The "Two Presidencies" Thesis and the Reagan Administration

Abstract

The major claim of the "Two Presidencies" thesis is that presidents fare better with Congress on foreign policy than on domestic policy. President Reagan (1981-88) received a "two presidencies" voting response from the House and Senate only when his party was a minority. The Republican Senate majority of 1981-86 produced no such effect. When "two presidencies" occurs, the extra support for this conservative president comes predominantly from Southern Democrats in coalition with Republicans on foreign policy but not on domestic policy. The phenomenon continues to exist but signals presidential weakness rather than strength