The Personal Presidency: Are We Too Close to the White House? (NEW RELEASE!)
Barbara A. Perry, Ph.D., is the Gerald L. Baliles Professor and Director of Presidential Studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, where she co-directs the Presidential Oral History Program. Professor Perry has participated in or led more than 130 interviews for the George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama Presidential Oral History Projects; interviewed President Bill Clinton for his spoken history; directed the Edward M. Kennedy Oral History Project; and co-directs the Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton Oral History Projects. Dr. Perry is a member of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation Advisory Committee, and the White House Historical Association Board, which was founded by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. She has authored or edited seventeen books on presidents, First Ladies, the Supreme Court, and the Kennedy family, including Jacqueline Kennedy: First Lady of the New Frontier.
Overview
BRAND-NEW TALK!
Shot in professional studio!
Join Barbara Perry, Professor at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center and co-director of their Presidential Oral History Program, as she traces how the office of the presidency has not only evolved, but also expanded beyond the specific powers expressed in the Constitution.
Beginning with Theodore Roosevelt in the early 20th century, and expanding with Woodrow Wilson and FDR, the presidency has grown increasingly “personal.” With the advent of modern travel and media technology, and as government services have expanded, our presidents have moved closer to the electorate than the Founders ever anticipated or desired. But is the American electorate now too close to presidents? Do we expect too much from them, especially during times of crisis? We may think that access to the presidency is a positive element of American democracy, but have these developments given our chief executives more incentive to become demagogues?