Because the narrative covers so much time in a relatively small space, no single character dominates it. The New Deal comes and goes. There's a world war. There's a cold war. Joseph McCarthy and John F. Kennedy come and go.
Marriages fall apart.
Nixon comes and goes. Fortunes are made. The novel ends with a huge birthday party at Echo House for Axel Behl. Even the President is there and so is the swarming press corps. But when the President raises a glass to celebrate the old man's accomplishments, he realizes that he has no idea what they actually are.