The President’s Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity, by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy (2012)
The modern President’s Club began when Dwight David Eisenhower became President of the United States. At the time, there were two living former Presidents: Herbert Hoover and Harry S Truman. Although the two former Presidents had very different politics from Eisenhower, both were the only two people in the world who understood the pressures of being the leader of the free world. They were there to provide support and advice to Eisenhower.
Since that time, former Presidents have made themselves available to the current President for support and advice. Note, however, that this book was published in 2012, so only applied to presidents up to Barack Obama. The former Presidents all knew that the most important aspect of American democracy was to protect the Office regardless of which individual held it.
Interestingly, there was some controversy regarding the vote count in the 1960 election. John F Kennedy had won the election, but Richard Nixon believed (and there is evidence to support this contention), that votes in Illinois were skewed in favor of Kennedy. Nixon was advised by the former Presidents not to contest the election to protect the legitimacy of the Presidency.
The role of former Presidents has been the background so as not to diminish the leadership of the current President. Although egos and personalities can influence decisions, the authors provide anecdotes showing how presidents can warm up to, and become friends, with their successors.
This was an interesting and eye-opening account of the interaction of former Presidents with the current President, at least up until the 2016 election. It makes one wonder how the immediate past President’s action may impact the Office in the future.
Read: Summer 2021
3 Stars
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