Every Four Years [antikvár]

? ? Introduction when putting this book together, we lined the walls of a fair-sized room with books on the American Presidency. That there is so much material on the subject attests to the crucial role of our Chief Executive in national and international affairs. It also attests to a traditional fascination with the Presidents—and thus raises a question: Why is the Smithsonian adding yet another book to that roomfiil? There are good reasons. Congress initially set up the Institution as an "establishment" headed by the President, and that relationship still prevails. The White House is just a short walk from the Smithsonian Castle. The Institution's buildings have been favorite sites for Presidential inauguration balls. The most substantial reason, however, is suggested in a television commentator's remark at the close of a recent nominating convention. As the delegates streamed out of the hall, their task completed, the camera focused on a man sifting through the detritus of campaign hoopla on the floor. That man, the commentator explained, was a museum curator adding to the collections of the Smithsonian Institution. Indeed, no place has so marvelous a collection of artifacts relating to the American Presidency. Some have actually been picked up off the floor, though most have come to us via more traditional channels— oftimes donated by Presidential heirs. Besides campaign memorabilia, there are also classic portraits, White House chinaware, and a dazzling array of gifts presented to Presidents by foreign potentates. There are eveiyday items such as the eyeglasses Presidents wore and the desks at which they worked. And there are the formal gowns of the First Ladies. It seemed appropriate, therefore, for the Smithsonian to share its many riches with a wide audience. And it seemed timely to present a diversify of historical perspectives on the Presidency. Happily, the subject falls into discrete epochs, each of which is discussed herein by an authority on the period. Interspersed among the essays are pictorial feattires that look back and forth through time at one or another important (or merely viansome] aspect of the ofiice. As for the men who have occupied the office, it should be apparent that their talents have varied considerably, as have their ideas about the nattare of their job—and so the variety in both the style and substance of the Presidency. The impression that wdU remain most vividly, we hope, is that here is a unique institution which has evolved rather like a biological organism in a changing environment. While the Smithsonian is apolitical, it is simply not possible to deal with men who have been a focus of intense controversy without inteijecting opinion. Once upon a time a naive notion gained some currency, a notion that histoiy could be an "objective" enterprise, like, say, mathematics. We know it cannot. Indeed, even the most rudimentaiy aspects of recording history are subjective (choosing, for example, to treat one President at greater length than some other President), and commitment to an explicit point of view is central to the nature of historical scholarship. The Constitution stipulates that every four years there will be a Presidential election in which the people decide among candidates. Just so, this book provides insights from Smithsonian and academic scholars, and offers them back to the people who will, as usual, make up their own minds. —The Editors