Saturday, June 16, 2012

The Presidents Club by Nancy Gibbs & Michael Duffy

In this season of vicious partisan politics, it's a fresh breath to read a book about the most exclusive fraternity in the world: The U.S. Presidents Club.




This book is full of fantastic stories and anecdotes about what it's like to be part of the brotherhood of United States Presidents. Beginning with Hoover and all the way to Obama, these authors provide ample examples of how these men will stand by one another even when they don't always agree.

It's wonderful to read stories of how the leaders of each political party can rise above the vindictiveness of campaigning and realize they need one another.

While there are examples of how these Presidents have strained the relationship at times, most of the stories revolve around unity. It's the civility that we should take note of whenever we're dealing with differing policies.

You'll read how the new Presidents reached out to the former Presidents when they realized the job was much harder than they realized. You'll read how President Carter has done more as an ex-President than he ever did while in office. (sometimes not such a good thing for the other Presidents) You'll see how, despite what the talking heads may say during transitions, the Presidents have always wanted to make things as smooth as possible for "the next guy".

Perfect example is when President Obama sat with the former Presidents and President Bush said, "We want you to succeed."





Full of stories and two sections of photographs. This book is a nice, positive political book that we need now more than ever.


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