At the President's side : the vice presidency in the twentieth century

Resource Information

The work At the President's side : the vice presidency in the twentieth century represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Sydney Jones Library, University of Liverpool. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

At the President's side : the vice presidency in the twentieth century

Title remainder

the vice presidency in the twentieth century

Statement of responsibility

edited by Timothy Walch

Contributor

• Walch, Timothy, 1947-
• Walch, Timothy, 1947-

Subject

• United States -- Politics and government -- 20th century
• Vice-Presidents -- United States -- History -- 20th century

Language

eng

Summary

The essays in this book trace the evolution of the vice presidency in the twentieth century from Theodore Roosevelt to Dan Quayle. The first five chapters tell the stories of a colorful collection of the men chosen because of their native states or their political acumen, but not their leadership abilities. The next four chapters form a mosaic of tragedy. Richard Nixon rose from the vice presidency to the presidency only to be forced from office. Lyndon Johnson's tenure ended unhappily because of the prolonged fighting in Vietnam. Hubert Humphrey was humiliated as vice president by a man who should have known better. And Spiro Agnew was rousted from the office by petty greed. The following four chapters tell the story of a new vice presidency. Nelson Rockefeller, Walter Mondale, George Bush, and Dan Quayle redefined the job that not many people wanted but that few could refuse. In a particularly valuable essay. Quayle reflects on the checkered past of his predecessors, gives credit to Walter Mondale for rehabilitating the vice presidency, and tells of his working relationship with George Bush - offering a unique glimpse of an office that is quickly becoming the second most powerful in the nation. Addressing the future of the office, Richard E. Neustadt provides a detailed analysis of the nucleus of vice presidential power - proximity to the president. To whit, we have Neustadt's maxim: "The power and influence of a vice president is inversely proportional to the political distance between that vice president and his president. The greater the distance the less the power."

Cataloging source

DLC

Government publication

government publication level undetermined

LC call number

JK609.5

LC item number

.A7 1997

Nature of contents

bibliography