For Stephen Wayne, there's no better combination than being at Georgetown and specializing in the American presidency.

"It's a wonderful rich environment in which the university and the politicians meet on fairly neutral grounds to discuss politics, and I think of course having a Georgetown alum in Bill Clinton as President has certainly contributed to that," says the expert on American presidents and political psychology.

With a bit of humor to show and a great deal of expertise on the presidential elections, there's no wonder that the American government professor remains just as busy outside of class as he does inside -- especially during the 2008 presidential campaign.

Wayne, the American Government Field Chair in the University's government department, has been in high demand since the start of the 2008 campaign -- providing expert commentary to leading news outlets, writing book revisions to his books that reflect massive changes in the presidential nomination process and peering into the psyches of leading candidates. As primaries sweep the country over the next several months, there is little sign of a slowing pace for the professor with a passion for the American presidency, only anticipation as a wide field of candidates narrows.

The 2008 elections have provided Wayne, best known for authoring books such as "The Road to the White House" (Wadsworth Publishing, 2007) and "Is This Any Way to Run a Democratic Presidency" (CQ Press, 2007), with the opportunity for two major undertakings.

First, the overhaul of the Democratic nominating process required a substantial update to his book, "Is This Any Way to Run a Democratic Election," now in its third edition. He presented the first version of the update as a paper after the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary at the Southern Political Science Meeting on Jan. 12.

In the paper, he examines five criteria: who's allowed to participate; who does participate; what equity or money is involved; do voters have a meaningful choice; and do voters have enough information to make an informed judgment?

When asked if voters have a meaningful choice, Wayne replies, "I think this time around the Democrats would definitely say, 'Yes.' They are both enthusiastic about the choice, and I think the people have recognized policy and very importantly personality differences between [Sen. Barack] Obama, [John] Edwards and. [Sen. Hillary] Clinton."

On the other hand, he says Republicans have a larger group of hopefuls than they’ve had in the past. "But they're less enthusiastic about that choice," he says.

In either party, significant disparities in revenue affect a candidate's ability to campaign, advertise and gain news media coverage, especially during the preprimary period explains Wayne. This year, disparities between frontrunners and challengers are notable, he says.

"Talk about the advantages of being a multimillionaire like Mitt Romney where he can give $17 million to his own campaign -- the advantage of that compared to someone who doesn’t have the $17 million to give," he says.

The other project occupying Wayne's time assesses presidential suitability from a psychological perspective. Looking at the criteria that scholars deem necessary for the president and the attributes that people today find most desirable, Wayne will create psychological profiles of the Republican and Democratic candidates.

An example of how unpredictable politics can be, Wayne started Clinton’s profile, thinking she would be a sure thing as the Democratic nominee. However, after the Iowa caucus, he may have to revisit that. "I thought she'd be the Democratic nominee, and I may have to junk that [profile]," He said after Obama won the Iowa caucus.
Yet, there may be hope that Wayne's work wasn't in vain since the New Hampshire primary produced Clinton as its victor.

After the elections, he hopes to spend spring 2009 on sabbatical analyzing the psychological profile of the winning candidate, the decisions and events the candidate faced and how predictive the profile was in anticipating problems and in noting strengths. In Wayne's Psychology and Politics course, students look beyond basic biographical information to examine a candidate's childhood and parenting circumstances to trace political decisions back to early influences and how those factors may affect future decisions.

Graduate student Andrea Mayer, G'13, who took Wayne's course last semester, says she was fascinated by the profiles she and her classmates produced in the course. "You realize, in fact, personality does play a role," she says.

While Wayne’s publication record and national reputation continue to grow, bringing national recognition to the government department and Georgetown, his time and consideration for his undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and the university have not ceased.

James Lengle, associate professor and director of the master's program in American government, says, "[Wayne] is as dedicated as anyone on campus to the university's core mission of teaching and his professionalism and collegiality have made him a natural leader in departmental affairs."

Wayne volunteered to teach an additional course, adding to an already full schedule, during the spring semester to fill out the curriculum for the graduate program.

"This is typical of Steve since he has been at Georgetown. He places the interests of students, programs, the department and the university ahead of his own," Lengle says. "This is the Steve I have come to know and admire during his tenure at Georgetown, he quietly makes a huge difference to the betterment of all."

Current and former students agree that Wayne is passionate, has a great sense of humor and is an incredibly demanding instructor -- all attributes that are appreciated.

"He really cares about his students and makes sure they are doing well; because a good student is a happy one," says Wayne’s former teaching assistant Seth Petersen, G'12, a Ph.D. candidate in government with a specialization in the presidency, media, and electoral politics.

Joseph Ferrara G'96, director of the executive masters program in Georgetown Public Policy Institute, studied under Wayne in the early 1990s and remembers getting a B-plus on a paper.

"As I read his comments, everything he wrote was true," says Ferrara, who confessed frustration at the time. Wayne let him rewrite the paper, not for a better grade but to learn. "I appreciated that," he said. "From that, I really learned how to put together a coherent essay."

Sam Potolicchio, C'04, G'13, another government Ph.D. candidate, thought he delivered well-received jokes during his own guest lecture.

"I felt like I was living up to the lofty standard that Professor Wayne establishes," he says. "But after I finished, Professor Wayne brought down the house in an 8:50 morning class, which is no small feat."

Wayne's frequent, dry and sarcastic humor is spontaneous and Potolicchio admits to nagging Wayne to open up his comedy to a national audience.

"Leno is stepping down soon, and Letterman has health issues, so who knows what the future holds for him, but I suspect he has too much fun working with his students to go that route," says Potolicchio.

From the internship opportunities that students receive to the political access granted to students, faculty and staff, Wayne is consistent in his reflection of there being no place like the university.

"I can't think of a better place to teach about the U.S. presidency than in Washington and at Georgetown," says Wayne. "I think as a university we have done a great job in bringing potential presidential candidates, presidents, cabinet members and international leaders to our university to talk to students."

Source: Blue & Gray