The American Presidency under Siege. (Book Reviews).

Gary L. Rose. The American Presidency under Siege. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997. 231 pages. $56.50 hardcover (ISBN 0-7914-3337-4), $19.95 paperback (0-7914-3338-2).

The modern American presidency, Gary L. Rose writes, is "in a state of siege--surrounded, bombarded, and blocked by a multitude of unfriendly forces including special interest groups, lobbyists, PACs, iron triangles, issue networks, a viperous mass media, an oversized federal bureaucracy and a reactionary Congress" (p. xii). Rose explains how and why the presidency came under such heavy fire, citing the frustrations of Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. He concludes by serving up a menu of reform proposals designed to beef up presidential power.

Rose argues that the decline of political parties has …