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In the run-up to the 2020 presidential elections, the question of presidential character has never been more urgent. Covering US presidents from Taft to H. W. Bush, and with a new foreword bringing in Trump, this book uses research-based political psychology, history, and biography to project the performance of candidates as president.
List of contents
1. PRESIDENTIAL CHARACTER AND HOW TO FORESEE IT 2. THREE TRAGIC TALES 3. THE ACTIVE-NEGATIVE PRESIDENTS 4. THE ORIGINS OF PRESIDENTIAL COMPULSION 5. RICHARD NIXON: CONSTRUCTION AND DESTRUCTION 6. THE PASSIVE-NEGATIVE PRESIDENTS 7. THE PASSIVE-POSITIVE PRESIDENTS 8. REAGAN'S RISE AND RULE 9. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT AND ACTIVE-POSITIVE AFFECTION 10. HARRY S TRUMAN AND ACTIVE-POSITIVE COMBAT 11. JOHN F. KENNEDY AND ACTIVE-POSITIVE COMMITMENT 12. THE CRUCIAL FORD TRANSITION 13. JIMMY CARTER: PREDICTED AND REVIEWED 14. GEORGE BUSH: THE WORLD VIEW DILEMMA 15. ADDING IT UP
About the author
James David Barber was a Duke University political scientist and provocateur best known for exploring the psychology of Oval Office aspirants and occupants. He spent years as a consultant to "NBC Nightly News" and as a board member of the Poynter Institute, a center for the study of journalism and media ethics in St. Petersburg, Florida.
