Author Description

Drawing extensively on papers in the Kennedy and Johnson libraries, this study details the subtle bargaining and communication process between the White House and Congress. Bowles analyzes the political and administrative importance of the Office of Congressional Relations (OCR), which regularly helped Johnson persuade Congress to vote for his bills, and describes how a weakened OCR damaged Johnson in the last years of his presidency. Two additional chapters discuss the politics of congressional relations under the Carter and Reagan administrations.