Write a 5 pages paper on the president as leader by erwin c. hargrove. Primarily οf interest to political scientists, the book is recommended for larger public and academic presidential studies collec

Write a 5 pages paper on the president as leader by erwin c. hargrove. Primarily οf interest to political scientists, the book is recommended for larger public and academic presidential studies collections.

In chapter one of the book, Power and Purpose in Political Leadership, Hargrove defines characteristics of political leadership. As the title suggests, the chapter discusses examples of powers used by some American presidents. Hargrove argues that Carter's approach eschewed political advantage as a criterion for formulating policy, but that compromise might be necessary.

The second chapter, Conceptions of Leadership, explains leadership qualities. The power οf the policy to sustain itself is strengthened by comprehensiveness, which implies a long-term view rather than a quick fix. The importance of culture is discussed in the third chapter of the book, Cultural Leadership, where Hargrove has discussed the cultural background of many American presidents.

For Carter, political leadership was not so much doing whats right instead οf whats political as it was doing the political in the right way. Consequently, the existing theory is hard-pressed to classify the Carter administration on the basis οf a predisposition for or against centralization. As a Democrat and political leader following a public goods approach to governing, it would not be unreasonable to expect a tendency toward centralization οf policymaking in the White House, especially on domestic priorities. This would allow Carter to control the content οf policy important for his substantive approach. On the other hand, like most presidents, Carter entered office with an eye toward the cabinet government and a reliance on expertise as a guiding force for policymaking. Carter's public goods philosophy led him to choose experts to head governmental departments. This foreshadowed an approach to governance based on specialization and on a willingness to formulate substantive policy addressing major problems. Neither politics nor the strategy οf politicization had much to do with cabinet appointments. Nelson Polsby notes that the Carter cabinet, in particular, was characterized by curious neutrality...