Fit for the Presidency?: Winners, Losers, What-Ifs, and Also-Rans - Hardcover

"Full of juicy anecdotes and a valuable guide to voters deciding who gets to occupy the nation's highest office. It could not have come at a better time."-Alvin Felzenberg, author of The Leaders We Deserved (and a Few We Didn't): Rethinking the Presidential Rating Game |"Fascinating is much too tame to describe this ingenious journey through presidents and almost presidents and would-be presidents. White House buffs will be riveted and general readers amazed by what they learn about the most important job in America."-Thomas Fleming, author of The Great Divide: The Conflict between Washington and Jefferson That Defined a Nation |"Seymour Morris Jr. is sure to provoke lively discussion with his creative 'resume' approach to evaluating fifteen American presidential candidates from George Washington to Ronald Reagan. Thoughtful and brash, balanced yet crisply argued, Fit for the Presidency? should be required reading for anyone who enjoys the privilege of being an American voter."-Walter R. Borneman, author of The Admirals and MacArthur at War|"A fascinating, original look into the history of presidential politics, covering both the immortal (Lincoln) and the forgotten (Samuel Tilden), and an excellent primer on how to evaluate the current candidates for the qualities that make a great president."-John Steele Gordon, author of An Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power

Every four years Americans embark on the ultimate carnival, the Super Bowl of democracy: a presidential election campaign filled with endless speeches, debates, handshakes, and passion. But what about the candidates themselves? In Fit for the Presidency? Seymour Morris Jr. applies an executive recruiter's approach to fifteen presidential prospects from 1789 to 1980, analyzing their resumes and references to determine their fitness for the job. Were they qualified? How real were their actual accomplishments? Could they be trusted, or were their campaign promises unrealistic? The result is a fresh and original look at a host of contenders from George Washington to William McAdoo, from DeWitt Clinton to Ronald Reagan. Gone is the fluff of presidential campaigns, replaced by broad perspective and new insights on candidates seeking the nation's highest office.