Suchergebnisse

chapter 1 Introduction: In the eye of the beholder -- chapter 2 Two different ways of knowing? -- chapter 3 Beauty everywhere -- chapter 4 Playful beauty -- chapter 5 Worldly, natural and real beauty -- chapter 6 Where does the beauty come from? -- chapter 7 Understanding beauty -- chapter 8 Loving beauty -- chapter 9 Conclusion: Truthful beauty.

Although Calvin Coolidge is widely judged to have been a weak and even an incompetent president, this study concludes that he was a leader disabled by a crippling emotional breakdown. After an impressive early career, Coolidge assumed the presidency upon the death of Warren Harding. His promising political career suffered a major blow, however, with the death of his favorite child, 16-year-old Calvin Jr., in July 1924. Overwhelmed with grief, Coolidge showed distinct signs of clinical depression. Losing interest in politics, he served out his term as a broken man. This is the first account of Coolidge's life to compare his behavior before and after this tragedy, and the first to consider the importance of Coolidge's mental health in his presidential legacy. Gilbert carefully documents the dramatic change in Coolidge's leadership style, as well as the changes in his personal behavior. In his early career, Coolidge worked hard, was progressive, and politically astute. When he became Vice President in 1921, he impressed the Washington establishment by being strong and activist. After Harding's death, Coolidge took control of his party, dazzled the press, distanced himself from the Harding scandals, and showed ability in domestic and foreign policy. His son's death would destroy all of this. Gilbert documents Coolidge's subsequent dysfunctional behavior, including sadistic tendencies, rudeness and cruelty to family and aides, and odd interactions with the White House staff.

During his presidency, John F. Kennedy emerged as a powerful force for change in the area of equal rights for the nation's black population. In addition to the major civil rights legislation that he proposed and that Congress ultimately enacted, Kennedy served as the nation's teacher, trying to awaken in citizens a sense of understanding and fair-mindedness. He referred publicly to civil rights as a "national crisis of great dimensions," and then worked hard in trying to resolve that crisis in a positive and peaceful way. However, the civil rights activities of both John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson contributed immeasurably to a powerful and enduring political realignment in the United States. Millions of Democrats, located heavily in the south, were highly disaffected by Kennedy's and Johnson's activism in civil rights. Many moved out of the Democratic Party and then into the Republican Party after flirting in 1968 with the short-lived and overtly racist American Independent Party. Today, more than fifty years later, the south remains strongly Republican.

This paper assesses the likelihood that the Iran-Contra scandal was shaped heavily by the effects of Ronald Reagan's cancer surgery in summer, 1985. During the President's hospitalization and in the period soon after, he took several actions—which he apparently did not remember—that launched a policy that was unwise, counterproductive, and a failure. These damaged both his Administration and his standing in history. The 25thAmendment afforded Reagan the means by which his involvement in these events could easily have been avoided. However, the President and his aides determined that he would resume the powers and duties of the presidency only hours after undergoing extensive cancer surgery. This decision contributed materially to the most damaging episode of Reagan's eight-year presidency.

In March 2008, I published an article in this journal that examined the ways in which the White House managed the news—and minimized the political impact—of Dwight D. Eisenhower's massive 1955 heart attack. In addition, the analysis explored the manner in which Eisenhower himself, in handling this issue, had brilliantly "manipulated his medical team, safeguarded his image, cajoled his staff, confused the press, managed his advisers, dominated his party, and ran a campaign that was virtually impossible for the opposition to counteract" (p. 18).1This article expands on my previous work by considering the ways in which Eisenhower's ill health had significant public policy repercussions that went beyond the immediate political effects evaluated in 2008. These included the drawbacks associated with Eisenhower's concept of "Team Government," a tragic war in the Middle East, a serious deterioration of the U.S. relationship with three very close allies and, finally, the beginnings of a presidentially led effort to add a much needed "presidential disability" amendment to the United States Constitution. These latter effects have been studied here through use of primary source materials located at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, commentaries written by Eisenhower himself, members of his family and other close associates and the voluminous secondary literature that has appeared over the years focusing on the Eisenhower presidency.

During his first term as President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower suffered several serious illnesses. Particularly important was the massive heart attack he experienced in the fall of 1955. Drawing on primary sources as well as prior scholarship, this article analyzes varying interpretations of Eisenhower's 1955 medical treatment in light of his previous illnesses and their management. It explores the handling of public disclosure by the White House, by Eisenhower himself, and by his medical team. And it reconsiders Republican strategists' efforts to allay public concerns about the President's health. Current understanding is called into question in several respects. Although it sharpened speculation about his fitness and willingness to run in the 1956 presidential campaign, the 1955 heart attack made Eisenhower more likely, rather than less likely, to run. Although often sick, and in several instances critically so, Eisenhower was clearly the dominant player — intentionally "behind the scenes" — both in the management of his illnesses and in the health-perceptual aspects of his drive toward a second term. These findings should lead us to a better reading of Eisenhower as a president and to a better appreciation of health's linkage to legacy in presidential politics.

Ronald Reagan enjoyed a successful political career. Nevertheless, his political life was affected dramatically by the fact that he was the son of an alcoholic parent. Alcoholic parents leave deep marks on their children's lives, even after those children become adults. As president of the United States, Reagan clearly demonstrated these marks. He was aloof and distant, was often a disengaged leader, showed inordinate loyalty to associates even when such loyalty became problematic, was prone to live in a world of make‐believe, married compulsive women, and craved approval and applause. Each of these behavioral characteristics was part of the psychological legacy left to this president by his long‐dead alcoholic father. Some of them damaged his presidency greatly; others, however, may well have assisted it.