The Credible Executive

The recent riots in Hungary apparently occurred because the prime minister admitted that he (as well as other members of the governing elite) lied to the public about the health of the economy.  It is an odd feature of public life that everyone seems to think that politicians lie and yet are surprised when their lies are exposed (e.g., Clinton).  Extreme suspicion about the president’s truthfulness can undermine his ability to act, and even the super-powerful American presidency can be undermined by public distrust as virtually every recent president has experienced (Johnson, Nixon, Reagan and Iran-Contra, Bush I and “no new taxes,” Clinton, Bush II and WMD).  Is there any way for the president to enhance his credibility so that the public will support his policies and enable him to get things done?  In this paper, Adrian Vermeule and I discuss some mechanisms.  The abstract is below.

Comments

[Kimball Corson]

I got no further than the title . . ., but where is there such an Executive? Not in D.C. surely.

[Bob]

Maybe they could try disclosure? Secrecy tends to make me distrust. So does lying and Bush lost his credibility with me when we discovered that he lied about having prisons overseas. There was no reason for him to lie about these prisons, except to protect his administration. These prisons are not required for the safety of the USA. They were created simply so that we could immorally torture suspects without breaking constitutional laws which he feels are only for people physically in the USA. Maybe he can take Americans (or anyone else living in the USA) from their homes, send them to one of these prisons, and torture them? Look, he ordered the prisons to be created. He ordered suspectes to be tortured. I can no longer trust him.

[David]

Bob-- Can you tell me the last issue you trusted President Bush on? Any issue?

[ajtall]

Hey Kimball,

How many countless hours have you spent typing messages on this board. Look on the left of your screen where it says "Recent Comments". Over 50% are from you. I don't think you can be an attorney with billable hours spending all day writing comments. Do you have a tenured government job with no research and a light teaching load? Do you have a life?

AJ

[Bob]

David,

Jackson - on being against the central bankers.

But the most trustworthy president is Washington -for turning down the opportunity to be King.

Although Jefferson was pretty great too.

LOL

[Draft Sachs]

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[Bob]

David,

Sorry, I thought you asked what was the last president I trusted. The last issue on which I trusted Pres. Bush was his first campaign promise to reduce the size of government, and with that, reduce government spending. He's done neither.

[David]

Bob--

I agree that he sure didn't do either of those two things. I think that 9/11 and the result more or less hijacked his presidency. That's not an excuse for him, but a desciption of what I think happened.

[David]

Bob--

P.S. Washington, Jefferson and Jackson were before my time, so I can't say I trusted or didn't trust them.

[LAK]

AJ, Kimball lives on a boat in the tropics. What do you care how much he posts? Methinks the one without the life might be you for caring so much about how Kimabll spends his time. Better this than TV.

[Bob]

David,

Ordinarily, I only trust people with whom I have become personally aquainted, as I find it difficult to trust people I have never met. On the other hand, there is so much written about all presidents that allows me to form an opinion of each of them. Perhaps some presidents were before your time, that doesn't mean you can't "get to know them" through history books, their persoanl writings, and news media of their time. Do you personally know all of the men that were presidents during your lifetime? How do you get to know these men? Perhaps the same way you would get to know the men before you were born if you were to try?