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This purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the presidential styles of management between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and President William Clinton. Particular emphasis will be on domestic and foreign policy, and effectiveness of their presidential administration. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected four times as President of the United States of American between 1933 through 1945. William Clinton was elected twice as President of the United States of American between 1993 through 2001. Both Presidents share many similar standpoints on foreign policy because of international conflict that took place during their administration.
President Roosevelt made many crucial decisions with regards to World War II and the Great Depression, as well as President Clinton with the crisis in Somalia, Serbia, Kosovo and the collapse of the Soviet Union with uncertainties of the post-Cold War. Also, differentiating domestic affairs of President Franklin D. Roosevelt with the New Deal Plan, economic recovery, American agriculture, job relief and President Bill Clinton with focus on the economy, the runway deficit, unemployment, health care crisis and welfare reform (Baliles,1).
Since there was a different time period where both Presidents took office, the presidential styles of management were also different. United States presidents since Ronald Reagan like Bill Clinton, developed a “standard model” of staff structure to aid the president with information to make important policy decisions and report information. With the formalistic approach, there is a distinct division of labor among administration staff members, identified procedures to be implemented, and careful information that is given to the President.
During President Roosevelt’s term, there was a competitive pattern which supported different opinions and standpoints among advisers of the president. Nevertheless, the president will make the final judgment to himself, regardless of the disagreements advisers may claim. President Roosevelt’s presidential style promoted a collegial system which stress group problem solving, and common accountability for outcomes, having the president engaged in the procedure to ultimately decide the appropriate choice.
President Clinton appeared to acquire a similar collegial style as Roosevelt, but then shifted towards a more disciplined collegial pattern. These formalistic presidential management styles put more demands on the president with time and knowledge. These duties acquire a lot of time for the president, which may result having experts and administration staff deal with management tasks. Also, since the formal method is usually done in written form, it is less suitable for the president who favors collective decision making with collective interaction, group conflicts and discussion (Maltese, 170-171).
Although the collegial style place strong demands, it is essential for the president to administer the policy making process to decide on a substantive wise conclusion. The appointed advisers of the president must express and persuade their knowledge and experience towards the president. Alas, succeeding in influencing the president’s decision may come at the expense of a particular outcome. President Franklin Roosevelt’s presidential management style utilized a cooperate advisory approach, which often is referred as a “spokes-in-a-wheel” system, having the president as the center piece with his advisers and experts surrounding him.
This system promotes conflict and argument of administrating policy which President Roosevelt implemented. (Maltese, 170-171) One aspect which President Roosevelt and President Clinton share is their personality trait, referring political scientist James David Barber. He studied psychological characteristics of presidential candidates and how their life experiences explain why political figures behave as they do. Barber’s research also attempts to predict and establish a pattern of how a presidential candidate will fulfill their goals.
The major analytical concept is character, which is acquired during childhood experiences and is expressed through two analytical measurements: energy and affect. “Presidents may be active or passive in terms of the effort invested in their jobs; they also may be positive or negative about their positions (Maltese, 164). In regards with President Bill Clinton and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, James Barber identifies them as an “Active-positive”. Active-positives display personal growth and stability, which they take pleasure in their job and the challenges they face with power productivity to pursue their objectives.
Also, they pragmatic political figures that possess flexibility in their pursuit of achieving their goals and are willing to alter or abolishing their goals rather than experience severe consequences (Maltese, 164). President Franklin D. Roosevelt and President William Clinton had similar and contrasting viewpoints on domestic policy. Both presidents took office which there was an economic struggle and unemployment was low. Also, the unemployment rate was declining, business’s were going bankrupt and an international crisis they had to deal with to maintain free trade.
President Roosevelt had the more severe circumstances with the Great Depression that occurred because of the Stock Market crash in 1929, and fighting a two front in World War II. When President Roosevelt took office, the unemployment rate was 25 %, which is historically the worst depression in history. He then established the New Deal Plan to create jobs and pump money back into the market to regain the economy. Like President Clinton, President Roosevelt was very optimistic of his goals. Lifting the United States out of the Great Depression was not an asy task, but he possessed experienced experts and advisors that were knowledgeable which provided him with numerous options to pursue his solution. (Balilies,1). As soon as the economy deteriorated, President Roosevelt persuaded Congress to formulate numerous bills to design the end to the economic crisis. This time period was known as the “Hundred Days” which he also desired to build partnerships between businesses and government to save the economy. Balancing the federal budget was one specific goal Roosevelt and Clinton achieved during their presidential career.
Industrial production fell 33 % in the fall of 1937, which the national income level dropped 12 % and roughly four million people lost their jobs. In President Clinton’s term, the national deficit was $ 230 billion in 1992, and lowered to $ 203 billion in 1994. However, President Clinton’s economic plan to possess a national surplus was a success. With heavy taxing, primary upper class citizens, the economy reached a economic surplus in 1999 of $ 129 billion. This causes a low inflation rate and unemployment rate and a steady economic growth.
In retrospective, President Roosevelt asked Congress for $5 billion dollars to help save the economy which it eventually recover (Baliles,1). Although the economy thrived though the Clinton administration, the first two years Bill Clinton was elected president were unorganized and frantic. The Development of health care reform, and Health and Human services did not take any initiative to develop new policy, and rarely held conferences. President Clinton did have high intelligent cabinet members, and had a strong interest in domestic policy.
However, his advisors and himself would frequently interchange policy alternatives, which led to failure of being the “ringmaster” of domestic policy. (Maltese, 357). Clinton had a number of government shutdowns which hurt and helped his domestic policy beginning in January 1996, through the Monika Lewinsky scandal in January 1998. Although the scandal led to President Clinton’s impeachment, there was significant collaboration of the Clinton administration and the Republican majority in the United States Congress.
There were various bills passed by Congress that helped middle class citizens including welfare reform. As President Bill Clinton learned to cooperate with the Republican majority Congress, and his administration, he developed a technique of “triangulation” which he perfected his capabilities of possessing a well established domestic policy as President of the United States (Maltese, 358). President Franklin Roosevelt also acquired similar conflicts with Congress and the Supreme Court of the United States. Many disagreements were with particular aspects of Roosevelt’s New Deal Proposal.
Such disagreements include the falling captive of American business interests, aiding the working class, and the elderly and it is unconstitutional for Congress to delegate powers to the Executive branch and the interference of intra-state commerce. President Roosevelt was knowledgeable of the law and that most of the New Deal Plan violated the United States Constitution, but since the Great Depression and World War II was a dramatic devastation, as President of the United States it was essential to find a solution. As a result, the New Deal was a slow process but eventually a success.
However, there were many weaknesses which President Roosevelt did not consider. “The Social Security Act financed its programs through deductions from workers paychecks, which actually stunted economic growth by muting consumer purchasing power which programs and benefits of the Social Security Act were not distributed evenly among all Americans (Baliles,1)”. Also, there were life insurance issues that agricultural workers and domestic servants were not eligible for. In essence, both President Clinton and President Roosevelt faced extreme hardships, especially in economic erms, but lacked stability early in their presidency with their administration and coincide with Congress. President William Clinton and President Franklin D. Roosevelt also possess similarities and differences with their presidential styles of management on foreign policy. Under both administrations, the number of treaties and international agreements among nations were significantly high. In regards to World War II, President Roosevelt was involved in many international agreements to redefine borders, peace treaties, and the halt of military forces with the axis powers.
Also, President Clinton was involved in many international settlements such as Russia removing troops from the Baltic Republics of Estonia and Latvia in 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993, and modifications with General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1994 (Baliles,1). The reason why presidents utilize treaties is because they are obliged by “domestic political considerations” to give the Senate various international contracts for approval. In addition, if the Senate approves the specific international agreement, it is appeared to be legitimate towards nations.
Nevertheless, modern presidents such as President Bill Clinton and President Franklin D. Roosevelt have implemented executive agreements realizing the Congress is improbably to be in support of a treaty. For example, President Franklin Roosevelt replaced fifty destroyer ships for “ninety-nine-year leases on bases in British possessions in the Western Hemisphere” (Maltese, 429). This was an executive branch decision which Congress did not authorize. Gaining the support of Congress can be difficult, especially if the majority of Congress is not in favor.
However, during the Clinton administration, the North America Free Trade Agreement and the General Agreements of Tariffs and Trade allowed Congress to dispute whether legislation was legitimate (Bill Clinton, 3). “Clinton needed the support of congressional Republicans because a majority of Democrats-fearing negative consequences for United States jobs-opposed both bills” (Maltese, 429). President Bill Clinton and President Franklin D. Roosevelt possessed many different foreign policy initiatives.
President Clinton and his advisers established an foreign policy approach referred to as the “doctrine of enlargement”. This doctrine increased the community of market democracies worldwide that supported free trade, peace treaties with international alliances, and the notion of intervening a dispute during a crisis that infringes a citizen’s moral and practical values. Bill Clinton’s played an activist role towards foreign policy and intended to protect citizens civil rights, and basic human needs without discouragement of national security reducing national resources. In Clinton’s mind, the United States must continue its role as the principal leader of the world in promoting human dignity and democracy, with the understanding that it must never act in isolation or overextend its reach (Baliles,1)”. Although President Clinton was not involved in a war concerning many nations combined, as Roosevelt faced with World WAR II. Under Clinton’s administration, he confronted nuclear proliferation, stability in Russia, the rise of China and ethnic violence around the world. He attempted to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of North Korea to promote peace and avoid mass devastation.
Also, Clinton acted upon ethnic nationalism, which he intervened in Bosnia’s civil war, and brokered the Dayton Peace Accords with rival political leaders in Bosnia. Another example of promoting peace, liberty and human rights around the world is in Haiti. President Clinton sent troops to remove its government and reinstall the democratic leader of the country. (Bill Clinton, 4). President Roosevelt’s foreign policy mainly dealt with World War II and directed to the protection of U. S. interest and to the support of promoting democracy. He was very optimistic ith the two front war in Europe and the Pacific possessing a “sense of futurity”. (Schlesinger, 10). However, he sometimes lacked organizational skills which his alliances would become frustrated. Roosevelt would think of various “half-baked ideas” that would confuse his alliances with what he wanted to achieve for a solution of the war. The British thought he possessed a sense of amateurism corresponding with foreign policy. However, this amateurism did have some promising outlooks. Franklin Roosevelt was very creative, confident, and courageous when the American people were cautious and in search for hope (Schlesinger,5).
President Franklin Roosevelt’s greatest success in foreign policy was his “good neighbor policy” with Latin America and Western Hemisphere nations that lowered tariffs. President Herbert Hoover initiated the “good neighbor policy” , but President Roosevelt took action in removing troops from the Caribbean and abrogate the Platt Amendment. The Platt Amendment allowed the United States to intervene Cuba when necessary, although the United States supported the Pan-American Conference resolution that affirmed that no country to infringe upon another country’s internal or foreign affairs (Baliles,1).
In regards to public opinion, President Roosevelt was exceptional. He is perceived to be the most effective molder of public opinion the United States has ever seen. As the nation hit a economic depression, the American people lost confidence in political figures and themselves. However, Roosevelt created the notion of the “positive state” that the federal government held responsible to provide welfare for all the people. President Roosevelt also established “fireside chats” over the radio to express his opinions and accomplishments to the American people.
He created a new era of the presidential press conference that he utilized to persuade public opinion (Maltese, 24-25). President Bill Clinton also had a high approval rating towards public opinion, even after the Monika Lewinsky scandal. Most Americans believed that the scandal was a private matter of President Clinton and had nothing to do with his job as President of the United States. This high approval rating was mainly based on the economic surplus Clinton established.
President Clinton tracked his public opinion and formulated his agenda through extensive polling. He made many decisions based on public opinion, such as vacation locations, which often frustrated opponents by his “ability to cut right or left, depending on prevailing sentiments (Maltese,101)”. Since opinion polling was established, Bill Clinton was the only United States president whose approval rating was higher in his last year in office than his first year (Maltese,102).