Presidential politics 155others using public opinion to override contrary opinions in the party. In es-
sence, presidential politics consists of the attempt to walk this tightrope, and
it brings the presidency to its lowest ebb when presidential policies come up
against strong opposition both in the country at large and in the president’s
own party. Equally, however, when a president enjoys wide popular support
and is backed by a relatively united party, the power of the presidency is im-
pressive indeed.
As in so many other respects, however, these two sources of power are by
no means simple and straightforward, either in their composition or in their
usefulness as weapons in the presidential armoury. The president’s position
as a party leader is an equivocal one. In office the president is necessarily
the titular head of the party, at least until a successor is nominated at the
national convention. As the party is the organisational structure through
which candidates are nominated and election campaigns conducted, there
is a constant tendency to emphasise party unity. This desire for unity in the
party works both ways, however. It gives the president some sort of claim
to party allegiance, but it also imposes a considerable restraint, in that the
attempt must be made to avoid making demands that will seriously divide
the party. The claim of party loyalty on state and local political leaders is
necessarily a limited one. They will often make considerable efforts to main-
tain a semblance of unity, perhaps with considerable embarrassment in the
context of their local politics, but the claims of party loyalty alone cannot
override really strong local pressures. A party leader who is also president
of the United States has, however, more to offer to those whose support is
required than the satisfaction simply of being a good party person. In return
he may offer support for projects that a legislator or party chieftain wishes
to further. Presidential approval of legislative proposals, or presidential com-
mitment to the expenditure of money on public works in a state or locality,
are powerful incentives to be a good supporter of the head of the party. In
spite of the drastic curtailment of the spoils system, in which appointments
to government positions all the way down the civil service hierarchy were
potential political inducements, the president still has some thousands of
offices to fill, and they include many plum positions, highly desirable to the
friends and supporters of local politicians, and sometimes to those politi-
cians themselves. The appointment of ambassadors and judges provides an
important but by no means inexhaustible source of presidential bounty. This
patronage is not channelled through those members of the president’s party
who consistently oppose the administration’s policies.
Another of the weapons the president may use in his role as party leader
is publicity. What the president does or says is automatically newsworthy,
and the way in which public appearances are managed, the references made
to party colleagues, the people invited to appear on platforms or at public
events – all these seemingly innocent considerations can be the subject of
the most intense political manoeuvring. Presidents, and presidential aspir-
ants, may also become involved in the dangerous sphere of local political