Article
City
Washington, DC
Publication Date
March 2014
Journal/Book Title/Conference
In Debating the Presidency: Conflicting Perspectives on the American Executive, 3rd ed.
Abstract
Since emerging as a right-wing talking point during President Barack Obama’s first year in office, presidential czars have received widespread attention from scholars, pundits, members of Congress, and—after much resistance—the White House itself. Much of what has been written about czars suffers from partisan bias and misinformation. In this essay, we argue that the concern about czars is largely misplaced. First, we examine the lack of conceptual clarity that characterizes most work on czars. Second, we provide data that show that much of the debate about czars is mere rhetoric, the culmination of a decades-long, careless embrace of the term by the mass media. Finally, we turn to the question of the constitutionality of czars.
Editor
Richard J. Ellis and Michael Nelson
Publisher
CQ Press
Publisher Statement
Copyright belongs to Congressional Quarterly Press.