"Presidency" versus "President"

History and Politics Out Loud is a searchable archive of politically important audio materials, which includes excerpts from presidential speeches and conversations. The site is located at http://www.hpol.org/. Go to History and Politics Out Loud and listen to President John F. Kennedy's reflections on the Cuban Missile Crisis from October 18, 1962. How does this audio recording from President Kennedy illustrate the difference between what many people think of as "the President" and what political scientists and historians often call "the Presidency"?




The President's Many Hats

The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (WCPD), published by the Office of the Federal Register, contains statements, messages, and other Presidential materials released by the White House during the preceding week. Essentially, whenever the president utters words in public or acts in an official capacity, it is recorded and compiled into this publication, which is eventually reprinted as the Public Papers of the President. All of the editions of the WCPD for President Clinton's tenure are maintained on the web by the National Archives and Records Administration at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/index.html. Go to this website and retrieve the tables of contents of the five issues of the WCPD for March 1999. (See the "Search Tips" link on the web page for instructions on how to do this.) How do the activities listed in these tables of contents illustrate the many roles that the president plays, such as a policy leader, political and party leader, and a potential shaper of public opinion?