Divided Government and Democratic Presidents: Truman and Clinton Compared

Abstract

This article compares the experiences of President Truman in the 80th Congress and President Clinton in the 104th Congress. The impact of divided government is measured by examining presidential involvement on significant legislation in the two periods, presidential floor success rates, and congressional support for the president on domestic policy and veto override attempts. The article concludes that innovative legislation in both periods was largely congressionally driven, while voting alignments in Congress ultimately affected each president's ability to control policy outcomes through the use of the veto. Regional fragmentation in the Democratic Party and Republican unity combined to undercut Truman's ability to marshal strong support on his legislative stands or on veto override attempts, contributing to a series of successful anti–New Deal measures. Democratic Party cohesion in the 104th Congress allowed Clinton to ward off veto override attempts and stifle much of the Republican agenda outlined in the Contract with America.

Models of Vetoes and Veto Bargaining

“…More recent examples not referenced there include additional studies of veto probabilities for individual bills (Gilmour 2002, Sinclair 2002, veto threats , Deen & Arnold 2002, Jarvis 2002, Marshal 2003, and override politics (Conley 2000(Conley , 2003Manning 2003;Whittaker 2003;Wilkins & Young 2002). Comparative politics scholars increasingly draw on veto models to interpret case study materials from a variety of countries (see, e.g., Lehoucq & Molina 2002, Remington 2001.…”