feared by these critics of the contemporary American polity as following on from the President’s inability to exercise leadership over Congress. The purpose of this chapter is to first define the sources and nature of the new constraints on what one political scientist has styled somewhat dramatically the ‘no-win Presidency’ (Light 1982). The second section will assess the ‘no-win Presidency’ thesis, which will also include an examination of what Presidents and their staffs might profitably do to bring leadership to the contemporary American polity. This section will entail an examination of the record of President Reagan’s administrations to assess whether the contemporary Presidency can exercise legislative leadership.
