The Evolution And Future Of The American Presidency

How the U.S. presidency became impossible. We talk to John Dickerson of CBS News about why he thinks the job is simply too much for anyone.

Guest

John Dickerson, 60 Minutes correspondent and CBS News political analyst. Contributing editor at The Atlantic. Author of “The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency.” (@jdickerson)

Kimberly Atkins, WBUR senior news correspondent covering national political news. (@KimberlyEAtkins)

From The Reading List

Excerpt from “The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency” by John Dickerson

Excerpt from THE HARDEST JOB IN THE WORLD: The American Presidency by John Dickerson © 2020. Published by Random House, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Reprinted with the permission of the publisher, Random House. All rights reserved.

CBS Sunday Morning: “John Dickerson on the example Ike set for ‘The Hardest Job in the World’” — “President Dwight Eisenhower had a particular way of doing things.”

The Atlantic: “What Trump Should Have Learned From His Predecessors” — “Donald Trump should have seen the coronavirus pandemic coming.”

Washington Post: “The president as parent — consoler, protector and, sometimes, failure” — “Throughout our history, presidents have played a parental role for our large, diverse nation.”

CBS Sunday Morning: “Book excerpt: John Dickerson’s ‘The Hardest Job In the World’” — “On election night 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt went to his New York townhouse.”

Washington Post: “Opinion: The ultimate test of presidential character is restraint” — “When one elects a president, character matters above all, or at least should.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org. [Copyright 2020 NPR]