Newswise — Associate Professor Daniel P. Franklin, a Georgia State University political scientist and author of “Pitiful Giants: Presidents in their Final Term” (Palgrave MacMillian, 2014), is available to discuss President Obama’s final State of the Union speech.
Franklin’s research explores political culture, executive powers and the relationships between the presidency and Congress.
His book “Pitiful Giants” explores the approaches U.S. presidents elected to a second term after World War II have taken to executive actions, including Eisenhower, Reagan, Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama, during their final years in power.
Franklin’s contact information is in the contact box above for logged-in, registered Newswise reporters.
In “Pitiful Giants,” he explores relationships with Congress – or the lack thereof – as well as shuffles within administrations and presidential legacies, and how partisan political wrangling can endanger such legacies.
“All presidents would like to preserve their legacy,” Franklin writes. “Because presidents make appointments of federal judges who serve for life and because in our system once a law is passed it is hard to be reversed, presidents can be sure of a certain measure of policy immortality regardless of what they do or how unpopular they are at the end of their administration.
“And, yet, if the president’s party is defeated for reelection,” he continues, “much of the president’s legacy is at risk.”
He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, and a B.A. from the University of California-Los Angeles.
For more about Franklin, including his CV and a list of publications, visit http://politicalscience.gsu.edu/profile/daniel-p-franklin/.
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