The Ubiquitous Presidency and Democratic Possibility
This chapter considers the various implications of the ubiquitous presidency. It first explores the ubiquitous presidency as a research paradigm, making the case for new scholarship that examines how the contexts of the ubiquitous presidency intersect, that considers expanded forms of effects, that brings together different subfields of communication, and that engages with normative questions. The chapter then explores who will hold ubiquitous presidents accountable, focusing on two constitutional (Congress, the judiciary) and three extra-constitutional (networks and platforms, the press, the public) sites of accountability. The chapter concludes by thinking about the president per se. It argues for the enduring importance of presidents in changing times, and considers the fluidity of presidential legacies in this era. Ultimately, a president’s own strength of conscience is crucial in upholding the presidency and the democracy it is meant to serve.