While many criticize the Bush administration and its followers and allies for an over-expansive vision of executive power, Nelson (English and American studies, Vanderbilt U.) argues that there has been a deep tradition of expanding presidential power that began in the age of George Washington. It is a result of the American citizenry's tendency to look to the sitting president as simultaneously a unifier of the citizenry and a protector from political threats. This "presidentialism" gives rise to antidemocratic tendencies that mislead us at those times when there are legitimate and pressing questions about the democratic ethics of presidential power or about the devaluation of citizen power within the government. She analyzes the course of "presidentialism" from Washington to Reagan, including the accumulation of war powers within the executive and the introduction of "unitary executive" powers in the Reagan era (later enthusiastically exercised by George W. Bush). This work was first published in hardback in 2008. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)