Editors Richard J. Ellis and Michael Nelson have once again assembled a cadre of top presidential scholars in the new Fourth Edition of Debating the Presidency: Conflicting Perspectives on the American Executive . Each essay offers a compelling yet concise view of topics relevant to the American executive. Ellis and Nelson offer brief chapter introductions that provide context for each debate-resolution style essay to prepare students to read each argument critically and decide which side of the debate they find most persuasive. Contributions are written specifically for this volume, and give students the opportunity to grapple with contemporary pivotal issues through conflicting perspectives facing the modern presidency. Several new arguments are offered in this new edition, including: Executive orders and other unilateral presidential directives undermine democracy Pro: Gene Healy, Con: Andrew Rudalevige; - The vice presidency should be abolished Pro: Douglas L. Kriner, Con: Joel K. Goldstein; and - The new media have brought the president closer to the people. Pro: Matthew R. Kerbel, Con: Jeffrey E. Cohen. "Among the books I use for this course, Debating the Presidency is the students’ favorite...There is no alternative that I have found to be worth substituting." -- Barry L. Tadlock "Richard J. Ellis and Michael Nelson’s edited volume, Debating the Presidency: Conflicting Perspectives on the Presidency , is a tour de force. It mightily enhanced my 2015 course on the executive process. Political science students engaged in spirited arguments over topics as classic as the direct election of the president and as prescient as whether the president has too much power in the selection of judges. Particularly given the plethora of U.S. presidential debates in 2016, such a volume promises to be even more pedagogically powerful in coming years." -- Henry Sirgo "A tried and true teaching tool, provocative topics, and an outstanding group of scholars. Debating the Presidency delivers it all. Discussing critical issues helps people to learn different angles and how to construct winning arguments. This useful supplement is easy to read and useful in the classroom. It contains historical and current events, giving readers a broad range of information about the presidency, American politics, and global affairs." -- Sean Foreman Richard J. Ellis is Mark O. Hatfield Professor of Politics at Willamette University. His books include The Development of the American Presidency (2015; 2nd ed.); Debating Reform: Conflicting Perspectives on How to Fix the American Political System (with Michael Nelson, 3nd ed., 2016); Judging the Boy Scouts of America: Gay Rights, Freedom of Association, and the Dale Case (2014); Judging Executive Power: Sixteen Supreme Court Cases That Have Shaped the American Presidency (2009); and Presidential Travel: The Journey from George Washington to George W. Bush (2008). In 2008 he was named the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Oregon Professor of the Year. Michael Nelson is Fulmer Professor of Political Science at Rhodes College and a senior fellow at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. A former editor of the Washington Monthly, his most recent books include Trump’s First Year (2018); The Elections of 2016 (2018); The Evolving Presidency: Landmark Documents (2019) ; The American Presidency: Origins and Development (with Sidney M. Milkis, 2011); and Governing at Home: The White House and Domestic Policymaking (with Russell B. Riley, 2011). Nelson has contributed to numerous journals, including the Journal of Policy History, Journal of Politics, and Political Science Quarterly. He also has written multiple articles on subjects as varied as baseball, Frank Sinatra, and C. S. Lewis. More than fifty of his articles have been anthologized in works of political science, history, and English composition.  His 2014 book, Resilient America: Electing Nixon, Channeling Dissent, and Dividing Government , won the American Political Science Association’s Richard E. Neustadt Award for best book on the presidency published that year; and his 2006 book with John Lyman Mason, How the South Joined the Gambling Nation, won the Southern Political Science Association’s V.O. Key Award.