Bargaining and Persuasion
Bargaining and persuasion describe how presidents get things done when they cannot simply give orders. Political scientist Richard Neustadt argued that presidential power is “the power to persuade”: presidents trade favors, negotiate with members of Congress, lean on party leaders, and appeal to the public to build support for their agenda.
CLEP American Government, Chapter 11
Bargaining and persuasion
Separated institutions force presidents to bargain. Legislators control votes and chamber procedures; agencies hold expertise and implementation capacity; states and private actors may control cooperation needed for success. The presidency offers resources-agenda attention, information, appointments, campaign help, access, and the possibility of a veto-but those resources matter only when another actor values them. Persuasion is therefore relational, not a personal power to command agreement.
A president may trade policy concessions, adjust timing, promise to sign a compromise, help a member on another issue, or threaten a veto. Credibility is essential. A threat no one expects the president to carry out creates little use, while a narrow congressional margin can make one concession valuable. Members also answer to their own voters and parties, so national popularity may not move a important legislator whose constituency opposes the president.
Suppose a senator supports infrastructure spending but objects to a labor provision. The president may accept narrower language, offer support for a separate state project, or mobilize public pressure. None of those actions changes the senator's legal freedom to vote no. If a compromise wins passage, the causal mechanism is coalition building, not a unilateral presidential decree.
Public appeals and private bargaining are related but different. Going public changes attention and electoral pressure; private negotiation changes the terms of exchange. Both can fail or backfire. On an exam, identify the target, the resource offered, and the behavior that must change. Do not infer successful persuasion from speeches or meetings alone.
Video lesson: Presidential Power: Crash Course Government and Politics #11
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