Many analysts now believe that the growth of presidential war power relative to Congress is irreversible. This book was written to contest that view. Its purpose is to identify what would be required to restore presidential war power to constitutional specifications while leaving the president powerful enough to do what is truly necessary in the face of any emergency. Buchanan focuses mainly on diagnosing the origins of the problem and devising practical ways to work toward restoration of the constitutional balance of power between Congress and the president.

The work begins by showing the lack of clear, widely shared standards whose enforcement is needed to sustain the balance of power and draws on the thinking of the founders and political theorists to crystallize such standards. Next it details how, in the absence of standards, agents such as Congress and the Supreme Court with formal influence on presidents and informal agents such as media and public opinion have unwittingly enabled unnecessary power expansion, such as the presidential 'wars of choice'.

Of course change of this magnitude cannot be expected to happen quickly. Remedies necessarily involve a reform architecture intended to unfold gradually, with the first step being simply to start a focused conversation (another purpose of this book). Buchanan moves toward specific remedies by identifying the structure and strategy for a new think tank designed to nudge the political system toward the kind of change the book recommends. Lastly, the book shows how a fictional policy trial could take a practical step toward in rebalancing the war power.

This is a crucial examination of presidential power and the U.S. separation of powers system, with a focused effort on making a course correction toward the kind of power sharing envisioned in the Constitution.

Many analysts now believe that the growth of presidential war power relative to Congress is irreversible. This book was written to contest that view. Its purpose is to identify what would be required to restore presidential war power to constitutional specifications while leaving the president powerful enough to do what is truly necessary in the face of any emergency. Buchanan focuses mainly on diagnosing the origins of the problem and devising practical ways to work toward restoration of the constitutional balance of power between Congress and the president.

The work begins by showing the lack of clear, widely shared standards whose enforcement is needed to sustain the balance of power and draws on the thinking of the founders and political theorists to crystallize such standards. Next it details how, in the absence of standards, agents such as Congress and the Supreme Court with formal influence on presidents and informal agents such as media and public opinion have unwittingly enabled unnecessary power expansion, such as the presidential 'wars of choice'.

Of course change of this magnitude cannot be expected to happen quickly. Remedies necessarily involve a reform architecture intended to unfold gradually, with the first step being simply to start a focused conversation (another purpose of this book). Buchanan moves toward specific remedies by identifying the structure and strategy for a new think tank designed to nudge the political system toward the kind of change the book recommends. Lastly, the book shows how a fictional policy trial could take a practical step toward in rebalancing the war power.

This is a crucial examination of presidential power and the U.S. separation of powers system, with a focused effort on making a course correction toward the kind of power sharing envisioned in the Constitution.

The presidency was neither designed nor expected to act in concert with the American people; the Framers intended Congress to represent the popular will. Thanks in part to public outrage at Congressional abuses of power, Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson led mass movements that forced major changes in the presidency, electoral politics, and national policy.
Contemporary presidents are elected on the promise of being the direct representative of the people. There is an implicit deal between the president and voters: election to office in return for responsiveness to voter concerns. As "The Policy Partnership" shows, this relationship has been crumbling for some time. Presidents frequently break campaign promises and make unpopular decisions, while the public rarely bands together to demand attention to policy concerns. Many people simply do not vote; political elites take advantage of this indifference to advance their own agendas.
Bruce Buchanan explores the presidential elections of thelast half-century to answer pressing questions created by this situation: What has become of the policy relationship potential created by presidential elections? To what degree do candidates and presidents take voter policy concerns into account before and after elections? How much influence do voters really have on presidential policy? What can be done to increase voter participation and presidential responsiveness?
The central question of democratic politics comes down to the relationship between popular electoral choices and public policy: if voters can't influence what government does, then what is the point of democracy?

The image of a prison with a revolving door helped George Bush win the presidency in 1988, but did negative advertising damage the electoral process itself? Why did campaign '88 represent an all-time low in the minds of many voters? These are some of the questions that impel this thought-provoking analysis of the 1988 presidential election, sponsored by the John and Mary R. Markle Foundation. Using extensive empirical studies of the candidates, the media, and the voters, Bruce Buchanan, executive director of the Markle Commission on the Media and the Electorate, traces the roots of popular dissatisfaction with the 1988 election. Buchanan argues that the campaign drifted too far from popular ideals of how democratic processes ought to work-that the substitution of negative advertising and quickie "sound bites" for reasoned debate on national problems and issues alienated much of the electorate, causing the lowest voter turnout in sixty-four years. Negative campaigning, however, cannot bear the full blame for the 1988 election. While the Markle Commission offers specific recommendations for improvements in candidate and media performance, the great need, says Buchanan, is for voters to reclaim the electoral process, to insist that candidates and the media give enough information about positions and programs for voters to make informed choices. Voters need to be educated out of the idea that democratic elections and representative government can somehow occur without the participation of ordinary citizens. At a time when the American democratic process is being used as a model by newly independent nations around the world, it is particularly appropriate to ask how well it works at home. Electing a President does just that.

Leadership turnover in America's largest school districts has increased so rapidly that the average urban superintendent tenure is roughly 2 years. Because many urban superintendents are hired knowing that they will either be terminated or forced to resign in a short period of time, this cycle has created a class of superintendents who leap around the country from job to job, with no real ties to the communities they serve. So why are big-city superintendents seemingly always on the hot seat? Urban superintendents regularly face vast academic, funding, and socioeconomic challenges, and school boards find it much easier to change the coach than to change the players. Turnover at the Top examines various reasons for this frequent turnover, as well and its ramifications. It includes first-hand accounts from parents, school board members, and urban superintendents and will be of great interest to administrators, elected officials, and superintendents.