Presidential promises, empty actions. From border walls to climate change, presidents vow to solve America's biggest problems, but deliver little. Is the most powerful thing a president can do actually doing nothing at all?

Join CLEAR’s Dr. William Resh in conversation with Dr. Kenneth Lowande  (University of Michigan) as he discusses his forthcoming book False Front: The Failed Promise of Presidential Power in a Polarized Age (October 2024).

Dr. Kenneth Lowande reveals that the U.S. political system isn’t designed for presidents to solve big problems—it's set up for symbolic gestures. In False Front, he argues that empty executive actions, while politically strategic, ultimately weaken effective governance and erode public trust. The real power of the presidency, Lowande shows, lies in what presidents can get away with not doing.

Join us in RGL 100 at 10 AM on Friday, September 20th, 2024.