Two papers by political science faculty appear in the March 2012 (vol. 42, no. 1) issue of the prestigious journal, Presidential Studies Quarterly.  Each one deals with a different aspect of the role of the President in setting and implementing U.S. economic policy.

John T. Woolley's article is entitled, "Persistent Leadership: Presidents and the Evolution of U.S. Financial Reform 1970-2007."  He first discusses how presidents can be active in promoting economic policy reform.  He then demonstrates that a consistent set of objectives toward specific reform, namely economic deregulation, were pursued across stated agenda and party differences by all presidents during this time period.

M. Stephen Weatherford's article is entitled, "The Wages of Competence: Obama, the Economy, and the 2010 Midterm Elections."  He evaluates the success or failure of Obama's economic policies during the first years of his term in conjunction wtih the rejection of his party by the electorate in the 2010 midterm election.  He then discusses whether the the voters' rejection of the party was the result of unsuccessful presidential policies or the result of the opposition's attempt to limit his accomplishments and frame the public's interpretation of the problem.