Combining game theory with unprecedented data, this book analyzes how divided party Presidents use threats and vetoes to wrest policy concessions from a hostile congress.

"While veto threats have a long history, presidents have come to be more reliant on this bargaining tool in the last few decades. Veto Rhetoric therefore serves as a nice companion to Sam Kernell′s classic study, Going Public, which documented a similar trend with regards to presidential public appeals. Kernell′s current study will no doubt once again lead presidential scholars to rethink how they understand and conceptualizing presidential-congressional relations." - Joel Sievert, Texas Tech University In Veto Rhetoric, Samuel Kernell offers a fresh, more sanguine perspective to understanding national policy making in this era of divided government. Contrary to the standard "separation of powers" representation of the veto which deals presidents a weak "take it or leave it" hand, Kernell shows that veto rhetoric forces Congress to pay careful heed of the president’s objections early in deliberations as legislation is forming. Moreover, the book introduces original statistical analysis to test the argument and extends previously reported analyses to include the Biden presidency. Veto Rhetoric will change the way students of Congress and the presidency assess their respective roles in making national policy.

The book outlines legal limits to the veto power of UN Security Council permanent members while atrocity crimes are occurring.

The presidential veto is one of the U.S. president's chief domestic powers and effectively grants the president the power to be the third house of Congress. Although the veto is qualified rather than absolute, even when Congress overrides a veto, members of Congress might modify proposals to meet the president's wishes. Often the mere threat of a veto also influences such legislation. At other times, presidential veto threats encourage members of the party in opposition to the president to propose bills that will further highlight such differences for political reasons. In encyclopedic form, this book provides entries on: how each U.S. president has exercised this power; on each of the major areas policy in which U.S. presidents have exercised the veto; on leading theorists and designers of the veto power; on leading debates about the exercise of this power; on Supreme Court decisions that have discussed the process; on proposed changes to the process; and on political aspects of the process. Each entry includes cross-references and bibliographic references, and the book includes a glossary and an index. This book will be an indispensable aid to students of the U.S. Presidency at a time when the president and congress are often at loggerheads on both constitutional matters and policy issues.--Publisher.

This is the first modern study of the veto. In addition to tracing the genesis and historical evolution from Ancient Rome, through the ultimate inclusion in the Constitution, it also explores the veto's consequences for modern presidents. In doing so, Spitzer promotes a key argument about the relation between the veto power and the Presidency — namely, that the rise of the veto power, beginning with the first Chief Executive, is symptomatic of the rise of the strong modern Presidency, and has in fact been a major tool of Presidency-building. A special and revealing irony of the veto power is seen in the finding that, despite its monarchical roots and anti-majoritarian nature, the veto has become a key vehicle for presidents to appeal directly to, and on behalf of, the people. Thus, the veto's utility for presidents arises not only as a power to use against Congress, but also as a symbolic, plebiscitary tool.

This is the first modern study of the veto. In addition to tracing the genesis and historical evolution from Ancient Rome, through the ultimate inclusion in the Constitution, it also explores the veto’s consequences for modern presidents. In doing so, Spitzer promotes a key argument about the relation between the veto power and the Presidency — namely, that the rise of the veto power, beginning with the first Chief Executive, is symptomatic of the rise of the strong modern Presidency, and has in fact been a major tool of Presidency-building. A special and revealing irony of the veto power is seen in the finding that, despite its monarchical roots and anti-majoritarian nature, the veto has become a key vehicle for presidents to appeal directly to, and on behalf of, the people. Thus, the veto’s utility for presidents arises not only as a power to use against Congress, but also as a symbolic, plebiscitary tool.