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The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Presidents: From Wilson to Obama

(Politically Incorrect Guides)

Steven F. Hayward

3.58 · Rating details · 214 ratings · 43 reviews

What Makes a President Great?

Academics, journalists, and popular historians agree. Our greatest presidents are the ones who confronted a national crisis and mobilized the entire nation to face it. That’s the conventional wisdom. The chief executives who are celebrated in textbooks and placed in the top echelon of presidents in surveys of experts are the “bold” leaders— the What Makes a President Great?

Academics, journalists, and popular historians agree. Our greatest presidents are the ones who confronted a national crisis and mobilized the entire nation to face it. That’s the conventional wisdom. The chief executives who are celebrated in textbooks and placed in the top echelon of presidents in surveys of experts are the “bold” leaders— the Woodrow Wilsons and Franklin Roosevelts— who reshaped the United States in line with their grand “vision” for America.

Unfortunately, along the way, these “great” presidents inevitably expanded government— and shrunk our liberties.

As the twentieth-century presidency has grown far beyond the bounds the Founders established for the office, the idea that our chief executive is responsible to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States” has become a distant memory.

Historian and celebrated Reagan biographer Steven F. Hayward reminds us that the Founders had an entirely different idea of greatness in the presidential office. The personal ambitions, populist appeals, and bribes paid to the voters with their own money that most modern presidents engage in would strike them as instances of the demagoguery they most feared— one of the great dangers to the people’s liberty that they wrote the Constitution explicitly to guard against. The Founders, in contrast to today’s historians, expected great presidents to be champions of the limited government established by the Constitution.

Working from that almost forgotten standard of presidential greatness, Steven Hayward offers a fascinating off–the–beaten–track tour through the modern presidency, from the Progressive Era’s Woodrow Wilson to Barack Obama. Along the way, he serves up fresh historical insights, recalls forgotten anecdotes, celebrates undervalued presidents who took important stands in defense of the Constitution— and points the way to a revival of truly constitutional government in America.

What you didn’t learn from your history teacher, but will find in The Politically Incorrect Guide™ to the Presidents:
Progressive hero Woodrow Wilson aired a pro–Ku Klux Klan movie at the White House
Calvin Coolidge, much mocked by liberal historians as a bland Babbitt, was the last president to write his own speeches, guided the country through years of prosperity and limited government, and was one of the most cultured men ever to live in the White House
Why Eisenhower’s two biggest mistakes as president were, in his own words “both sitting on the Supreme Court”
How as president JFK took mind–altering drugs, many of them prescribed by a physician he called “Dr. Feelgood,” who later lost his medical license for malpractice
Nixon’s hysterically vilified Christmas bombing of North Vietnam in 1972 caused very few civilian casualties and compelled North Vietnam to negotiate an end to the Vietnam War
The misunderestimated George W. Bush read 186 books during his presidency, mostly non–fiction, biography, and history
...more

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Paperback, 307 pages

Published February 13th 2012 by Regnery Publishing (first published January 1st 2012)

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· 214 ratings · 43 reviews

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Jul 11, 2012 Scott rated it did not like it

I "finished" this book after reading through Chapter 3.

I would not recommend it.

First, I'll admit that I lean libertarian in my politics. So neither those who identify with Democrats nor those who identify with Republicans will have much of worth to offer me in terms of words or ideas. A preponderance of those who identify with either of these political parties are statists—people who are working to make governments bigger.

In this book Steven F. Hayward gives a letter grade to the U.S. Presiden ...more

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Nov 11, 2012 John rated it really liked it

Shelves: politics, history

A fun, basic guide to our modern presidents, told from a completely biased point-of-view (as if there's any other kind). The book is probably a little too kind to George W. Bush and a little too hard on Obama (he receives an "F-" grade, the lowest for any president), but whatever. There's a lot of great information here, and it's the kind of book that does a good job separating hype from reality. Because of this book, I now have a much higher opinion of some of the rather obscure presidents like ...more

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Apr 20, 2020 The White Tiger rated it did not like it

Shelves: garbage

This book masquerades as historical presidential analysis by using an academic-style grading system to whitewash myriad logical fallicies and selective evidence (when given). Most discussions are overly critical without considering broader domestic and international contexts challenging presidents of the modern era. My rating is not a disagreement with the author's assessments, but, rather, is my own assessment of his ability to construct and cogently defend an argument. Overall: disappointing. ...more

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Mar 23, 2012 Dale rated it it was amazing

An entertaining read and a great way to rate the presidents

Published in 2012 by Regnery Publishing, Inc.

First and foremost, the latest entry in the P.I.G. series is a great read. Steven Hayward is to be commended for making what could have been a very stale read into an entertaining read - he has a light touch.

Secondly, how sad is it that grading presidents by how well they "preserve, protect, and defend" the constitution is a unique idea?

Hayward begins with a look at what the founders wrote abo ...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Luke rated it liked it

Shelves: presidents

Hayward's book on the Presidents from Wilson to Obama is useful, in that it shines a light on Warren Harding as Calvin Coolidge's fidelity to the Constitution.
However, the author, who is an analyst for the neoconservative think thank American Enterprise Institute, shows his true colors by whitewashing Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal, and by misleading the reader on George W. Bush's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. ...more

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Feb 26, 2016 Gwen - Chew & Digest Books - rated it liked it

Shelves: library, audio, nonfiction, 2016

*It should be noted that post the publish date of this, DNA tests have proven that William G. Harding was indeed the father of Nan Britton's daughter, Elizabeth Ann Blaesing.

This is very right leaning, but an interesting and, I think, valid framework to use when looking at and grading the Presidents. How did they stand in defending the Constitution? I would love to read a non-partisan view, using the same concept. Sadly, I don't think I'll be seeing that anytime soon.

...more

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Mar 24, 2017 Jody rated it did not like it

I gave this book 15 minutes before I noped the fuck out. Nope, nope, fucking nope. I'll find a different book to read on the presidents, thank you very much. ...more

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Oct 19, 2018 Colleen Herst rated it did not like it

If you are a conservative & want your viewpoint echoed back to you then this is the book for you! This guy is ass neutral as a pundit on cable news.

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Jun 25, 2018 Nathan Albright rated it it was amazing

Shelves: challenge-2018

I was not surprised, given how highly the first volume of this series viewed the presidents of the late 18th and 19th centuries, that there would be a lot of negative comments made about the presidents of the 20th century as a whole. By and large, this book did not therefore present the same sort of surprises that the first volume did. I enjoyed reading the book and lamented the lack of constitutionality among so many of the presidents included on this list, but I must admit I was not surprise I was not surprised, given how highly the first volume of this series viewed the presidents of the late 18th and 19th centuries, that there would be a lot of negative comments made about the presidents of the 20th century as a whole. By and large, this book did not therefore present the same sort of surprises that the first volume did. I enjoyed reading the book and lamented the lack of constitutionality among so many of the presidents included on this list, but I must admit I was not surprised by what was said [1]. I was not even surprised by the wit that the author showed when writing about the more contemporary presidents who have been a part of the massive expansion of government power far beyond anything the Founding Fathers would have conceived or approved of. Moreover, there is no change in our society that justifies such expansion of power, for our society is in no more need of such a paternalistic government than was the America of our founding, perhaps even less in need of one.

Like the first volume of this collection, the general format and size and scope of the work is similar, except that there are many more details--some of them quite tawdry--about the presidents from Wilson to Obama, largely because there are fewer of them. At any rate, there is a grade, some funny quotes, some detailed discussion of their backgrounds and presidencies, and some suggestions for further reading if you agree with the perspective of the author and want something worthwhile to read about one or another of the presidents included. While it is not surprising, the author gives a large number of poor marks, giving an F grade to Wilson, FDR, Johnson, Carter, Clinton, and Obama. Indeed, JFK, whose grossly sensual life and poor health earn him a great deal of criticism from the author, is the last of the Democrats to receive a passing grade, although the author has considerable praise for Truman along with some pointed criticism. The author, it should be noted, does not only look at the constitutionality of the presidents but also the extent to which they defended America's best interests and brought credit upon their office, and on those grounds a lot of presidents, especially Democrats, did especially poorly, although the author certainly finds much to criticize Republicans for as well.

In looking at this book, it is pretty clear that the authors envision some drastic changes when it comes to the presidency. In the face of an electorate that has often been satiated on populist promises on the part of political candidates for more being done for them and less by themselves, the authors urge future presidents to be dignified and restrained, to do what is best for Americans and defend the Constitution even if it means, as it will, being continually libeled and slandered by leftists of all persuasions, especially in academia, trusting that history will eventually be just even if historians are seldom just, especially contemporary ones. I cannot say that these circumstances would encourage anyone to become president as a constitutional president, but it is probably true, unfortunately, that anyone who wants to be president and is filled to the brim with ambition for the office is unworthy of it, and anyone who views it as a solemn duty and even a burden to be handled with courage and dignity and fortitude is likely not to enjoy it very much, alas.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016... ...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Oliver Collard rated it it was ok

An interesting and fairly detailed overview of the modern presidency, which claims to put forward a constitutionally strict constructionist view of the office. Hard to disagree that the founding fathers would probably be "appalled" by the Brobdingnagian stature of modern day White House tenants. As with any political issue, the presidency obviously attracts partisanship and I was expecting a degree of this - in its right wing form - in Hayward's writing, what with him being a fairly prominent Co ...more

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Jun 04, 2017 Eric Parsons rated it it was amazing

There is a large majority of the population who will hate this book. The primary reason is because the author--a self-identified Tea Party member--gives presidents grades based on their adherence to the Constitution as originally intended and on their Supreme Court appointees. From the opening president--Woodrow Wilson--it is clear that the Democrats are generally not going to fair very well and I do think that the author overrates a couple of Republicans, but no matter.

What really needs to be c ...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Ray rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I was hoping for a little more in-depth and independent analysis in this book, but there really weren't any significant surprises. The author, Steven F. Hayward, is a fairly well known political commentator and author with libertarian and conservative viewpoints. Accordingly, I don't think anyone would be very surprised to see that Hayward rates our recent Presidents in accordance with their political Party. For example, Hayward gives President Reagan a grade of A, and grades both Bush 41 and 43 ...more

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Feb 12, 2015 Gary rated it really liked it

Shelves: state-matters, non-pc, historica-modern

The constitution-orientated look at each 20th Century President made this a very interesting and useful book. There were lots of surprises. And many gaps in my knowledge of the Presidency and US Presidents were filled. It is well written, too.

But there was a little unfairness in how some men's actions were viewed. Mainly that was a minor failing... until he got to George W Bush! He gave him a B+! But he did so without even mentioning the Patriot Act. He did this by playing down TARP. And since h ...more

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Aug 20, 2013 Nathan rated it it was ok

This book was a severe disappointment. I have read about 10 PIGs and loved most of them. This book was all about toeing the Republican party line (neo-conservatism) rather than small government. The author was completely unfair and inconsistent with his assessments of presidents. For instance, he completely ignored that Reagan grew the size of government and spent a ton, and he also ignored the very important deregulatory policies that Carter signed off on (example: deregulation of airline indus ...more

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Oct 02, 2014 W. Frazier rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-completed

This book is an insightful analysis of Presidents based on how their policies have adhered to Constitutional principles. Each President is given a letter grade based on their performances in foreign and domestic policy issues, as well as their Supreme Court appointments. At times the reflections get a little heavy-handed, but there is a lot of good information, and many interesting did-you-knows.

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Oct 02, 2016 Reza Amiri Praramadhan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-ebooks

After years of reading history of POTUS depicted in usual (liberal) way, it's refreshing to look at it from the other side. Surprising that "great" presidents such as Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy, and of course, "The Blessed" Barack Obama got an F, while name Warren Harding, which usually ranked at the bottom of the list got an A. This book is an absolute eye-opener indeed. ...more

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Nov 21, 2017 Douglas Reedy rated it liked it

Most of the Politically Incorrect series books are fun to read and very fair to both sides of an issue. But this book is way one sided, promoting only the very right wing views.

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Jan 14, 2018 W rated it it was ok

Shelves: history

read four chapters and have already known about the author's political view, or, to be more accurate, political bias. ...more

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Sep 07, 2020 Nicky P rated it it was ok

An impressive self fellating book. Just skip this and know they’re all elitist war criminals.

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Nov 04, 2019 David rated it it was amazing

This is Part 2 of the Politically Incorrect Guide to the Presidents by Steven Hayward and picks up where Part 1 left off covering Woodrow Wilson through Barack Obama. It provides a good summary of each of these presidents accomplishments, major events during their terms, as well as many little-known facts about them personally. Some of them, such as Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Reagan, are dealt with in more detail than some others. Each President is covered in essentially his own chapter and the rea ...more

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Dec 15, 2021 John-Arne rated it did not like it

Seldom have I read a more slanderous historical work. I recon that parts of the slander might actually be true but it's far from fair and balanced. The author sympathises with the tea party movement and does not acknowledge that his all trading of historical text are historically situated. That includes the American Constitution.

And although he makes no effort in hiding where he stands, it sometimes becomes comical. That Reagan is the great hero comes as no surprise but the misgivings he has the ...more

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May 20, 2020 Konstantin Dobrev rated it did not like it

It is sufficient to read the chapter on the Cuban crisis - a major triumph for the United States, which weakened the Soviet Union and discredited Krushchev, with almost no drawbacks for the US - where the whole incident is described as a failure for the US, to realize that the author has no interest whatsoever in objectivity or factual accuracy. Either the author is unaware of the consequences of an invasion of Cuba, in which case he has no business writing such a book or he considered the invas ...more

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Feb 06, 2021 Mark rated it it was ok

Some very interesting information from an ultra conservative point of view. It’s marred by the author’s insistence on taking swipes at democratic admins as a partisan exercise. And of course the author’s subsequent support of an administration that exemplifies everything he says a president shouldn’t do in order for the GOP to simply maintain power betrays the fact that he doesn’t really believe anything he wrote or at the very least considers those things less important than simply maintaining ...more

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Apr 20, 2021 C.A. Gray rated it it was amazing

A great synopsis -- I learned a lot about the presidents before my time, and since I've only recently started paying attention to politics, also learned a lot more backstory about those during my lifetime as well. The title tells you off the bat that the book is biased, but at the same time, what's "mainstream" is also incredibly biased, and also less honest about it. Since I'm no history scholar I don't really know whether this is an unbiased perspective that simply counters the woke mainstream ...more

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Apr 12, 2018 Geldar rated it liked it

By "Politically Incorrect," Mr. Hayward means "Tea-Party Republican," which I probably would have discovered if I'd researched this book for one second prior to reading it. The spin is annoying but generally pretty clear, particularly with the most recent presidents, and many interesting storied are told despite it. ...more

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Sep 11, 2018 Rich rated it really liked it

Good reading, but got a but tedious at times. Fantastic information about the most important criteria to judge a President.

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Jun 29, 2021 Kevin Koppelmann rated it really liked it

Lots of interesting information about our presidents

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Jan 28, 2022 Steven Yoder rated it it was amazing

Hayward rates the Presidents on how close they follow the Constitution. Obviously, it turns presidential ratings on their head as the most unconstitutional presidents are rated low for once.

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