Bully pulpit

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This article is about the political term. For the Cornell University student-run publication, see Bully Pulpit.

A bully pulpit is a public office of sufficiently high rank that provides the holder with an opportunity to speak out and be listened to on any matter. The bully pulpit can bring issues to the fore that were not initially in debate, due to the office's stature and publicity.

This term was coined by President Theodore Roosevelt, who referred to the American presidency as a "bully pulpit," by which he meant a terrific platform from which persuasively to advocate an agenda. Roosevelt often used the word bully as an adjective meaning "superb" or "wonderful" (a more common expression in his time than it is today); the term has no relationship to the word bully in the sense of "a harasser". A pulpit is the elevated platform used by a preacher.