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At the President's Side: The Vice Presidency in the Twentieth Century

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At The President's Side is was created as the result of a symposium at the Hoover Presidential Library. As a result, it is a collection of academic essays that do not always fit together perfectly, but offer lots of great anecdotes about the VPs from Teddy Roosevelt to Al Gore. During that period, the Vice Presidency has grown in power and stature, with some temporary regressions along the way. Each chapter discusses one, two, or three Vice Presidents, how and why they were picked, what their accomplishments were, and usually what they did after the Vice Presidency. The book occasionally mentions how losing VP nominees were picked, but could have had a whole chapter on that topic, since it would have complimented the discussion of how successful VP nominees were picked. The end of the book is excerpted directly from the symposium and includes a scattering of stories and recommendations for the future. One troubling discussion is Richard Neustadt's contention that the 25th Amendment is unnecessary and that the Eisenhower/Nixon agreement worked because it "made a sensible personal agreement - two men confronting their personal problem." That seems like a total mischaracterization. First, the Eisenhower/Nixon arrangement had its problems. Second, Presidential inability is not a personal problem between the President and Vice President. It is a political and national problem. That is why the VP selection process needs to be rigorous and then the relationship between the President and VP needs to be collaborative. Because the VP really is one heart beat away.