We examine the politics of the strategic agenda. Abstracting a politic
s on the liberal-conservative dimension, we analyze Key Vote roll call
data from the U.S. House of Representatives during the Eisenhower and
Reagan administrations. The data suggest that politicians set the pol
icy agenda in a strategic fashion. Because they consider such factors
as long-term political goals, the changing institutional setting, and
plebiscitary presidential politics, agenda-setters propose legislation
that only imperfectly reflects their and the membership's wishes on t
he issue at hand. Thus, as the final stage in the political process, t
he strategic selection of an agenda provides a means by which factors
other than policy prefernces affect policy outcomes. The analyses affi
rm the strategic agenda as a core element in political life.