Presidential Legislative Activity

Carl D. Cavalli holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science/Criminal Justice at North Georgia College and State University.

• Chapter 1 PrefaceChapter 2 AcknowledgementsChapter 3 Presidential LeadershipChapter 4 Power and Influence: Normative Studies of Power; Measures of InfluenceChapter 5 Categorizing Legislative Activities: Type of Activity; Dimensions; Amount of Activity; Discussion of Type and AmountChapter 6 Gathering the Data: Sources of Presidential Activity Data; Coding the DataChapter 7 Coding the Data—Some Detailed Examples: Typical Coding; Persuasion; Inducement; Organization; EmphasisChapter 8 Considerations of Validity and Reliability: Some Initial Notes on the SamplesChapter 9 Results I: Organization Over Time; Strategy and Legislative Experience; Cyclical Effects; Legislative Experience and Activity; Other PossibilitiesChapter 10 Results II: Contact Data; Contact Data and the Case of Wilbur Mills; Contact Data Analysis; A Consideration for Future Exploration; SummaryChapter 11 Discussion: What Has Been Learned?; Presidential Leadership in the American System; The Bottom LineChapter 12 "Quantitative Biography" and the Future: Cliometrics; Applying Cliometrics to Presidential Studies; The President and Future; Some Thoughts About Future Research; Some Hypotheses for the FutureChapter 13 BibliographyChapter 14 About the AuthorChapter 15 Index

The political reporting corner that produced the rich material for Benedetto's book started in Buffalo with his coverage of George Wallace's 1968 presidential campaign and eventually brought him to Washington in 1982 to help launch the Gannett Company's USA Today and then serve as its White House and national political correspondent. Many of the vignettes that fill the book are drawn from the years in the White House covering President George H.W. Bush (with whom Benedetto jogged on occasion), Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, and from his travels as a member of the White House press corps.