This edited collection explores ways to better understand the rhetorical workings of political executives, especially the United States president. Scholars of the presidency, rhetorical theorists and critics, and various authors examine the ways in which presidents use the institution, the media, and popular culture to instantiate, expand, and wield executive power.

Stephen J. Heidt earned his PhD at Georgia State University in Rhetoric and Politics. His work focuses on the intersections between the presidency and American foreign policy. He has published in Rhetoric & Public Affairs, Southern Communication Journal, and several edited volumes. Mary E. Stuckey is Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences at Penn State University. She is the recipient of the National Communication Associations Distinguished Scholar Award. Her books have won the Roderick P. Hart Outstanding Book Award, the Marie Hochmuth Nichols Award, and the Bruce E. Gronbeck Political Communication Award.