Celebrity in Chief: A History of the Presidents and the Culture of Stardom, With a New Epilogue on Hillary and “The Donald”

282 Pages·2016·25.231 MB·English

by  Kenneth T. Walsh

Ken Walsh brings his keen eye to one of the defining aspects of the modern
presidency. In this entertaining and informative book, Walsh provides a fascina-
tinglook atthe waysinwhich celebrityculture hasshaped presidentialpoliticsin
recentdecades.Thebookissuretocontributetodebatesaboutthefutureofthe
White House and the health of American democracy.
JulianE.Zelizer,authorofTheFierceUrgencyofNow:LyndonJohnson,Congress
andtheBattlefortheGreatSociety
This page intentionally left blank
CELEBRITY IN CHIEF
With the advent of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as presidential nominees, the
examinationoftheroleofcelebritycultureintheWhiteHousetakesonafreshappeal.This
book,byaward-winningWhiteHousecorrespondentandpresidentialhistorianKennethT.
Walsh, takes a detailed and comprehensive look at the history of America’s presidents as
“celebritiesinchief”sincethebeginningoftheRepublic.Walshmakesthepointthatmodern
presidents need to be celebrities and build on their famein order to propel their agendas
andrallypublicsupportforthemselvesasnationalleaderssothattheycangetthingsdone.
Combining incisive historical analysis with a journalist’s eye for detail, this book
looks back to such presidents as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as the fore-
runners of contemporary celebrity presidents. It examines modern presidents including
BarackObama,BillClinton,RonaldReagan,JohnF.Kennedy,FranklinRoosevelt,and
Theodore Roosevelt, each of whom qualified as a celebrity in his own time and place.
Thebookalsolooksatpresidentswhofellshortintheirstarappeal,suchasGeorgeW.Bush,
George H. W. Bush, Richard Nixon, and Lyndon Johnson and explains why their star
power was lacking.
Among the special features of the book are detailed profiles of the presidents and
howtheymeasureduporfailedascelebrities;anhistoricalanalysisofAmerica’spopular
cultureandhowpresidentshaveplayedapartinit,fromsportsandtelevisiontomovies
and the news media; the role of first ladies; and a portfolio of fascinating photos illus-
trating the intersection of the presidency with popular culture. An update looking at
Hillary and “The Donald” puts contemporary politics in perspective with the evolution
ofpresidentialcelebrity.
Kenneth T. Walsh is the chief White House correspondent for U.S. News and World
Report. He is the author of the daily blog “Ken Walsh’s Washington” for usnews.com
and“ThePresidency,”aweeklycolumnforusnews.com.Hehascoveredthepresidency
since 1986 and is one of the longest-serving White House correspondents in history.
Walshisthe formerpresident ofthe WhiteHouseCorrespondents’ Association and has
servedasanadjunctprofessorofcommunicationatAmericanUniversityinWashington,
DC.Heistheauthorofsevenbooks,includingPrisonersoftheWhiteHouseandFamily
ofFreedom,publishedbyRoutledge.
AlSO by Kenneth t. WAlSh
Feeding the Beast: The White House versus the Press
Ronald Reagan: Biography
Air Force One: A History of the Presidents and Their Planes
From Mount Vernon to Crawford: A History of the Presidents and Their Retreats
Family of Freedom: Presidents and African Americans in the White House
Prisoners of the White House: The Isolation of America’s Presidents and the Crisis
of Leadership
Celebrity in Chief
A H P
istory of tHe residents
C s
And tHe ulture of tArdom
With a New Epilogue on Hillary
and “The Donald”
8
B
y
K t. W
ennetH AlsH
K
OR L~O~NoD~O;NLJO~LNnOD~NO~D~NLOuONpNDON
KY
OR LONDOLNOLNODNODNONLONDON
Y
LONDONANDNEWYOLROKNDON
Firstpublished2017
byRoutledge
711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017
andbyRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,Oxon,OX144RN
RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness
©2017Taylor&Francis
TherightofKennethT.Walshtobeidentifiedasauthorofthisworkhas
beenassertedbytheminaccordancewithsections77and78ofthe
Copyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedor
utilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,now
knownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orinany
informationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthe
publishers.
Trademarknotice:Productorcorporatenamesmaybetrademarksor
registeredtrademarks,andareusedonlyforidentificationandexplanation
withoutintenttoinfringe.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Names:Walsh,KennethT.,author.
Title:Celebrityinchief:ahistoryofthepresidentsandthecultureofstardom:
withanewepilogueonHillaryand“theDonald”/byKennethT.Walsh.
Description:NewYork,NY:Routledge,2017.|Includesbibliographical
referencesandindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2016031113|ISBN9781138235762(hardback)|
ISBN9781138235779(pbk.)|ISBN9781315303994(ebook)
Subjects:LCSH:Presidents--UnitedStates--Sociallifeandcustoms.|
Presidents--UnitedStates--History.|Celebrities--UnitedStates--Sociallifeand
customs.|Celebrities--UnitedStates--History.|Politicalculture--UnitedStates.
Classification:LCCE176.1.W2792017|DDC973.09/9--dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2016031113
ISBN:978-1-138-23576-2(hbk)
ISBN:978-1-138-23577-9(pbk)
ISBN:978-1-315-30399-4(ebk)
TypesetinGalliard
byTaylor&FrancisBooks
For Barclay
This page intentionally left blank
8
C
ontents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction The Rise of the Concept of Stardom
and the Culture of Celebrity 1
Chapter One Forerunners of the Modern Celebrity Presidents:
Washington to Cleveland 13
Chapter Two Theodore Roosevelt: The Strenuous Life 25
Chapter Three Franklin D. Roosevelt: Public Advocate 31
Chapter Four John F. Kennedy: Glitter and Cool 37
Chapter Five Ronald Reagan: The Role of the Century 45
Chapter Six Bill Clinton: Pop Icon 53
Chapter Seven Barack Obama: Making History and
Taking New Paths 61
Chapter Eight Second Billing: From Truman to the Bushes 77
Chapter Nine First Ladies: Partners in Celebrity 93
Chapter Ten Presidents and Television: Primal Forces 107
Chapter Eleven Presidents and the News Media: Tug of War 121
ix