Running against the Grain: How Opposition Presidents Win the White House

Some presidents enter office with an uphill climb in front of them: their political party represents a different governing philosophy than the dominant strain of the day. These, David A. Crockett says, are “opposition presidents.” If they are, in a sense, out of step with their times, how do they ever get elected in the first place?

In Running against the Grain: How Opposition Presidents Win the White House, Crockett employs historical comparisons to draw conclusions about what it takes for ...