What Makes a Leader?

Presidential Styles Judged

By Casey Hynes
Roll Call Staff

Oct. 20, 2009, 12 a.m.

What defines a presidency? Is it circumstance — the state of world affairs or the domestic situation left behind by the previous commander in chief? The present administration has made reference to the economic and diplomatic messes left by George W. Bush, possibly as a buffer to criticism that President Barack Obama isn’t doing enough or hasn’t made good on certain promises. But if Princeton professor Fred I. Greenstein is correct, the success or failure of the Obama presidency will rest more on the man himself than on the current point in history.

Schumer Advocates for Many on Panel

Nov. 16, 12 a.m.

As Senate Majority Leader, Lyndon Johnson once said of the Joint Economic Committee, “It’s as useless as tits on a bull.” But as that panel’s chairman during the 110th Congress, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) seized the opportunity to elevate the traditionally low-profile post to the forefront of shaping policy. Read Full Article