The Psychological Assessment of Presidential Candidates / / Stanley A Renshon.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter New York University Press Archive eBook-Package Pre-2000
• VerfasserIn: Renshon, Stanley A,
• MitwirkendeR: George, Alexander L.,
• Place / Publishing House: New York, NY : : New York University Press, , [1996]; ©1996
• Year of Publication: 1996
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource
• Other title: Frontmatter --; Contents --; Forewo --; Acknowledgments --; Prologue --; Introduction: Frameworks of Analysis --; PART I The Concept of Psychological Suitability --; ONE The Psychological Suitability of Presidents in an Era of Doubt --; TWO Assessing the Psychological Suitability of Presidential Candidates: Ethical and Theoretical Dilemmas --; PART II Assessing the Psychological Health of Presidential Candidates --; THREE Psychological Health and Presidential Performance: A Foundation for the Assessment of Psychological Suitability --; FOUR Is the Psychological Impairment of Presidents Still a Relevant Concern? --; FIVE Assessment at a Distance: A Cautionary Case Study of the 1964 Presidential Campaign --; SIX Psychological Health in the 19j2 Presidential Election: The Case of Thomas F. Eagleton --; PART III Character and Presidential Performance: T h e o r y and Assessment --; SEVEN Toward a Framework for Analyzing Presidential Performance: Some Observations on a Theory of Character --; EIGHT Toward a Theory of Character and Presidential Performance --; NINE Character and Judgment in the 1988 Presidential Campaign: A Case Study of Gary Hart --; TEN Bill Clinton as a Presidential Candidate: What Did the Public Learn? --; ELEVEN William J. Clinton as President: Some Implications of Character for Presidential Performance --; PART IV Assessing Psychological Suitability: T h e R o l e of the Press and Presidential Campaigns --; TWELVE The Private Lives of Public Officials: Observations, Dilemmas, and Guidelines --; THIRTEEN Election Campaigns as a Tool for Assessing the Psychological Suitability of Presidential Candidates --; PART V Assessing Psychological Suitability: Some Applications --; FOURTEEN Asking the Right Questions of Presidential Candidates: Some Suggestions and Guidelines --; FIFTEEN Conclusion: The Good Enough President --; APPENDIX 1 Some Observations on Method: Cases, Data, and Analysis --; APPENDIX 2 A Model of Character: Dynamics, Development, and Implications for Presidential Performance --; APPENDIX 3 Preparing Political Leaders for Power: A Supplement to Assessing Psychological Suitability --; Notes --; Bibliography --; Subject Index --; Name Index
• Format: Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
• ISBN: 9780814776636; 9783110716924
• DOI: 10.18574/nyu/9780814776636.001.0001
• Access: restricted access
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: Stanley A Renshon.

Debate on public issues--and where candidates stand on them-- have traditionally represented the focal point of presidential campaigns. In recent decades, however, rather than asking where candidates stand on the issues, the public increasingly wants to know who they are. The issue of character has thus come to dominate presidential elections. While there is increasing public awareness that the psychology, judgment, and leadership qualities of presidential candidates count, the basis on which these judgments should made remains unclear. Does it matter that Gary Hart changed his name or had an affair? Should Ed Muskie's loss of composure while defending his wife during a campaign speech, or Thomas Eagleton's hospitalization for depression, have counted against them? Looking back over the past 25 years, Stanley Renshon, a political scientist and psychoanalyst, provides the first comprehensive accounting of how character has become an increasingly important issue in a presidential campaign. He traces two related but distinctive approaches to the issue of presidential character and psychology. The first concerns the mental health of our candidates and presidents. Are they emotionally and personally stable? Is their temperament suitable for the presidency? The second concerns character. Is the candidate honest? Does he possess the necessary judgment and motivation to deal with the tremendous responsibilities and pressures of the office? Drawing on his clinical and political science training, Renshon has devised a theory which will allow the public to better evaluate presidential candidates. Why are honesty, integrity, and personal ideals so important in judging candidates? Is personal and political ambition necessarily a bad trait? Do extra-marital affairs really matter? Finally, and most importantly, how can the public tell whether a candidate's leadership will be enhanced or impeded by aspects of his personality?With this sweeping volume, Stanley Renshon has provided us with the most comprehensive account to date of how the public judges, and should judge, our future presidents.