Factors Affecting Presidential Leadership Essay

Factors Affecting Presidential Leadership - Essay Example Presidential leadership can be affected by the personal capacity of the individual for leadership (Patterson 338). This is especially the case where the nation is facing a crisis and it needs the leadership of the president to see it through. The personal leadership capacity of a president often proves to be a decisive factor in the exercise of executive power because it determines whether or not his leadership is a success. The current expectation of presidential leadership in the United State is for the president to be very assertive in his actions because it can be considered to be a show of strength. This was especially the case where after the 9/11 attacks, President George Bush took the decisive action to launch the war on terror and go after al Qaeda by invading Afghanistan (Patterson 342). Therefore, the exercise of presidential power can be considered to rely heavily on the president’s personal leadership as well as how he conducts himself in diverse situations that a rise.National and international conditions have a significant effect on presidential leadership (Patterson 361). This is especially the case considering that the United States has become the most powerful country in the world and that it has to show leadership in order to not only serve its own national interests, but also those of its allies. In times of crises, both national and international, the president of the United States is often expected to display leadership and to chart the way towards finding a solution.