LBJ's First Lady: Lady Bird
Johnson had proposed to Claudia Alta Taylor the day they met. Lady Bird became the "perfect political wife" for LBJ.
FDR on Lying: Creating a Reason to Go to War
President Roosevelt did not tell Congress or the American people the truth behind the Greer incident that led to US involvement in World War II. "I am perfectly willing to mislead and tell untruths if it will help win the war," FDR told a friend.
Reagan and Lying: Arms for Hostages
Despite his firm stand against dealing with terrorists, in November 1986 Reagan admitted that arms had been shipped to Iran but denied that the arms were a trade for hostages.
Carter on Lying: Campaigning on Honesty
Jimmy Carter campaigned on a platform on honesty at a time when the nation sorely needed it. "The country had been through a horrible time, and Jimmy Carter represented honesty and decency," said journalist John Farrell.
Truman, FDR and Age: A Careful Choice for Vice President
The focus was on the Vice Presidency during the 1944 Democratic National Convention. "It was in the minds of many delegates that whoever was nominated for Vice President could very well become President within the next four years," said Senator Harry Byrd.
Truman and Abusing Power: Drafting Striking Workers
When a new wave of striking unions shut down industries, Truman threatened to draft strikers into the army. "It was as high-handed, as unconstitutional, a measure as imaginable," says biographer David McCullough. "But he meant it."
Nixon and Age: The Kennedy Style
The Nixon-Kennedy debates would forever change the way Americans chose their Presidents.
Carter and Ending War: the Camp David Accords
President Carter's attempt at resolving the dispute between Israel and Egypt almost ended in failure. Egyptian President Sadat threatened to leave the talks at Camp David, but Carter used a personal approach to keep the talks going between Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Begin. The Camp David Accords would become Carter's greatest foreign policy achievement.
LBJ and Age: A Young Leader
In 1954, with the Republicans in control of the White House, the Democrats gained control of the Senate, making Lyndon Johnson the youngest Majority Leader ever. He was 46 years old.
Truman on Ending a War: Atomic Bombs
When the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Truman understood the repercussions. "This places a terrible responsibility upon myself and upon the War Department," he said.
Reagan on the Enemy: The Soviet Threat
The delegations of Communist leader Mikhail Gorbachev and President Reagan met in Geneva in 1985. "The President, from the very start, started to speak in a kind of lecturing tone, as though I was a suspect, or maybe a student," says Gorbachev.
HW Bush and Military Service: Combat Pilot
George H.W. Bush was changed forever by his time as a combat pilot in World War II. "He had been taught not to show his emotions," says biographer Timothy Naftali, "so the public saw a slightly awkward man, who didn't seem quite ready to share his true self with them."
FDR and Abusing Power: Reshaping the Supreme Court
President Roosevelt's attempt to reshape the Supreme Court landed short and drew criticism from both Republicans and Democrats. "It was a recognition on his part that he had lost some measure of power," says David Ginsburg, member of FDR's administration.
Truman on the Enemy: Communism
After WWII, Truman watched most of Eastern Europe fall to the Communist "Iron Curtain." "I do not think we should play compromise any longer," Truman wrote.
FDR's First Lady: Eleanor
Eleanor Roosevelt traveled more than 40,000 miles during FDR's first year as president. "Never before had a first lady taken to the road," says biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin. "She became his legs," says journalist Chalmers Roberts.
Carter on the Enemy: Inflation
Jimmy Carter attempted to stop runaway inflation with a White House press conference in 1978. "Carter implored labor and business leaders to keep wages and prices down, and pressured Congress to cut back spending."
FDR on the Enemy: Imperial Japan
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. President Roosevelt was deeply shaken "knowing the navy was caught unawares."
Reagan's Age
As the 1984 election approached, many voters voiced their concerned with Reagan's age. At 73, he was already the oldest President in history.
Reagan on Policing the World: Aiding Freedom Fighters
In 1981, Reagan aided the Polish workers movement and in Afghanistan backed factions fighting a Soviet invasion.
Bush on the Economy: a Sluggish Economy
In the early 1990s, George H.W. Bush was faced with growing economic insecurity. But Bush believed there was little he could do.
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