Synopses & Reviews
George Washington, Abraham, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan—most would agree their presidencies were amongst the most successful in American history. But what made these very different men such effective leaders? According to presidential historian Gil Troy, these presidents succeeded not because of their bold political visions, but because of their moderation.
Although many presidential candidates claim to be moderates, the word cannot conceal a political climate defined by extreme rhetoric and virulent partisanship. In this book, Troy argues that this is a distinctly un-American state of affairs. The great presidents of American history have always sought a golden mean—from George Washington, who brilliantly mediated between the competing visions of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, to Abraham Lincoln, who rescued the union with his principled pragmatism, to the two Roosevelts, Theodore and Franklin, who united millions of Americans with their powerful, affirmative, nationalist visions.
Moderation in politics is difficult to achieve in an age of excess—an anything-goes culture feeds an all-or-nothing politics. In the face of challenges both at home and abroad, Troy calls for a muscular moderation, a powerful affirmation of the values that united us and a commitment to a politics that builds from the center rather than playing to extremes.
As America lines up to select its next president, Gil Troy brilliantly reminds us of the finest traditions of presidential leadership from our nation's past.
First time in paperback. Originally published as Leading from the Center: Why Moderates Make the Best Presidents.
Synopsis
A prominent historian argues forcefully that our most successful chief executives have managed to position themselves substantively or stylistically near the political center.
Table of Contents
Preface to the Second Edition
Introduction
Presidents as Muscular Moderates
A "Middle Course" for Our "Common Cause"
1. Washington's Way
"Liberal Allowances, Mutual Forbearances, and Temporizing Yieldings on All Sides"
2. Compromisers, Zealots, and Ciphers
The Blessing of Parties, the Challenge of Slavery, and the Failure of Presidents
3. Abraham Lincoln's Middle Measure
A Cautious Politician's "My Policy Is to Have No Policy" Pragmatism
4. Theodore Roosevelt's Democratic Two-Step
The Rise of the Romantic, Nationalist Presidency
5. Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal
The Radical as Moderate
6. Truman, Eisenhower, and America's Bipartisan Consensus
Building Political Unity through Cultural Conformity
7. John F. Kennedy and Civil Rights
Moderation and the Challenge of Change
8. The Consensus Collapses
Lyndon Johnson and the Limits of Moderation
9. Learning from Losers
Where Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter Went Wrong
10. Ronald Reagan's Moderate Revolution
Resurrecting the Center
11. Bill Clinton and the Perils of Triangulation
The Need to Be Muscular as Well as Moderate
12. George W. Bush
Imprisoned by Conviction?
Conclusion
Center Seeking in the Twenty-First Century
Is Political Moderation Possible in an Age of Excess?
Afterword
A President and a People in Search of Moderation
Acknowledgments
A Note on Sources
Notes
Index