| Abstract |
"Donald Trump's consistently and historically low approval ratings have provoked much discussion about why the US electorate finds him so polarizing. Moreover, his tenure lays bare the deep divisions in public opinion on federal policy. In striking contrast sits Franklin Roosevelt, the first president to be covered by public opinion polls. Roosevelt's average approval ratings surpassed those of every subsequent sitting president (with the exception of John Kennedy) and increased with time, a very rare achievement. Even US involvement in war did nothing to diminish his popularity. In fact, as this book argues, FDR's wartime policy and the broad public support for it was decisive in his third term run and win - even more important than the passage of the New Deal. As such, the FDR experience defies major paradigms of presidential politics. Yet Roosevelt has been ignored relatively by scholars of public opinion. What can FDR's experience teach us and his successors about rousing broad public support, particularly during wartime? What light does his success shed on the failures of Presidents Truman, Johnson, and George W. Bush in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq? On key issues, mainly with foreign policy but also domestic, FDR had to contend with an American public that opposed his plans at the outset. Helmut Norpoth argues that Roosevelt had an unparalleled ability for leadership that enabled him to move the public to embrace his policies. In this book he takes an in-depth look at how FDR's leadership swayed public opinion, comparing his experience to his successors to draw broad conclusions about what makes for successful presidential politics"-- Provided by publisher. |
