In juxtaposition with the Jefferson-Madison friendship, which stretched over fifty years, Stuart Leibiger admits that Madison and Washington were in close quarters for only four years. 2 Hyperbole and history often go hand in hand. To claim that the Republic might not have survived without Madison backstopping Washington during a four-year span is a pardonable offense. Madison patiently used Washington's fame to rejuvenate the ailing political structure with a constitutional convention and the follow-up ratification. Then he became a trusted ghostwriter early in the Washington administration.
Most humans have few genuine friends in their lifetime, and the key word is duration.
Friends stick together through thick and thin. When Washington began depending on Alexander Hamilton for guidance, Madison soon lost all influence on the president. After Washington learned that Madison and Thomas Jefferson had inveigled Philip Freneau into editing the National Gazette, their days of trust and cooperation were a distant memory. 5 Leibiger seems to blame the breach on Madison. When Jefferson left the State Department, Washington offered the post to Madison, and Madison turned him down.