This book explores presidential power through an analysis of the ways that U.S. presidents attempt to manage scandals. While presidents routinely stonewall to block or limit investigations into their alleged transgressions or, in some cases, cooperate with investigators, this book proposes the existence of a third way of responding to scandalsa backfire or the creation of a counter-scandal to try to extinguish the original scandal. The existence of possible backfires is surveyed through case studies of the major scandals that impacted the Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, and Trump administrations. The development of this form of scandal response has meaningful implications concerning the growth of presidential power and its impacts on the functioning of the U.S. political system and the quality of American democracy. Changes in partisanship, the media environment, and the public's view of the presidency and government are topics covered in the book's explanation of the trends in scandal responses.

Introduces and pioneers a new conceptthe use of backfires to manage scandalunique to the existing scholarship on politics and scandal Provides a distinctive approach to the study of presidential power in the modern era through the unique conceptual lens of scandal Inclusion of historical and contemporary case-studies makes the material accessible for students while providing rigorous analysis for academics Focus on the current and recent presidents makes the project of interest to a wider network of academics, students, and general interest readers

Autorentext

Richard Barberio is Associate Professor of Political Science at the State University of New York's College at Oneonta, USA. He writes widely and teaches on American political institutions and processes, and is the author of The Politics of Public Policy (2014).

Inhalt

1. The Role of Scandal in American Politics.- 2. Presidential Power, Scandal, and Misdirection.- 3. Nixon and Watergate.- 4. The Reagan Administration and Iran-Contra.- 5.Clinton and the Lewinsky Affair.- 6. President Trump: The Conquest of Backfire Scandal Management.