Books by "Robert E. DiClerico"
2 books found
A narrative account of the survey of almost 1,000 professional historians on what constitutes a successful performance in the presidency, this survey tells us almost as much about the thinking and biases of historians as it does about the nature of the American presidency. Besides comparing past presidential polls and constructing a ranking list of the nation&’s chief executives, this study examines why historians rate presidents the way they do, and it analyzes those qualities and traits historians look for in a successful president. It also delimits what constitutes a failing performance in the White House and marks the major pitfalls that almost assuredly lead to an adverse historical verdict. In the process, the study demonstrates that there is not always a close correlation between what historians say a president should do and what historians obviously feel when actually ranking the performances of the presidents of the United States. This study should prove enlightening not only to the historical profession but to the general public, political pundits, newscasters, public officials, and all presidential aspirants, and even to past and present occupants of the White House and their staffs.
Popular representation, seen by constitutional founders including James Madison as the pivot of republicanism, has been gradually ritualized and discounted. Robert Grady maintains that contemporary pluralist theory devalues citizens' civic roles and reduces elections to symbolic exercises. In its more recent incarnations as interest group liberalism and corporatism, he believes, pluralism undercuts the grounds for real representation in favor of representation for the organized and privileged. In Restoring Real Representation, Grady argues for restoration of real citizen representation through democratic functional jurisdictions rather than by means of the usual electoral and political party reforms. In fact, he says, many critics of contemporary politics have proposed reforms that inadequately account for constitutional principles. Analyzing pluralist, corporatist, and participatory theory, Grady shows how these jurisdictions - principally the workplace community, but, by extension, other ethnic, religious, and geographic associations - can serve as constituent organizations for participation and reaffirm the pivotal role of representation.