Title: The presidential difference : leadership style from FDR to Clinton /
Authors: Greenstein, Fred I.
Publisher: Princeton University Press,
Year: 2001
Subjects: Presidents United States History; Personality and politics United States History.
Abstract: "Drawing on a quarter-century's work, Fred I. Greenstein, one of our observers of the modern presidency, provides an account of the qualities that have served well and poorly in the Oval Office from Franklin D. Roosevelt's first hundred days to the beginning of George W. Bush's presidency. Greenstein offers a series of bottom-line judgments on each of his twelve subjects and a bold new explanation of why presidents succeed or fail. Previous analysts have placed their bets on the president's political prowess or personal character. Yet by the first standard, LBJ should have been our greatest president, and by the second the nod would go to Jimmy Carter. Greenstein surveys each president's record in public communication, political skill, vision, cognitive style, and emotional intelligence - and argues that the last is the most important in predicting presidential success."--Jacket.
Contents: The presidential difference -- The virtuosic leaqdership of Franklin D. Roosevelt -- The uneven leadership of Harry S. Truman -- The unexpected Eisenhower -- Coming to terms with Kennedy -- Lyndon B. Johnson and the primacy of politics -- The paradox of Richard Nixon -- The instructive presidency of Gerald Ford -- JImmy Carter and the politics of rectitude -- Ronald Reagan : the innocent as agent of change -- The highly tactical leadership of George Bush -- The undisciplined Bill Clinton -- Lessons from the modern presidency -- Appendix : Background on the modern presidency.