Presidential Lightning Rods
Choice Outstanding TitleH. R. Haldeman, President Nixon's former chief of staff, is said to have boasted: "Every president needs a son of a bitch, and I'm Nixon's. I'm his buffer and I'm his bastard. I get done what he wants done and I take the heat instead of him."Richard Ellis explores the widely...
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| Príomhchruthaitheoir: | |
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| Formáid: | Online |
| Teanga: | Béarla |
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University Press of Kansas
2022
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| Ábhair: | |
| Rochtain ar líne: | ONIX_20220715_9780700630899_246 |
| Clibeanna: |
Níl clibeanna ann, Bí ar an gcéad duine le clib a chur leis an taifead seo!
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| _version_ | 1869517344714260480 |
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| author | Ellis, Richard J. |
| author_browse | Ellis, Richard J. |
| author_facet | Ellis, Richard J. |
| author_sort | Ellis, Richard J. |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | Choice Outstanding TitleH. R. Haldeman, President Nixon's former chief of staff, is said to have boasted: "Every president needs a son of a bitch, and I'm Nixon's. I'm his buffer and I'm his bastard. I get done what he wants done and I take the heat instead of him."Richard Ellis explores the widely discussed but poorly understood phenomenon of presidential "lightning rods"cabinet officials who "take the heat" instead of their bosses. Whether by intent or circumstance, these officials divert criticism and blame away from their presidents. The phenomenon is so common that it's assumed to be an essential item in every president's managerial toolbox. But, Ellis argues, such assumptions can oversimplify our understanding of this tool.Ellis advises against indiscriminate use of the lightning rod metaphor. Such labeling can hide as much as it reveals about presidential administration and policymaking at the cabinet level. The metaphor often misleads by suggesting strategic intent on the president's part while obscuring the calculations and objectives of presidential adversaries and the lightning rods themselves.Ellis also illuminates the opportunities and difficulties that various presidential postsespecially secretaries of state, chiefs of staff, and vice presidentshave offered for deflecting blame from our presidents. His study offers numerous detailed and instructive examples from the administrations of Truman (Dean Acheson); Eisenhower (Richard Nixon, John Foster Dulles, Herbert Brownell, and Ezra Taft Benson); LBJ (Hubert Humphrey); Ford (Henry Kissinger); and Reagan (James Watt).These examples, Ellis suggests, should guide our understanding of the relationship between lightning rods and presidential leadership, policymaking, and ratings. Blame avoidance, he warns, does have its limitations and may even backfire at times. Nevertheless, President Clinton and his successors may need to rely on such tools. The presidency, Ellis points out, finds itself the object of increasingly intense partisan debate and microscopic scrutiny by a wary press. Lightning rods can deflect such heat and help the president test policies, gauge public opinion, and protect his political power and public image. Ellis's book is an essential primer for helping us understand this process. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-88497 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publishDateRange | 2022 |
| publishDateSort | 2022 |
| publisher | University Press of Kansas |
| publisherStr | University Press of Kansas |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-884972024-03-29T19:31:30Z Presidential Lightning Rods Ellis, Richard J. Central / national / federal government thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPQ Central / national / federal government Choice Outstanding TitleH. R. Haldeman, President Nixon's former chief of staff, is said to have boasted: "Every president needs a son of a bitch, and I'm Nixon's. I'm his buffer and I'm his bastard. I get done what he wants done and I take the heat instead of him."Richard Ellis explores the widely discussed but poorly understood phenomenon of presidential "lightning rods"cabinet officials who "take the heat" instead of their bosses. Whether by intent or circumstance, these officials divert criticism and blame away from their presidents. The phenomenon is so common that it's assumed to be an essential item in every president's managerial toolbox. But, Ellis argues, such assumptions can oversimplify our understanding of this tool.Ellis advises against indiscriminate use of the lightning rod metaphor. Such labeling can hide as much as it reveals about presidential administration and policymaking at the cabinet level. The metaphor often misleads by suggesting strategic intent on the president's part while obscuring the calculations and objectives of presidential adversaries and the lightning rods themselves.Ellis also illuminates the opportunities and difficulties that various presidential postsespecially secretaries of state, chiefs of staff, and vice presidentshave offered for deflecting blame from our presidents. His study offers numerous detailed and instructive examples from the administrations of Truman (Dean Acheson); Eisenhower (Richard Nixon, John Foster Dulles, Herbert Brownell, and Ezra Taft Benson); LBJ (Hubert Humphrey); Ford (Henry Kissinger); and Reagan (James Watt).These examples, Ellis suggests, should guide our understanding of the relationship between lightning rods and presidential leadership, policymaking, and ratings. Blame avoidance, he warns, does have its limitations and may even backfire at times. Nevertheless, President Clinton and his successors may need to rely on such tools. The presidency, Ellis points out, finds itself the object of increasingly intense partisan debate and microscopic scrutiny by a wary press. Lightning rods can deflect such heat and help the president test policies, gauge public opinion, and protect his political power and public image. Ellis's book is an essential primer for helping us understand this process. 2022-07-15T14:59:24Z 2022-07-15T14:59:24Z 1994 book ONIX_20220715_9780700630899_246 9780700630899 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/88497 eng image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://muse.jhu.edu/book/83999 University Press of Kansas 10.1353/book.83999 10.1353/book.83999 d6fe0229-a31d-4b33-87fc-38cc16caac43 9780700630899 280 open access |
| spellingShingle | Central / national / federal government thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPQ Central / national / federal government Ellis, Richard J. Presidential Lightning Rods |
| title | Presidential Lightning Rods |
| title_full | Presidential Lightning Rods |
| title_fullStr | Presidential Lightning Rods |
| title_full_unstemmed | Presidential Lightning Rods |
| title_short | Presidential Lightning Rods |
| title_sort | presidential lightning rods |
| topic | Central / national / federal government thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPQ Central / national / federal government |
| topic_facet | Central / national / federal government thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPQ Central / national / federal government |
| url | ONIX_20220715_9780700630899_246 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ellisrichardj presidentiallightningrods |