Being the US president is the hardest job in the world. Despite the prestige associated with it, the reality and demands of this job make it a tough task. There is a pressure to delivering the promises made to the citizens coupled with competing political interests within the loyal members of the party and other stakeholders’ who had in one way or another influenced his /her rise to power. The hardest part is however on pleasing the American citizen. The President is seen as the face of the whole country and thus his/ her every move is scrutinized in detail. This paper seems to analyze how the character, choice, and structure of staff within the white house influence the President’s decision making on domestic and economic goals. This analysis will focus on the understanding of two written works; ‘Contending Approaches to the American Presidency’ by Genovese, Michael A. and The Politics of the Presidency by Pika, Joseph A.
Pika and Maltese in the book, “Politics of Presidency “states that presidential choices are a reflection of his character. The character of the president influences the people he/she choices for posts in the government and the Whitehouse. However, the bottom line is that presidency is not easy and is open to challenges and threats from all sides. Therefore, the president has to surround himself with friends and most trusted individuals. Melanie M. Marlowe, in his approach on ‘The Unitary Executive’ describes the origin of the executive and the white house staff as a product of Louis Brownlow in 1930 who while inspecting the aspect of government management noted that the President needs to surround himself with individuals with ‘high competence, great physical vigor and a passion for anonymity (pg105)’. These people help the President make various decisions on matters of national importance. They must be well versed with what the President wants but at the same time advice him on what needs to be done.
This is however determined by the structural organization of the staff. The people closer to the President tend to influence the President more by relying on the advice of the lower ranking staff who are technical experts in a particular field or sector including economic, constitutional security, health, education, political experts among others. Each group is headed by a person who has absolute access to the president. Thus decision making is easy as the group with absolute access to the President together with influential. Members of the party in the Congress are involved in decision making. The secret of success of Presidency as Michael A. Genovese notes is based on trust among the inner core of the White House staff.
The character of a president in the United States is also reflected by the pre-election pact or alliance that he/she joins before election. Traditionally the democrats have been perceived as radical and more interested with political authority. As such, appointments under Democrats leadership seem to be inclined towards these long established traditions. For instance, Goeorge Bush in his term surrounded himself with strict cabinet that appeared radical in their decisions. Contrastingly, Democrats are moderates and are interested in social and economic welfare other than political authority. This is apparent as candidates appointed by the president carry the doctrines and the traditions of the party.
An overall, smooth running of the government and other presidential affair is very crucial in leadership. When there are leadership failures within the Whitehouse, this will influence the overall leadership of the country. There as Pika and Maltese point out, good presidency is a mesh that brings smalls aspects of leadership together.
Works Cited
Genovese, Michael A. Contending Approaches to the American Presidency. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2012. Print.
Pika, Joseph A, and John A. Maltese. The Politics of the Presidency. N.p., 2013. Print.
