The Presidential Ranking Game: Critical Review and Some New Discoveries

Nichols, Curt

doi:10.1111/j.1741-5705.2012.03966.x

Cited by 31 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Other recent political science research has shown that economic performance (Curry and Morris 2010), policy productivity (Rottinghaus and Vaughn 2016), and public demand for progressive leadership (Nichols 2012) also explain assessments of presidential greatness, whereas the one commonly believed explanation-prior experience-does not (Balz 2010). …”

Section: Studying Presidential Greatnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dean Simonton, a psychologist who pioneered much of his discipline's presidency-focused research, instead identified factors more likely to resonate with political scientists: number of years in office, number of years as a wartime commander-in-chief, an administration scandal, an assassination, and entering office with a reputation as a war hero (Simonton 1986). Other recent political science research has shown that economic performance (Curry and Morris 2010), policy productivity (Rottinghaus and Vaughn 2016), and public demand for progressive leadership (Nichols 2012) also explain assessments of presidential greatness, whereas the one commonly believed explanation-prior experiencedoes not (Balz 2010).…”

Section: What Is Presidential Greatness?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Presidential Greatness and Political Science: Assessing the 2014 APSA Presidents and Executive Politics Section Presidential Greatness Survey

Rottinghaus

Vaughn

2017

APSC

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Debates about presidential greatness have been with us for decades, facilitated in part by numerous systematic surveys of scholars with expertise in American history and politics. Nevertheless, the voice of political scientists in this debate has been relatively muted when compared particularly with the role that historians have had in making these determinations. This article introduces and assesses results of a recent effort to capture the attitudes of political science presidency experts about presidential greatness. By surveying the membership of the APSA Presidents and Executive Politics section, we could identify and then compare specifically the attitudes of political scientists against the growing body of ratings and rankings of a phenomenon with long-standing interest and importance.

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Section: Studying Presidential Greatnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: What Is Presidential Greatness?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Presidential Greatness and Political Science: Assessing the 2014 APSA Presidents and Executive Politics Section Presidential Greatness Survey

Rottinghaus

Vaughn

2017

APSC

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“…Although experts do not judge him to be the nation's worst president (Nice 1984;Nichols 2012), Hoover continues to serve as an object of derision in contemporary debates over economic stimulus and austerity measures. 1 A substantial number of Hoover scholars, however, challenge the portrayal of Hoover as a laissezfaire conservative and maintain that Hoover was a progressive president (e.g., Best 1983;Burner 1974;Degler 1963;Jeansonne 2012;Wilson 1975).…”

Section: If Any Us President Is In Need Of a Public Image Makeovermentioning

confidence: 95%

Putting Hoover on the Map: Was the 31st President a Progressive?

Edwards

2014

Congress & the Presidency

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If any U.S. President is in need of a public image makeover, surely it is Herbert Hoover.Although not considered the nation's worst president, Hoover continues to serve as an object of derision in contemporary debates over economic policy. But is the textbook portrayal of Hoover as an unrelenting conservative historically accurate? A number of scholars assert that Hoover was a progressive president. Given Hoover's status in our political consciousness, the stakes in this debate are significant. Political science can inform this debate with rigorous ideological measurement. I complete a record of Hoover's legislative positions and use W-NOMINATE to estimate Hoover's ideal point relative to the 71st and 72nd Congresses. I demonstrate a design to improve presidential ideal point estimation. The results fill a gap in presidential scholarship, show that Hoover was a conservative Republican, and suggest that efforts to portray Hoover as a progressive leader are misinformed.If any U.S. president is in need of a public image makeover, surely it is Herbert Hoover. Although experts do not judge him to be the nation's worst president (Nice 1984;Nichols 2012), Hoover continues to serve as an object of derision in contemporary debates over economic stimulus and austerity measures. 1 A substantial number of Hoover scholars, however, challenge the portrayal of Hoover as a laissezfaire conservative and maintain that Hoover was a progressive president (e.g., Best 1983;Burner 1974;Degler 1963;Jeansonne 2012;Wilson 1975). Have we misjudged Hoover? Unfortunately, political scientists have not been able to answer this question. Although we possess sophisticated tools for analyzing political behavior, Hoover has thus far eluded measurement.In this article, I hope to shed light on this historical controversy by analyzing Hoover's legislative record with modern tools of political science. These tools allow us to map Hoover's ideological preferences relative to other actors and determine whether he stood with the right, left, or center of the Republican Party. We can also compare Hoover to progressive members of both parties. Based on the requests he made for legislative action, the bills he signed and vetoed, his nominees and a treaty he proposed, Hoover was significantly more conservative than his contemporaries in the House and Senate on most issues. This research fills a gap in our understanding of twentieth century presidents and demonstrates a robust method of estimating presidential ideal points. However progressive he may have been in spirit and personal affairs, Hoover did not act like a progressive while in office. "EXCAVATING" HERBERT HOOVERAmerica's economic prospects were so bright in early 1929 that newly inaugurated President Herbert Hoover proclaimed that the end of poverty was near. In hindsight it is clear that Hoover could not have been more wrong. By the end of his administration, the country's gross national product was cut in half, the unemployment rate was 25%, and Hoover was soundly defeated by Franklin Roosevel...

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“…I adopt the increasingly accepted notion that 1980 represents an electoral realignment (Crockett 2002;Skowronek 11 2011;Nichols 2012;Bridge 2014). In addition to capturing the presidency and Senate, Reagan "ran ahead" (Schick 1982) of Southern Democrats.…”

Section: Busingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Holding the Accountability Problem Accountable: Response Mechanisms to Counter-Majoritarian Decisions

Bridge

2016

ARP

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If the Supreme Court rules against the wishes of the majority, how can that majority respond? I argue that while federal judges will never stand for election, majorities can employ various response mechanisms to counter-majoritarian decisions. I draw out observable expectations for inter-branch, local, and electoral responses. I then test these expectations in cases from the “mature” New Deal—communism, school prayer, busing, and abortion—showing the range of effective results achieved by anti-Court majorities. Given these results, I conclude that there is no “accountability problem”; there is just a narrow definition of accountability.

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The Presidential Ranking Game: Critical Review and Some New Discoveries

Cited by 31 publications

References 23 publications

Presidential Greatness and Political Science: Assessing the 2014 APSA Presidents and Executive Politics Section Presidential Greatness Survey

Presidential Greatness and Political Science: Assessing the 2014 APSA Presidents and Executive Politics Section Presidential Greatness Survey

Putting Hoover on the Map: Was the 31st President a Progressive?

Holding the Accountability Problem Accountable: Response Mechanisms to Counter-Majoritarian Decisions

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