Personality and Politics

Stephen J. Wayne is a well-known author and lecturer on the American presidency and electoral politics. A professor of government at Georgetown University since 1988 and a Washington-based “insider” for more than 40 years, Wayne has written or edited 12 books and authored over 100 articles, chapters, and reviews that have appeared in professional journals, scholarly compilations, newspapers, and magazines. At Georgetown, Wayne teaches courses on the presidency, elections, and psychology and politics. Wayne is frequently quoted by White House journalists and regularly appears on television and radio news shows. He lectures widely at home and abroad to international visitors, college students, federal executives, and business leaders. He has testified before Congress on the subject of presidential elections and governance and before Democratic and Republican party advisory committees on the presidential nomination processes. He participated in transition projects for the National Academy of Public Administration and the Presidency Research Group.

The impact of presidential personality on governing in the White House is one of the great puzzles of presidential politics. There is no one better than Steve Wayne at helping us solve this puzzle and achieve a better understanding of the Obama presidency

• IntroductionA Disciplinary DilemmaCharacter and Its DerivativesOrganization of the BookCharacter DevelopmentRace and RootsAmbition and PoliticsAdaption and ApprovalEgo Checks and GuiltBasic BeliefsCommonality as a ValueChurch and CommunityGovernment and SocietyProgressive PragmatismOperating StyleCognitionDecision MakingOrganizationCommunicationConciliationCharacter-Based TensionsIdealism and PragmatismDirection and DelegationVision and CompromiseRationality and EmpathyBoldness and CautionPolitical ImpedimentsTransitioning from Campaigning to GoverningThe Limits of Presidential PowerPublic Attitudes Toward GovernmentDemocratic Leadership DilemmasObama′s Theory of Democratic LeadershipThe Bully Pulpit and Its LimitsObama′s Practice of Democratic LeadershipThe Interaction of Personality and Politics: Three Case StudiesStimulating the EconomyReforming Health CareUpping the Ante in Afghanistan