False Front

Reviews / Votes

"False Front is an engaging and timely book. It establishes that although the president's executive authority is extensive, presidents are rewarded for the perception that they are governing, not for solving policy problems...this is an important work, one that advances the field and provides an accessible read to all students of presidential power and executive action." * Presidential Studies Quarterly * "False Front provides a new perspective on the incentives for presidential leadership and connects these incentives to presidents' efforts to address the major policy issues of the day. Through a rich tapestry of empirical analyses, Lowande seeks to recast how we understand the presidency as an institution and the president as a political actor. Lowande's provocative argument succeeds in challenging dominant ways of thinking about the presidency and raising urgent questions about the link between presidential behavior and American democracy" -- Jon Rogowski | University of Chicago "False Front is a tour de force that will reorient scholarship on the American presidency. Lowande demonstrates how presidents' incentives to cultivate their public image pervasively drive presidential behavior, often in ways that neglect or compromise good public policy. False Front is a must-read not just for those interested in the American presidency but for those concerned with democratic accountability, public opinion, news media, and the overall performance of U.S. national government." -- Frances Lee | author of "Insecure Majorities: Congress and the Perpetual Campaign" "In this stimulating book, Lowande challenges the conventional wisdom about presidential power. Case-by-case and data point-by-data point he argues that presidential unilateral actions have not delivered what presidents promised. Lowande argues that executive orders and memoranda are less about changing policy than credit-claiming and public relations. It is an important argument about the fundamental power and behavior of modern presidents." -- David E. Lewis | Vanderbilt University