Institutions, the Election Cycle, and the Presidential Veto

Despite the large number of analyses of vetoes in recent years, many puzzles persist. This paper treats vetoes as a form of institutional conflict. This conflict is analyzed as being jointly determined by congressional and presidential behavior. The role of elections, partisan conflict, institutional change, and variation in presidential resources are examined as determinants of the likelihood of institutional conflict. Veto conflicts are disaggregated into conflicts over major and minor issues. Minor vetoes are shown to reflect pure institutional conflict and the electoral cycle; their frequency is, substantially, a reflection of the frequency of institutional interaction. Major vetoes reflect a more complex form of institutional conflict; in this conflict, partisanship and presidential resources are central, and conflict is no more likely in election years.