The Presidency by Hugh Sidey: Learning the Preferences and Quirks of Power

The Presidency

When he was Secretary of State, Edmund Muskie tucked a hand-penned message into Jimmy Carter's evening reading "to keep the personal touch." In secret deliberations when the tide seemed to be running against the interests of President Kennedy or Johnson, Secretary Dean Rusk often would scribble a short plea on note paper and slip it unobtrusively to the man beside him. The message: "Don't make a decision now, Mr. President. Let me see you later." Henry Kissinger had a pact with Gerald Ford to meet at least a half-hour every working day the two were in the same city. "It...

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