Book Reviews : The Presidency: Crisis and Regeneration. An Essay in Possibilities. By HERMAN FINER. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1960. Pp. xi, 374. $5.00.)
| DOI | 10.1177/106591296101400421 |
| Author | Myron Q. Hale |
| Published date | 01 December 1961 |
| Date | 01 December 1961 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
976
standing
of
the
Viet,Minh
regime
and
the
people
which
it
controls.
A
useful
glossary
of
political
terms;
bibliography;
sets
of
photographs,
maps,
and
graphs;
and
an
index
to
persons,
places,
and
organizations
further
strengthen
an
excel-
lent
study.
Goucher
College
BROWNLEE
SANDS
CORRIN
The
Presidency:
Crisis
and
Regeneration.
An
Essay
in
Possibilities.
By
HERMAN
FINER.
(Chicago:
The
University
of
Chicago
Press,
1960.
Pp.
xi,
374.
$5.00.)
The
inadequacy
of
the
Presidency
as
an
institution
is
the
theme
of
Professor
Herman
Finer’s
most
recent
and
thoughtful
contribution.
He
claims
that
separa-
tion
of
powers
has
backfired,
and
has
not
only
contributed
to
the
growth
of
ex-
ecutive
power,
but
has
left
one
man
with
overpowering
tasks
that
are
forced
upon
the
executive
branch.
Following
his
perceptive
analysis
of
the
power
of
the
President
as
well
as
the
necessary
qualities
of
political
leadership,
Finer
alludes
to
the
surrender
of
effi-
ciency
and
responsibility
before
he
makes
his
case
that
the President
needs
rescue.
In
a
sense
he
agrees
with
Edward
A.
Corwin
that
presidential
power
has
been
dangerously
personalized
and
thus
the
crux
of
the
problem
is
the
President’s
sole
responsibility.
The
gamble
on
a
solitary
President
is
too
great
because
the
neces-
sary
qualities
of
political
leadership
&dquo;are
not
reliably
found
in
any one
man;
they
are
qualities
much
more
surely
possessed
by
a
concominium
of
collectively
elected
executive
colleagues.&dquo;
If
the
executive
were
collective,
Cabinet
proposals
would
have
a
greater
chance
of
a
fair
hearing
before
Congress.
To
achieve
the
necessary
modicum
of
co-
operation,
Finer
prescribes
eleven
elective
vice-presidents,
with
the
President
and
his
vice-presidents
organizing
and
sitting
in
the
House,
collective
resignations
at
the
will
of
the
Cabinet
accompanied
by
automatic
dissolution.
The
Senate
would
be
almost
eliminated
from
the
political
process.
Finer
does
not
entirely
agree
with
Richard
E.
Neustadt
that
the
key
is
in
getting
an
expert
of
the
system
into
the
office
of
the
President,
but
rather
that
the
altering
of
the
structure
is
necessary
to
achieve
regeneration.
The
reliance
on a
man
is
the
danger,
and
thus
Finer
suggests
that
&dquo;the
twelve-man
presidential
team
would
include
leaders
of
the
various
main
tendencies
within
each
party
brought
together
in
the
nominating
process
after
experience
in
Congress.&dquo;
His
conclusion
-
that
a
part
of
the
formal
structure
must
be
altered
-
is
based
on
the
belief
that
reliance
on
one
man
ends
with
on-the-job
training
of
Presidents.
He
has
touched
upon
the
central
nodules
of
the
system
in
connecting
the
Presidency,
with
its
centrifugal
and
centripetal
forces,
the
nominating
process
and
the
parties.
But
while
he
is
regenerating
the
Presidency
he
ought
to
include
in
his
analysis
other
equally
important
data,
e.g.,
the
Senate,
federalism,
the
probe
lem
of
party
membership,
the
fact
that
a
career
in
politics
is
almost
impossible
given
our
party
system,
party
programs,
ideology,
etc.,
for
they
ultimately
figure
in
any
proposed
change.
Looking
at
regeneration
on
his
level
forces
the
question:
has
the
parliamentary
system
been
more
able
to
handle
crises
or
less
subject
to
crises?
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