Who was the most dangerous American president of the 20th century?
H.S. Truman, who started the Cold War, followed by J.F. Kennedy, macho man with a bad back and no adrenal function, with far too much cortisone being pumped into him. The missile crisis nearly killed everyone on earth. To his credit, he chickened out, but, to Khruschev’s credit, he saw the whole apocalyptic mess and backed off as well. Who was the best American president of the 20th century? The FDR of 1933-37. He saved corporate capitalism. I can’t say, in retrospect, this was such a good thing, but I was a kid when the Bonus Army marched on my hometown of Washington during Hoover and revolution was in the air. The next year FDR was in office. Following up on your New Yorker review of Seymour Hirsch’s JFK biography, how meaningful is a president’s personal life in evaluating his performance as a leader? Regarding Paula Jones, for instance, why do Americans focus on their leaders’ sex lives rather than their political accomplishments? Sex lives are of no consequence in civilized countr
