Public Perceptions of America’s Executives: The President and Two Very Different Governors

Abstract

The United States is unique in the large number of executive political positions elected by voters. The most well known of these executives, the president, is clearly a powerful position with worldwide recognition. Among Americans, at least, the president is perceived as the “most powerful person in the world” and is evaluated based on the seemingly limitless array of domestic and world events that he is expected to respond to or prevent. Americans expect presidents to confront a wide range of potential problems, and wield almost limitless power in doing so. Accordingly, almost every American can name the president and has some familiarity with him (Delli Carpini and Keeter 1997).

I would like to acknowledge the guidance of both David Redlawsk and Rick Lau, without whom the data used here would never have been collected, and without which this research project would never have left the ground. Also, I would like to thank Ruth Mandel and John Weingart, whose dedication to the study of governors and state politics more generally has made this volume possible. They have injected a level of energy into this field that will bear fruit for years to come.