… the American people found an answer to their deep yearning for a presiding officer over their affairs. They did not care about his lack of expertise because they recognized instinctively that expertise can always be hired. They were looking for a symbol of legitimacy, continuity, and morality; and perhaps they were right in elevating these qualities to a position higher than the manipulative skill that resolves problems. It is possible that in reviewing the Eisenhower administration, we are looking at a blueprint for the future of the presidency. [Twilight of the Presidency, p. 72]
How descriptive do you believe this analysis to be of the elections and presidencies of both Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan? Why, and in what ways?
