Presidential Vetoes and Public Policy (Studies in Government and Public Policy) - Hardcover

Watson, Richard A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0700606203 ISBN 13: 9780700606207

Publisher: University Press of Kansas, 1993

Synopsis

The veto power, claimed Woodrow Wilson, is the president's most formidable prerogative. Despite that assertion, Richard Watson shows that the presidential veto of significant legislation is frequently overridden by Congress.

Although the veto has a major impact on public policy, past research on it has dealt only with legal and historical issues. This is the first systematic, in-depth study of the actual effect of the use of the veto. Watson focuses on those elements of the policy-making process that influence presidential veto decisions. His analysis of presidential vetoes from Franklin Roosevelt through Jimmy Carter clarifies the problems caused by the veto and reveals how it has shaped public policy. He tells what conditions provoke the president's reliance on the veto and Congress's decision whether to try to override it. He also explores why vetoes have often triggered bitter disputes over the degree and scope of presidential power and its role in the legislative process.

Watson concludes that the veto power has operated well in terms of both public policy and relations between Congress and the president and argues that it would be a mistake to alter it through the adoption of an item veto.

About this title

About the Author:

Richard A. Watson is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Review:

"Watson presents a painstakingly researched account of the historical origins of the power and the causes and consequences of [the vetos] use by the modern presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt through Jimmy Carter."Journal of American History

"Must reading for scholars of presidential-congressional relations."Policy Currents

"A penetrating and detailed analysis of presidential use of the veto power."Perspectives on Political Science

"A very important and insightful book, sophisticated yet fully available to the general reader. Watson dissects the strategy and success of the veto power with analytical vigor. One of his interesting findings is that the balance of power between the president and Congress is much more even than appears to be the case on the surface. Also revealing are Watsons breakdowns of vetoes into substantive areas, party affiliations, public opinion, and national crises."Louis Fisher, author of Constitutional Conflicts between Congress and the President

"Informative, readable, and well-researched, this is a serious contribution to our understanding of the politics of the presidential veto. Watson is especially good on detailing what happens after a presidential vetowho wins and who loses."Thomas E. Cronin, author of Direct Democracy: The Politics of the Initiative, Referendum, and Recall

"The most detailed empirical analysis available of veto use by recent presidents. I find close agreement with Watsons conclusions that the veto continues to be a potent political weapon, that the item veto proposal ought to be avoided, and that the pocket veto is most sensibly exercised at the end of a Congress. Watson has made an important contribution."Robert J. Spitzer, author of The Presidential Veto

"Watson has written an important book on an under-researched part of the American political process. He draws upon a wide array of sources, including the riches of seven presidential libraries, and ends with good advice."Richard S. Kirkendall, author of A Global Power: America since the Age of Roosevelt

About this edition

• Publisher: University Press of Kansas
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0700606203
• ISBN 13: 9780700606207
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 232