Presented at the Southern Political Science Association Conference
The expanded role of the vice presidency has been studied extensively, but its use as a lens to understand the presidency itself has been less frequent. For the past four decades, “outsider” presidents with little experience holding office in Washington, DC have dominated the presidency. Over that same period, the role of the vice presidents, who have been Washington insiders, has expanded dramatically. Examining instances of vice-presidential influence could shed important light on the nature of “insider” knowledge and on the kinds of skills and information presidents need to make and implement decisions.