Governors—both in, and now out of, office—see the job as the best in politics. Why is that? Drawing on a survey of former governors, personal interviews, as well as gubernatorial memoirs and biographies, Rosenthal shows students how and why governors succeed as policy leaders and makes a case as to why some governors are better at leveraging the institutional advantages of the office.

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1. The Job of Governor
What’s So Good About the Job?
What They Want to Achieve
As Governors See It
Policymaking Success
Exploring How and Why Governors Succeed

2. Playing the Hands They Are Dealt
Gubernatorial Powers
Legislative Power
Party Control and Partisan Division
The Structure of State Government
Economic and Fiscal Conditions
Other Conditions and Events

3. What Governors Bring to the Table
Personalities
Experience
Friends
Staff
Orientations
Pragmatism
Adaptability

4. How Governors Put Together Their Policy Agendas
What Is the Governor’s Agenda
Initiatives on the Agenda
The Multiple Sources of Initiatives
How Agendas Are Developed
The Political Calculus at Work
Agendas in a State of Play

5. Laying the Groundwork for Their Initiatives
Gubernatorial Involvement
Relating to Members
Dealing With Legislative Leaders
Building Relationships With Leaders
Imperfect Together

6. Strategies and Tactics of Engagement
The Types of Issues in Play
Building Support and Exerting Pressure on the Legislature
Building Support and Exerting Pressure in the Legislature
Tools of Engagement
Playing Defense

7. Succeeding as Policy Leaders
How Successful Are They
What Makes Them Successful
Having the Upper Hand
Playing the Cards They Are Dealt
Having the Right Stuff
Asking For What They Have a Chance of Getting
Laying the Groundwork
Waging Budget and Policy Campaigns

8. Legacy and Beyond
How They See Their Legacies
How They Are Remembered
What Difference They Made
Will a New Generation of Governors Be Different?

Appendix A: Governors, 1980–2010 
References

“Alan Rosenthal has spent a productive lifetime studying governors, legislatures, and the states, and he shares the fruits of those prodigious labors in this revealing book. Being Governor really is the best job politics has to offer, and Rosenthal shows us why. At a time when the federal government is gridlocked, Governors and the states are finding ways to be productive and innovative.”

“This book’s illuminative anecdotes and entertaining quotes frame a central, convincing argument: that governors occupy a unique space in the American political landscape, free to set their own policy agendas and possessed of enough powers to have a shot at succeeding. Just as he has done in his many works on legislatures, Alan Rosenthal draws on his encyclopedic knowledge and unparalleled access to key lawmakers to show us how governors choose their battles, what weapons they use to fight them, and why they so often win.”

“The foremost observer of comparative state government has set his sights on the governor’s office, and we are all the better for it. Not only is the governor’s office the “best job in politics,” it is certainly one of the most important. Rosenthal has given us the most thorough, insightful, and penetrating book on the office in a generation. His talents for close observation, access to policymakers, and taking the broader view, combined with his consummate skill as a storyteller, make this book both a cracking good read and a major contribution to the study of American politics. Just as his Legislative Life inspired a generation of students of state legislatures, let’s hope The Best Job in Politics initiates a stream of careful scholarship of U.S. state governors.”

- Christopher Mooney, University of Illinois, Springfield

“Alan Rosenthal has done it again—an engaging, highly readable, and rich exploration of the role played by the 50 U.S. state governors! The Best Job in Politics combines a scholar’s insight of partisan and institutional change in the office between 1980 and 2010 with the narratives of the men and women who have served as chief executives. Rosenthal deftly describes the challenges of gubernatorial leadership in a way that many different readers will appreciate.”

“Governors may have the “best job in politics,” but the best job in political science is reading Alan Rosenthal’s books on state politics. Best known for his keen observations about state legislatures, his latest effort focuses on the policymaking role of governors. With his unique blend of survey analysis, political insight, and quotes and anecdotes culled from biographies and his own interviews, Rosenthal weaves another engaging, accessible and realistic study. Damn, I wish I could write like he does!”

I recommend this book most to those who have been governor, are presently serving as governor, or may one day become governor. It reminded me that the challenges we faced in Colorado were not necessarily unique, but were often being addressed by my colleagues across the country. The Best Job in Politics provides an encouraging picture of our democracy and leadership in the States.

Alan Rosenthal is professor of public policy and political science at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. He has written extensively on state legislatures and state politics. His books include: The Third House--Lobbyists and Lobbying in the States (Revised ed. 2001); The Decline of Representative Democracy (1998); Heavy Lifting--The Job of the American Legislature (2004); and Engines of Democracy--Politics and Policymaking in State Legislatures(2009). In recognition of the contribution his published work and career has made to "the art of government through the application of social science research" he was given a lifetime achievement award by the American Political Science Association.

Rosenthal has worked with legislatures across the country. In 2006 he was given an award for lifetime achievement from NCSL and SLLF. In his home state, New Jersey, he chaired the Ad Hoc Commission on Legislative Ethics and Campaign Finance. In 1992 and 2001 he was selected to chair the New Jersey Congressional Redistricting Commission and in 2011 he was chosen to serve as the eleventh member of the State Legislative Apportionment Commission. He also has chaired the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards, a committee of the New Jersey Legislature. In 1993 he received the Governor's award for Public Service in New Jersey.