Ike and JFK

Available for over a year

The President of the United States is the most powerful person in the world? Don't believe the hype. He - and maybe someday she - has limits imposed by the Constitution at home and in reality abroad. The President's greatest power is cultural. How a President acts in office and speaks to Americans shapes the society and peoples' memories of him. In this series, Michael Goldfarb looks back at the Presidents of his lifetime, from Eisenhower to Obama. He focuses on how their personalities, actions and words filtered down into ordinary Americans' lives Professional historians have one set of opinions: in most surveys they tend to rank Eisenhower and Reagan above the others while Kennedy and Johnson are considered just above average. But the view from below - and from memory - might surprise the professionals. In this episode, Michael Goldfarb recalls his family's close encounters with Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy.