Guide to the Presidency

Leading reference source on those who have occupied the White House and the institution of the presidency. In the two decades since it was first published, CQ's Guide to the Presidency has become the leading reference source on the persons who have occupied the White House and on the institution of the presidency itself. The Guide is extensively updated to bring the story of the presidency: [yen] through the partisan and tumultuous second term of Bill Clinton that was defined by only the second impeachment action in the nation's history [yen] through the controversial elections of 2000 eventually decided by a Supreme Court decision [yen] into the remarkable early months of President George W. Bush, who witnessed his presidency transformed in a single day on September 11, 2001. In the aftermath of terrorist attacks on the United States, the Bush presidency, and perhaps the institution itself, were changed in ways that were both immediately apparent and continually evolving. Nearly as remarkable, the bitter partisan atmosphere of Washington politics for more than a decade fell away - at least temporarily - as Democrats and Republicans closed ranks behind the nation's only single leader - the president. Authors of the third edition set these events in the context of the long history and evolution of the presidency. They examine how the presidency and politics reacted to the events of 2001, as well as how the nation's political system may have changed. Readers will turn to the Guide for its vast array of factual information about the institution and the presidents as well as analytical chapters that explain the structure and operations of the office and the president's relationship to co-equal branches of government, Congress and the Supreme Court. In this edition of CQ's Guide to the Presidency you will find: Part I: Origins and Development of the Presidency examines the history and evolution from George Washington to George W. Bush. Part II: Selection and Removal of the President describes the electoral system and all contests through the controversial election of George W. Bush over Albert Gore in 2000, an election that was finally settled only by a Supreme Court decision. This section also describes the process of removing a president and details the unsuccessful impeachment and trial of President Clinton toward the end of his second term. Part III: Powers of the Presidency examines the many and varied powers of the presidency - chief executive, diplomat, legislative leader, commander in chief, economist, and more. All of these powers and responsibilities were seen dramatically in the presidency of George W. Bush in the days and months following terrorist attacks on the United States. Part IV: The President, the Public and the Parties examines the president's role as the sole single leader of Americans as well as the titular head of his political party. Part V: The White House and Executive Branch describes the structure and operations of offices and functions surrounding the president. Part VI: Chief Executive and the Federal Government examines the president's relation to Congress the Supreme Court and the entire executive bureaucracy. Part VII: Biographies of the Presidents and Vice Presidents who have served. An extensive appendix provides dozens of tables and documents allowing a reader quick access to specific information. A detailed index and many cross references throughout the volume direct a user swiftly and accurately to needed details throughout the two volumes.