05-07 S26E09 "Are Our Presidents Lacking in Greatness?"

05-07 S26E09 Firing Line with William F. Buckley, "Are Our Presidents Lacking in Greatness?" Guests: Robert Shogan. Moderator; Michael Kinsley. 9 April 1991 Program details: This show offers much more than a rate-the-Presidents parlor game (although that's fun too). As Mr. Shogan explains,"What I tried to do ... what I think would be valuable is, since the Presidency affects all our lives greatly, to understand what are the factors that allow Presidents to succeed in certain situations and what inhibits success." Two specifics: Reagan's success with the economy stemmed from the interaction of "his ideology, the feeling that freedom is the greatest good and government is its enemy; his values, his respect for the American past; and his kind of personality, which took so much of the sting out of his rhetoric." LBJ was "a consensual President"--meaning that "He pretended that there was just a common agreement on nearly everything. ... He did that because he didn't want to have to explain himself."    • 05-07 S26E09  "Are Our Presidents Lacking ...