Ronald L. Feinman

Ronald L. Feinman received his Ph.D. from the City University of New York Graduate School in 1975. His dissertation advisor was Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Dr. Feinman is the author of “Twilight of Progressivism: The Western Republican Senators and the New Deal” (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981) and “Assassinations, Threats, and the American Presidency: From Andrew Jackson to Barack Obama” (Rowman Littlefield Publishers, 2015, Paperback Edition 2017). In addition to this blog, Dr. Feinman has blogged at TheProgressiveProfessor.com since 2008 and is a political and historical Commentator on Radio Station WWGH, 107.1 FM, Marion, Ohio. Dr. Feinman has spent nearly a half century as Professor of American History, Government and Politics and is still teaching a US Presidency class at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida every Fall and Spring term.

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  Aug 15, 2021
  

  More Senators Who Impacted Politics Outside the Two-Party System

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  Modern independents with enough popular support to reach or stay in the Senate have been clustered in the northeastern states. 

  

• 
  Aug 6, 2021
  

  Illinois's 16th Congressional District Has Put Forward Three Important National Politicians

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  By bucking Donald Trump and his party leadership to reject the Big Lie of the stolen election, Adam Kinzinger has become yet another prominent national leader to come from Illinois's humble 16th Congressional District. 

  

• 
  Jul 25, 2021
  

  Influential Independent and Third-Party Senators (Part 1)

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  Seven Senators who represented third parties (or no party) for all or part of their service had a significant impact on reform politics between the 1840s and 1940s.

  

• 
  Jul 6, 2021
  

  Who's Up, Who's Down in the latest CSPAN Presidential Ranking Poll

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  Although many waited to see where Trump would rank, it's clear that the contentious events of recent years have affected how the presidents are retrospectively appraised. 

  

• 
  Jun 18, 2021
  

  The Eighty-Year Cycle of Existential National Crisis: How Will This One End?

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  The United States has faced serious crisis about every eighty years since the War for Independence. It remains to be seen if the nation will emerge from the democratic crisis spurred by the 2020 election.

  

• 
  Jun 4, 2021
  

  Governing With an Evenly Divided Senate is a Rare Tightrope Act

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  The current US Senate, monkeywrenched by the filibuster and unified Republican obstruction, is unlike any of the three prior Senates with even partisan representation. It appears Biden will need every one of his Senators to change the filibuster rules to have a chance of passing legislation.

  

• 
  May 26, 2021
  

  Presidential-Vice Presidential Relationships Aren't Always What They Seem

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  The institutional relationships between presidents and vice presidents have changed over time, but the personal relationships between the office holders have varied quite widely. 

  

• 
  May 14, 2021
  

  Obama's Reputation With Scholars and the Public Likely to Rise

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  There are many reasons why Barack Obama's ranking among the presidents is likely to rise. Some deal with the perceptions of the raters, but a key factor will be if scholarship reevaluates his relationship to the Republican Congresses during his presidency.

  

• 
  May 1, 2021
  

  The Connection Between Joe Biden and Robert F. Kennedy

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  Although Robert Kennedy's career trajectory was cut short and Joe Biden is decades along in his, the current president is emulating RFK in important ways. 

  

• 
  Apr 16, 2021
  

  More Senators Who Made an Impact, Despite First Being Appointed (Not Elected)

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  The second part of a discussion of 20th century senators who were first appointed to their seats, but did not become historical afterthoughts.

  

• 
  Apr 9, 2021
  

  Senators who Made an Impact, Despite First being Appointed (not Elected)

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  Being appointed to a Senate seat doesn't always make a Senator an afterthought. Here are six 20th century figures who parlayed their initial appointment into influential careers in the Capitol. 

  

• 
  Mar 17, 2021
  

  Fate and Fortune in Presidential Elections

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  Joe Biden is just the latest of a series of presidents who won election despite seeming like long shots a year before. 

  

• 
  Mar 5, 2021
  

  Presidents Who Look Better or Worse by Comparison

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  Some successful presidents have had their reputations enhanced by the low regard of their predecessors and successors, while others have had their light dimmed in comparison. The 21st century will challenge future historians to separate their evaluations of George W. Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden from the relative standing of the others. 

  

• 
  Feb 22, 2021
  

  Congressional Leadership Experience and the Presidency

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  Will Joe Biden's extensive experience in the Senate help him to negotiate with an evenly divided and partisan chamber to pass legislation? 

  

• 
  Feb 12, 2021
  

  State Governors and the Presidency

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  Despite the seemingly obvious benefit of being a state's chief executive, relatively few presidents have served as state governors first. 

  

• 
  Jan 29, 2021
  

  From The Senate to the Presidency: Many Try, Few Succeed

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  Given its importance in the government and the prominence of its members, the Senate has sent relatively few of its members to the Oval Office, and even fewer have used a long Senate career as a springboard to the presidency.

  

• 
  Jan 11, 2021
  

  Humphrey and Biden: One Presidential Scholar's Two Political Heroes

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  Hubert Humphrey was the author's first political hero; Joe Biden carries forth many of Humphrey's qualities to lead the country in a time of crisis. 

  

• 
  Dec 3, 2020
  

  These Six Lost Presidential Elections, but Found Other Ways to Serve the Nation

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  Although losing a presidential election can mar a candidate's image, losses for these six candidates should not overshadow their extensive careers in elected office.

  

• 
  Nov 11, 2020
  

  Who Will Form the Biden Cabinet?

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  A presidential and political historian suggests choices for a Biden cabinet that will please (most) of the Democratic base, have a chance to win nomination by the Senate, not put any Democratic Senate seats at risk, and help the new president govern effectively. 

  

• 
  Nov 8, 2020
  

  Biden's Years of Experience in Public Service are Second to One

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  Among American presidents, Joe Biden surpasses all but John Quincy Adams in years of service to his country.