May 17, 2016
Presidential scholar on Obama's trip to Japan, Hiroshima
Bert Rockman, professor emeritus of political science, can talk about the significance of President Barack Obama's upcoming trip to Japan and Hiroshima, as well as the president's final travels and activities during his last year of office.
"All presidents in the modern era tend to get the itch to travel during the last year of their presidencies," says Rockman, who is an expert in political leadership, especially the U.S. presidency. (CONTACT: Bert Rockman, barockma@purdue.edu) "There are several reasons for this including the culmination of long-developing relationships, such as Obama and Cuba; Eisenhower and the Soviet Union, which ultimately did not come off; as well as the presidential bucket list - 'where haven't I been?' - and how can a president remain relevant when attention is focused on the incumbent's successor? Everywhere Air Force One goes is a big deal. There is pomp and pageantry. That beats the grind in Washington where ignoring the president is common during the lame duck year."
There also are significant reasons why this trip to Japan and Hiroshima matters.
"Obama's visit to Hiroshima is to emphasize the durability of the U.S.-Japanese alliance by noting the terrible costs of war," Rockman says. "Japan is currently in a crisis of self-confidence. Its powerful economic engine has stalled, and the Chinese regime has taken strong unilateral moves to claim island territories that its neighbors, including Japan, also claim. The Japanese and Chinese, and also the Vietnamese and Chinese, have clashed over their disputed claims. The Obama administration is concerned about Japan developing nuclear weapons and upgrading the status of its military might, things that they could do virtually overnight."
Rockman is the editor or author of 16 books, including "The George W. Bush Presidency: Appraisals and Prospects," "The Clinton Presidency: First Appraisals," "The Clinton Legacy" and "The Bush Presidency: First Appraisals," as well as "The Oxford Handbook of Political Institutions" and "Presidential Leadership: The Vortex of Power." He also is contributing to and editing a volume on "The Obama Legacy."
Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
Source: Bert Rockman is available via email and can schedule phone interviews: barockma@purdue.edu
Related website:
