A01=James W. Ceaser
Amendment
American Political Thought
Author_James W. Ceaser
Ballot
Brookings Institution
Candidate
Category=JPWC
Caucus
Congressional caucus
Congressional Debate
Consideration
Constitution
Constitutional amendment
Criticism
Delegate
Deliberation
Demagogue
Democracy
Democracy in America
Direct democracy
Direct election
Editing
Election
Electoral College (United States)
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eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
General election
Government
Ideology
Incumbent
Institution
James MacGregor Burns
James Q. Wilson
Leadership style
Legislation
Legislator
Legislature
Major party
Majority
Martin Van Buren
McGovern-Fraser Commission
Monarchism
Nomination
On the Issues
Openness
Opposition Party
Party leader
Party system
Political campaign
Political parties in the United States
Political party
Political philosophy
Political science
Politician
Politics
Prejudice
Prerogative
Presidential nominee
Proportional representation
Public opinion
Public participation
Public policy
Regime
Representative democracy
Republican Party (United States)
Republicanism
Requirement
Rhetoric
Separation of powers
Suggestion
The Public Interest
Two-party system
Voting
Woodrow Wilson
Product details
- ISBN 9780691021881
- Weight: 482g
- Dimensions: 140 x 216mm
- Publication Date: 21 Jun 1979
- Publisher: Princeton University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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Examining the development of the process of presidential selection from the founding of the republic to the present day, James Ceaser contends that many of the major purposes of the selection system as it was formerly understood have been ignored by current reformers and modern scholars. In an attempt to reverse this trend, Professor Ceaser discusses the theories of selection offered by leading American statesmen from the Founders and Thomas Jefferson to Martin Van Buren and Woodrow Wilson. From these theories he identifies a set of criteria for a sound selection system that he then uses to analyze and evaluate the recent changes in the selection process. Five normative functions of a presidential selection system comprise the author's criteria: it should minimize the harmful effects of ambitious contenders for the office, promote responsible executive leadership and power, help secure an able president, ensure a legitimate accession, and provide for an appropriate amount of choice and change.
Professor Ceaser finds that the present system is characterized by weak parties and candidate-centered campaigns that lead to the problems of "image" politics and demagogic leadership appeals. He therefore argues for a more republican selection system in which political parties would be strengthened to serve as a restraining force on popular authority, public opinion, and individual aspirations for executive power.
