Prisoners of the White House: The Isolation of America's Presidents and the Crisis of Leadership

by Kenneth T. Walsh

Overview

Prisoners of the White House looks at the isolation experienced by presidents of the United States in the White House, a habitat almost guaranteed to keep America's commander in chief far removed from everyday life. The authors look at how this is emerging as one of the most serious dilemmas facing the American presidency. As presidents have become more isolated, the role of the presidential pollster has grown. Ken Walsh has been given exclusive access to the polls and confidential memos received by presidents over the years, and has interviewed presidential pollsters directly to gain their unique perspective. Prisoners of the White House gets inside the bubble and punctures the mythology surrounding the presidency.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781317253464
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/17/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	264
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Authored by Walsh, Kenneth T.

Table of Contents

Introduction; Part I Four who Lost the People; chapterOne From Outreach to Isolation, Lyndon B. Johnson; chapterTwo In the Bunker, Richard Nixon; chapterThree Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes, Jimmy Carter; chapterFour Missing the Obvious, George H.W. Bush; Part II Two Defiant Princes; chapterFive Strange Bedfellows, John F. Kennedy, George W. Bush; Part III Five Who Stayed Connected; chapterSix Reading the Nation’s Pulse with Eleanor, Franklin D. Roosevelt; chapterSeven Connected to Everyman, Harry Truman; chapterEight Middle-Class Roots, Ronald Reagan; chapterNine Escapes from Disaster, Bill Clinton; chapterTen Beyond the Beltway, Barack Obama; Part IV From Wizards to Chicken Peddlers; chapterEleven The Wizards of the White House; chapterTwelve Breaking out of the Bubble;

Editorial Reviews

Walsh, who has covered the White House…for more than a quarter-century, knows his beat intimately and has had at least a passing acquaintance with every president since George H.W. Bush…on the whole he takes a reasonably distanced approach to the men he has covered and recognizes their faults as well as their virtues…Prisoners of the White House…is a useful survey of how presidents are isolated from their constituency and how some of them have tried to overcome that.

The Washington Post - Jonathan Yardley

Veteran White House correspondent Walsh (Family of Freedom: Presidents and African Americans in the White House) provides an uncontroversial review of efforts by presidents—from Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama—to maintain contact with the American people, despite their isolation in office. Arguing that the presidents who do this best have the most successful administrations, Walsh traces the evolution of the key technique of polling, which has become an indispensable tool. The author notes that polls are not always reliable, but they enable both a sampling of public opinion and a means of shaping that opinion. Other methods of keeping a finger on the public pulse include monitoring the media, sampling letters from constituents, consulting legislators and friends, and conversations with citizens. Unfortunately, Walsh doesn’t offer a concrete escape plan for breaking out of the gilded prison of the White House—a goal that might well be impractical anyway. Nevertheless, students of political science and history will find this to be a worthwhile reflection on how the presidency has evolved. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Walsh, (former White House correspondent, US News & World Report; Family of Freedom: Presidents and African Americans in the White House) evaluates the attempts from Franklin Roosevelt's third term through President Obama's first to keep in touch with the country. The book is based on previous presidential studies, the author's interviews with White House advisers, and newly available presidential papers. It examines each administration's methods, including initiatives by first ladies, to access the public mood from within an increasingly insular White House. Rather than being organized chronologically, the book is organized around the theme of an administration's level of success in maintaining connection with public opinion: those that lost contact with it (Nixon and Carter); two administrations that proactively worked on public opinion to establish new agendas (Kennedy's civil rights campaign and George W. Bush's war on terror); and administrations that maintained contact with the American public (Clinton and Reagan). Lastly, the book discusses the evolution and abilities of presidential pollsters, or "wizards," from Roosevelt's Hadley Cantril to Obama's Joel Benenson, men charged with keeping the administration connected to the people. VERDICT This insightful and informative work will appeal to anyone interested in the evolving U.S. presidency and the ability of each administration to break out of the White House bubble and stay connected with the nation.—Marcus Kieltyka, Central Washington Univ. Lib., Ellensburg

Library Journal

A review on Prisoners of the White House by Publishers Weekly: Found Here

A starred review on Prisoners of the White House by Library Journal: Found Here

"Recommended."
-CHOICE

"Intelligent and insightful, Walsh's analysis is a reminder that for American leaders, freedom is not for free. An intriguing look at one of the world's toughest jobs." —Kirkus Reviews

"Walsh. . .knows his beat intimately and has had at least a passing acquaintance with every president since George H.W. Bush. . . .he takes a reasonably distanced approach to the men he has covered and recognizes their faults as well as their virtues. . . .[Prisoners of the White House] is a useful survey of how presidents are isolated from their constituency and how some of them have tried to overcome that."
-Johnathan Yardley of The Washington Post

"Kenneth Walsh is one of the finest reporters in the country, watching and examining a string of presidents. In Prisoners, he offers a cogent analysis of how presidents become trapped in a White House bubble, cut off from the outside world. With a keen eye for illustrative stories, he not only takes us inside their isolation but also provides a good road map for them to escape and reconnect with the country."
—David Gergen, Harvard Kennedy School and Senior Political Analyst at CNN

"Ken Walsh has the inside scoop on the Presidency from FDR to Obama, offering powerful evidence that the White House really is headquarters for the loneliest job in the world."
—Larry J. Sabato, Director, University of Virginia Center for Politics

"Ken Walsh's uncommon insights on how Presidents keep their 'ear to the ground' or don't is another winner. As Ken explains so vividly and well, the job of a President is to build consensus in America, not simply in Washington."
—Kenneth M. Duberstein, former White House chief of staff for President Ronald Reagan

"The biggest surprise when I started covering the White House during the Clinton years was realizing how dangerous 'the bubble' could be to a president who failed to pierce it somehow and maintain ties to average Americans. Ken Walsh brings this challenge alive, and by his fresh reporting shows how heightened security concerns and social media innovations have made this challenge even more formidable — and interesting!"
—Jackie Calmes, White House correspondent, The New York Times

"Ken Walsh delivers a smart and insightful account of how modern presidents have tried, and sometimes failed, to stay connected to the political realities of their times. Walsh's book combines sophisticated analysis with behind-the-scenes reporting to shine new light on the multiple paths presidents from FDR to Obama have taken to reach out behind the White House gates to keep their fingers on the pulse of the people."
—Geoff Garin, President of Hart Research Associates and leading Democratic political pollster, analyst, and strategist

"Ken Walsh's important book adds a compelling dimension to our understanding of presidential dilemmas. His book should become required reading for everyone concerned with the national well-being."
—Robert Dallek, Presidential historian

From the Publisher