Presidency as an Institution

The Presidency as an institution

Both the administration of Carter and Reagan were shaped by the Cold War in the aftermath of Watergate. Watergate created cynicism of the government, which in turn made governing difficult both intentionally as well as improvisational because the institution of the President was seen as acting in the best interest of itself. President Jimmy Carter and President Ronald Reagan both had their difficulties as President. Carter had terrible problems with economics as our country underwent high unemployment as well as many other economic problems. Reagan was one of the unfortunate Presidents that had to deal with assassination attempts. Both Presidents had great accomplishments both foreign and domestic. Carter ran as an anti-Washington establishment candidate. Reagan was elected four years later on a mandate for less government. The Carter and Reagan administrations are the start of an institutional evolution of the Presidency.

Reagan was good at the institutional end of the Presidency because of his belief in limited government and his ability to communicate what many in the country were feeling during the poor economy of the late 1970's. Reagan was able to efficiently adapt to situations by using immediate change to his advantage-surviving an assassination to garner support for his tax plan and understanding the circumstances in the former Soviet Union that, with proper engagement in this "fog" of the Cold War, help bring about the demise of communism as a major power in Europe.

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Reagan's success in changing to adapt to the political terrain, yet staying on his limited core intentions, can be used as a benchmark for change in the institution of the Presidency. With excellent communication skills and intuition for reading the changes inherent in politics, Reagan was able to not only gain support for his plans and reactions, but also become the "Teflon President."

President Jimmy Carter had trouble with the intention of his Presidency because he alienated his own political party, and received little assistance from the Republicans. Carter shunned Speaker of the House Thomas O'Neill offer to advise him on congressional relations. Carter also made fellow Democrats angry when he dropped a controversial tax rebate that he and other Democrats had worked on, right from under their noses.

However,1978 was a successful year for President Carter, he personally negotiated a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. Carter went against his aides advice to stay out of the negotiations between the nations, and decided to put his prestige on the line. He invited Sadat the Prime Minister of Egypt and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to meet with him at Camp David in an effort to reconcile the two nations. Carter helped secure an agreement between the sides and won national as well as world wide praise for helping the sides come together in peace.

This success was near forgotten when in 1979, a mob of Iranian students stormed the American embassy in Tehran, taking ninety hostages. On top of this Muslim fundamentalists seized power in Iran, cutting off oil supply to the United States. This only worsened economics in America, and Carter was blamed for the economic problems

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of the United States. The economy dipped so much that inflation rose to an astronomical figure of 18%. Inflation rates stuck around in double figures for most of the time during the end of the Carter Presidency. High unemployment rates as well as high interest rates were put on the back burner as Carter tried to solve the Iranian hostage crisis as well as the shortage of fuel, which is one of the reasons why the economy spiraled downhill.

As far as improvisational, Carter struggled in dealing with the Iranian Hostage Crisis. No plan was ever developed for the release of the hostages on a diplomatic level. This lead to a disaster of sorts in rescue attempts. Carter ended up never resolving the crisis, and it didn't end until President Reagan took office in 1981, that the crisis ended. Carter also had difficulty with the improvisational part of his administration because he couldn't adapt to changing circumstances like the Iranian hostage crisis situation and dealing with the economy.

Reagan was good at the institutional end of the Presidency because of his belief in limited government and his ability to communicate. He was President when America was under economic hardship. Reagan's Presidential plans were to cut taxes to try and help the lagging economy, as well