ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the prophylactic or preventive presidency as an ideal type, its features purposefully exaggerated to stand out in bold relief. The prophylactic type can also be compared with several other presidential models. The ideal prophylactic presidency would receive warnings far in advance, so planning and action would take place calmly in the open, rather than urgently in secrecy. The model of social interaction implicit in the planners' vision does not work for the varied intermediary groups that characterize our political system: political parties, Congressional committees, interest groups, states, semiautonomous agencies. The potential political consequences at stake in these competing models can be seen if we consider the extreme case—if our political institutions were indeed reshaped to eliminate duplication and to promote uniformity. A prophylactic presidency, unprotected by British conventions, would face increased pressures toward the center, with fewer buffers than before.
