Liberalism and Leadership

About this book

"A growing literature on the Presidency identifies the technical skills of Presidents by focusing on their political thought and moral values, often assuming a President's values and goals are the most crucial component of his moral thought and behavior. Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.'s was an empiricist and historian whose work on the presidency shows that value commitments do not translate smoothly into policy achievements. Possessing the dispositions and skills to address setbacks and unexpected crises was as vital to Franklin Roosevelt's and John Kennedy's accomplishments as their liberal moral views. At the same time, Schlesinger implied several key skills Roosevelt and Kennedy demonstrated were moral virtues rather than mere techniques intended to enhance the President's power. Schlesinger's moral framework relies on insights about trends in American history to argue Roosevelt's and Kennedy's ironic virtues often helped them avoid dangerous illusions to which Americans have been prone to succumb. Appreciating the history-based regime analysis at the heart of Schlesinger's liberalism opens up a new avenue of presidential analysis and may offer a path forward. In an age where external, institutional checks on the Presidency continue to dwindle, internal checks on Presidential overreach become all the more necessary. Schlesinger may have acknowledged and often championed the expansion of the President's institutional powers, but he also urged liberal leaders to cultivate ironic virtues to prevent these powers' abuse. That his counsel was grounded in conservative insights as well as liberal values makes it accessible to leaders across the political spectrum"--