Presidential and Congressional Agenda Setting Presidential and Congressional Agenda Setting

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One of the most influential sources of political power in a country is obtained by influencing policy agendas (Wood and Peake, 1998). Acquiring a status in the congressional agenda is viewed as a necessary overture in the process of agenda setting. Political power is attained by the president if his proposals are included in agenda setting. This is a popular strategy because these are the issues that receive a lot of attention from lawmaker. Therefore, at the centre of presidents’ political strategies, for raising support for their legislative proposals, is by obtaining compelling status in the congressional agenda. Contradictory issues that arise in the scholars work on the presidential-congressional relationships is the contrasting opinions that the influence of the president on the final vote in the legislative process is marginal (Bond and Fleisher, 1990), and their consensus with other scholars’ literature work, on the influence of the president in setting the agenda of the congress. If the conclusions are right, the forces that influence congress’s decisions concerning its agenda are in contrast with those that influence decisions on the final stages of the legislative process. During the legislative process, some of the most significant influences on the congressional agenda setting process are leadership skills, party popularity, public support and ideological positions (Bond and Fleisher, 1990). Some of these factors are generally beyond the control of the president, especially in the short run. The legislative skill the president possesses has little substantial influence at this decisive consideration stage of legislation. However, the kind of leadership the president offers has considerable relevance to the overall legislative process. The leadership hustles that arises in the agenda stage of legislation are considerably less in the agenda stage of

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