3.1 Define political power, and describe the purposes to which presidents put it.
Scholars of American politics differ in their understanding of political power. Some, such as Robert Dahl, assume a largely procedural notion of power—that is, the capacity of one political actor to convince another to do something he or she otherwise would not do. In this title, however, we take a slightly different tack. When gauging the exercise of presidential power, we focus explicitly on outcomes, be they laws written, policies implemented, or actions taken. Power, thus conceived, is the capacity to shape government policies through political action, whether threatened or taken.
Presidential power may be exercised in the service of any number of objectives—sometimes altering existing government practices, sometimes thwarting the efforts of the other political actors. This power is often harnessed to change the status quo: to reshape and redirect government and to legitimize new uses of public authority. Power matters just as much, however, when it is deployed to protect the status quo. Rather than change policy, presidents may use their power to keep their political opponents from doing so.
Power may assume a variety of forms. Power may involve inducing other political actors—either by persuasion or coercion—to do things (and thereby realize outcomes) that they would otherwise not be inclined to do. Power may also involve convincing political actors to do nothing at all (and thereby preserve existing outcomes), even when they are predisposed to action.
Presidential power need not involve efforts to manipulate the actions of other political actors, however. Instead, presidential power often involves direct, unilateral action. Firing incompetent bureaucrats and dismantling administrative agencies with which a president disagrees are nothing if not direct. At other times exercise of presidential power is both direct and indirect, as when a president intervenes in a policy domain and sets a new course for public policy, then withdraws, placing the onus of revising the political landscape on others.
All of these potential sources and characterizations of presidential power have a common reference point: outcomes. By wielding power, presidents ensure that the behavior of the federal government, and by extension the livelihood of Americans, is materially different than it would be if only Congress and the courts were in charge. As we monitor presidents’ efforts to claim and assert power, we must train our attention on the outcomes they produce—the ways in which government policies are written, interpreted, and implemented.*