The President's Day - by Matthew N Beckmann

About the Book

""Lyndon Johnson felt the burden of the presidency acutely: "Only in the White House can you finally know the full weight of this office." Herein lies a fundamental insight into presidential work: for all the attention on dramatic moments, a president's performance is mostly seeded in the daily grind of doing the job. On the front lines, matters of leadership manifest as questions of time. How can the president harness the office's awesome resources while handling its exacting demands-day after day, month after month, year after year? In this work of presidential studies, political scientist Matt Beckmann considers the daily schedules of postwar presidents. Presidents attend obligatory events, make critical meetings, meet necessary people. From this angle, presidents are largely constrained by an office they did not create and incentives they cannot control. Richard Neustadt made the point: "However much the president knows, however sharp his senses, his time remains the prisoner of first things first." Whereas presidents once embodied the presidency, the creation of the Executive Office of the President and broader growth of "the presidential branch" seemingly added institutional scaffolding at the expense of individual discretion. But far from being interchangeable cogs set in an institutional system, presidents have broad discretion about how to implement an impossible job, and this is revealed in the distinctive ways they invest their time each day. Beckmann introduces an eclectic array of granular evidence about postwar presidents' daily work practices from 1961 to 2008, John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush. These data come from a myriad of sources, culled from a myriad of methods: elite interviews and archival records, small-n case studies and large-n quantitative analyses. This large-scale project affords the first comprehensive look into the ways presidents work on stage and behind the scenes. Beckmann sorts and analyzes nearly forty thousand activities, across nearly two thousand days, spanning forty-eight years, covering nine presidencies, to discover how the latitude presidents have in how to operate their office.""--

Book Synopsis

A president's work is defined by two challenges: knowing what to do and finding the time to do it. While the first of these has commanded extensive attention, the second has received little to none--until now.

The President's Day is a groundbreaking study of the history, theory, and practice of modern presidential time management. Matthew N. Beckmann argues that the seemingly innocuous task of scheduling turns out to be anything but. In choosing what and who will fill their time, presidents determine their value, define their role, and drive their agenda. Combining extensive archival research with interviews spanning administrations from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush, Beckmann exposes each president's signature pattern in terms of when to work, how long to work, how much to pack in, what to prioritize, and whom to see along the way. In these ways, The President's Day demystifies what John F. Kennedy called "the secret of the presidential enterprise."

Review Quotes

There is so much to like about this book. It is like being able to see inside the West Wing every day. What a rich and interesting portrait of the presidency we rarely get to see.--David E. Lewis, Vanderbilt University

Who did presidents meet, and when did they meet them? Using hard-won systematic new data and innovative analysis, this book tells us that and much more. Beckmann pulls off an impressive double-act: a richer, rigorous understanding of both individual and institutional influences on the daily workings of the presidency--Andrew Rudalevige, Bowdoin College

The President's Day is by far the most substantial quantitative investigation of presidents' work habits, organized around the two central activities that presidents engage in--thinking and speaking. Written in Beckmann's lively, accessible style, the book gives us our clearest picture of what presidents actually do, why, and with what effect.--Paul J. Quirk, University of British Columbia

This is a fantastic work of scholarship. Beckmann delivers the most rigorous and detailed look ever assembled at what presidents actually do, minute by minute. He reminds us that though presidents have vast powers and make monumental decisions, they are still humans who need time to eat, sleep, and think.--Kenneth Lowande, University of Michigan

Beckmann offers a unique perspective on presidential leadership. Via close analysis of precisely how and with whom presidents spend their days, we gain fresh insight into the nature of the president's job, the different approaches taken by different presidents, and the collapse of the Nixon presidency during the Watergate scandal. A delight to read, this lively book will be enjoyed by students, general readers, and specialists alike.--Frances E. Lee, Princeton University

About the Author

Matthew N. Beckmann is a professor of political science at UC Irvine.