Reflection Paper. What is a Successful Presidency?

Reflection on Successful Presidency
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During political campaigns, presidential candidates are keen on communicating their developmental agenda to the potential voters in the best way possible. However, a majority of the successful candidates fail to accomplish the intended agenda within the promised period. As tradition has it, the success of presidents is evaluated in the first hundred days in office. In the United States, the 100 days mark was introduced during Franklin Roosevelt’s era. The president was granted power during economic hardship in the country. When he took over the presidency, financial institutions were failing and the consumers’ purchasing power was dropping by the days. In effort to contain the situation, he promised to transform the economy within the first 100 days in office. True to his words, he persuaded the Congress to pass reform bills that prevented the failure of financial institutions and promoted social welfare in the country. All this was achieved in 100 days. However, other presidents that succeeded him have not been able to achieve much in 100 days. Roosevelt achieved many milestones within the period mainly because of the economic situation in the country. Political analysts argue that 100 days is too short a time to evaluate a president’s success. In effort to fight demagoguery in presidency, it is crucial to understand the various aspects that determine successful presidency.[Kelly, "Why Do We Care about a President's 100-day Mark?" April 26, 2017. /usa/why-do-we-care-about-presidents-100-day-mark.]
A successful presidency is associated with implementation of public policies that impact the society. In the past, presidential candidates have been known to make promises about implementing favorable public policies during the political campaigns, but they rarely deliver on their promises. During the 1992 campaign, Bill Clinton was always quick to address issues of public policies during his campaign meetings. His eloquence and perfect understanding of public policies was admirable, but he did not meet most of the promises he made to the people. His is a case of failure in presidency. Political analysts argue that the failure to the articulate priorities in public policy is a common barrier to success in presidency. Political analysts argue that Clinton lacked a clear plan on important matters such as foreign policy. During his terms, he was clear about the United States’ intention to attract investments and exports. However, other aspects of the foreign policy were ambiguous, and one could not understand the priorities. Clinton’s presidency can be likened to Jimmy Carter’s. Both presidents were popular for making promises about public policy during the campaigns but failed to implement some of them as promised. Carter lacked clear strategies to implement public policies and this contributed greatly to the failure of his presidency. Presidents like Clinton and Carter are aware of public policy issues including unemployment and high cost of living, but lack a strategy to implement policies that could address the issues.[Henderson, "Clinton, Carter, and the Policy Wonk Presidency", Perspectives on Political Science&nbs...