7 Presidential politics
The description of the American political system that we have developed to
this point is one of enormous variety and diversity: a set of sectional, class,
pluralistic and individualistic forces which can only with difficulty be com-
pressed into a few broad categories. The institutional structures that we have
examined have fully reflected and expressed this diversity: the federal sys-
tem, the structure of pressure groups, the political parties, the working of
Congress – all of these give full rein to multifarious interests, each intent
on furthering its economic aims, defending its social position or gaining a
hearing for its point of view. Each of these structures channels and articu-
lates these demands, gradually contributing to the process of bargaining and
compromise that decision-making requires. Yet the very nature of all these
structures emphasises their own pluralistic character, for pluralism is built
into all of them as a dominant characteristic. It is only when we come to the
presidency of the United States itself that we reach a part of the political
structure where a single will must be expressed, a single mind made up. This
is not to say that all the enormous pressures of the pluralistic political system
do not reach expression in the presidency. They are indeed felt, and their
impact is very considerable, as we shall see. But here at least there is the pos-
sibility of a unity, which exists nowhere else in the system, and consequently
the possibility of the exercise of leadership. It is in the area of leadership that
the American political system may be thought to be most defective, and it is
the function of the president to try to remedy that defect. Given the nature
of the American system, and of the political culture that sustains it, the task
of the president is a superhuman one, almost inevitably doomed to failure
before it begins. This is the challenge of the presidency, its fascination and
its tragedy.
When the president is greeted at a public function on arrival at an air-
field or a military parade, the band strikes up the familiar tune ‘Hail to the
Chief ’. The president is a chief in many senses – chief of state, party chief,
commander-in-chief of the armed forces, chief administrator and chief ini-
tiator of legislation. At the same time, the president embodies the power and
authority of the nation. On this solitary individual, for four years or more,