Alone with the President

by John Strausbaugh

Overview

The author discusses what he sees as "the mutual attraction between presidents and celebrities from Kennedy to Reagan. . . . Kennedy, he argues, took celebrity politics 'to a whole new level'; Nixon learned how to manufacture celebrity; . . . and Reagan combined both men's lessons and became, in the later years of his presidency, 'not so much America's leader as . . . its logo.'

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780922233106
Publisher:	Blast Books
Publication date:	02/28/1994
Pages:	181
Product dimensions:	8.82(w) x 8.85(h) x 0.69(d)

Editorial Reviews

Here is a book that might well have been subtitled ``The Art of Schmoozing.'' Consisting of a collection of photos of various celebrities' visits with presidents from Kennedy to Reagan, it shows the inquisitive reader that the presidency has been a magnet to many in the entertainment world. Sometimes the president's staff saw these photos ops as a means of ``humanizing'' the chief executive; sometimes it was the celebrity in search of reflected power or a rejuvenated career. In any case there are some truly bizarre combinations: Nancy Reagan and Mr. T; Jimmy Carter and Andy Warhol; Nixon with just about anybody. A witty and insightful analysis of the uses of celebrity to stars and presidents alike adds weight to the book. For popular collections.-- Pamela R. Daubenspeck, Warren-Trumbull Cty. P.L., Warren, Ohio

Library Journal

Strausbaugh sketches the mutual attraction between presidents and celebrities from Kennedy to Reagan--"from the president as celebrity to the celebrity as president." The author, an associate editor of New York Press, rejects the White/Boorstin notion that image politics at midcentury was a new threat to democracy generated by modern mass media, especially television. Following Braudy and Brownstein, he observes the same phenomenon from Alexander the Great to Lincoln and both Roosevelts. But Kennedy, he argues, took celebrity politics "to a whole new level"; Nixon, Kennedy's victim in 1960, learned how to manufacture celebrity eight years later; and Reagan combined both men's lessons and became, in the later years of his presidency, "not so much America's leader as . . . its logo." Alone with the President analyzes the nuances of each administration's relationship with the famous, recapturing correspondence and photo-ops, mutual admiration, and occasional mistrust. A penetrating exploration of the intricate tangle of pop culture and political legitimacy.

Mary Carroll