The 1908 illustration titled "Rough on Cats", shows then-president Theodore Roosevelt delivering a jolt of electric current through a pair of winding wires that spell out the words "Presidential Message" to two sleeping cats labeled "House" and "Senate". It was Roosevelt who first referred to the presidency as a "bully pulpit."
1. What does this illustration suggest about the President's informal powers to influence or set the political agenda?
2. What resources does the President have today that make that "bully pulpit" even stronger?
3. Does the informal power of total media access give the President too much power today? Explain your answers.