Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and the Worst in the White House (Wall Street Journal Book) [Hardcover]

James Taranto (Editor), Leonard Leo (Editor), William J. Bennett (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0743254333 | ISBN-13: 978-0743254335 | Publication Date: June 1, 2004 | Edition: First Edition

What makes a president great? Two of America's most prominent institutions, "The Wall Street Journal" and the "Federalist Society," with the help of a wide array of eminent scholars, journalists, and political leaders, tackle this question in "Presidential Leadership," the definitive ranking of our nation's chief executives.

Based on a survey conducted by the Federalist Society and the "Journal, Presidential Leadership" examines presidential performance in this collection of provocative, enlightening essays written by a distinguished and diverse group of authors.

The survey included seventy-eight liberal and conservative scholars, balancing the sample to reflect the political makeup of the U.S. population as a whole. It represents the first national survey in book form that provides a complete ranking of the presidents, along with an appendix that explains the methodology in detail and includes a wide range of valuable data. The result is an important, fresh, and engaging book, rating the presidents from Washington to Clinton and including an early assessment of George W. Bush's presidency by "Journal" editorial page editor Paul Gigot. Nearly fifty contributors provide their insights, with one essay on each president or on a broader issue of presidential leadership. Among them:

- Forrest McDonald on Thomas Jefferson

- Lynne Cheney on James Madison

- Douglas Brinkley on James Polk

- Christopher Buckley on James Buchanan

- Jay Winik on Abraham Lincoln

- John McCain on Theodore Roosevelt

- Robert Dallek on Lyndon B. Johnson

- Peggy Noonan on John F. Kennedy

- Paul Johnson on Bill Clinton

Their compelling essays, packed with fascinating and often surprisinginsights, analyze the best and worst of our commanders in chief. "Presidential Leadership" is the lively result, at once a valuable reference and a tremendously readable collection.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Perennial favorite George Washington holds onto the top slot in this latest incarnation of presidential greatness surveys. Wall Street Journal Web editor Taranto and Federalist Society executive vice president Leo polled experts in history, politics and law on both sides of the volatile liberal-conservative divide. This politically attuned selection process produces no real surprises, however. Abraham Lincoln and FDR join the "Father of His Country" in the exclusive pantheon of outstanding leaders. Longtime failures James Buchanan and Warren Harding anchor the bottom rungs. Ronald Reagan merits "near great" status here, compared to "average" rankings elsewhere. However, Democratic icons provoke gratuitous partisan sniping from some of the well-known conservative contributors, especially on the contentious issue of character, tilting the editors’ much-vaunted objectivity rightward as a result. Peggy Noonan lingers on JFK's peccadilloes, including his use of sunless tanning products, rather than on his skillful management of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Robert Bork highlights FDR’s domestic and international miscues, leaving readers to wonder how the only four-term president ever made the top three. Although George W. Bush is not ranked, he garners a glowing profile that’s twice as long as FDR’s. Fortunately, back-to-back essays on Lincoln by Jay Winik and Andrew Johnson by Jeffrey Tulis stand out and provide perceptive, timely appraisals of contrasting styles of executive stewardship during national crises. Complemented by William Bennett’s cri de coeur against declining standards in the teaching of American history, by scholarly musings on economic policy, wartime leadership, judicial appointments and disputed elections, and by a fine concluding overview of the editors’ methodology, these subtly shifting critiques of American presidents will give political junkies plenty to tussle over.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

James Taranto is editor of OpinionJournal.com, the website of The Wall Street Journal's editorial page.

Leonard Leo serves as executive vice president of the Federalist Society, an organization of 35,000 lawyers and other individuals committed to limited, constitutional government as envisioned by the framers of the Constitution.

William J. Bennett served as Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President George H. W. Bush and as Secretary of Education and Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities under President Reagan. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy from Williams College, a doctorate in political philosophy from the University of Texas, and a law degree from Harvard. He is the author of such bestselling books as The Educated Child, The Death of Outrage, The Book of Virtues, and the two-volume series America: The Last Best Hope. Dr. Bennett is the host of the nationally syndicated radio show Bill Bennett's Morning in America. He is also the Washington Fellow of the Claremont Institute and a regular contributor to CNN. He, his wife, Elayne, and their two sons, John and Joseph, live in Maryland. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; First Edition edition (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743254333
• ISBN-13: 978-0743254335
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #522,460 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

135 of 173 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpiece on the Presidents, June 11, 2004

By 

David Maxham (Manalapan, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and the Worst in the White House (Wall Street Journal Book) (Hardcover)

Leonard Leo and James Taranto beautifully orchestrated this amazing leaugue of respected authors to compile a book much in need today. Most books on Presidents have either an overwhelmingly in-depth look at one president or are simply a collection of interesting facts and data about all of them. This book attempts to give to its readers insight into the actual presidency and how America, as a people, see are leaders. Each President has not a biography, but an analysis. This idea is new and makes the presidents that we all know much more accessible to an older crowd with a wide-array of information without drowning the reader with obscurities.

34 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One man's view, June 25, 2004

By 

Brian T. Stuart (San Bernardino, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and the Worst in the White House (Wall Street Journal Book) (Hardcover)

The idea to rate the Presidents is a daunting task. No matter how you rate them, someone is going to be critical. James Taranto, Leonard Leo, and William J. Bennett do this job justice. While I may not agree with all their rankings, I find their rationale fair and non-partisan. The essays about each President also give a description of each man that set the tone for their terms in office.

Well, done!

38 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Superb Book, June 25, 2004

By 

Bobby Joseph (Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and the Worst in the White House (Wall Street Journal Book) (Hardcover)

This book opens with a question "What Makes A President Great?" It proceeds to answer this by ranking every President with a range from "Failure" to "Great". The rank was awarded by a mixed group of 78 liberal and conservative scholars.A numerical score determined the rank. I believe the book arrived at a fair ranking system. This is in contrast to previous rankings by mostly liberal university professors who would rank Reagan average, and Clinton above average. A series of essays about each presidency is written by eminent and distinguished contributors. Every chapter is readable, exciting, and fascinating. Christopher Buckley's essay on James Buchanan was amusing and memorable. Ater reading, you will never forget the ill-suited, fecklesss, hand-wringing bachelor Buchanan. Paul Johnson, a British historian, has written a chapter on Clinton that was right on the money. Jay Winik's essay on Lincoln was good, but his book, April 1865, was superior to the too-brief chapter. Overall this book is a good reference and makes excellent reading. I think it is superior to comparable books of because of its brevity and evenhandedness.