American POTUS

Send us Fan Mail Overcoming the barriers to having their voices heard, female trailblazers in the late 40’s and 50’s opened the door to a new role in American politics.  Their good reasoning and sound judgement were finally being paid attention to by presidential candidates from both parties, something our leaders still benefit from today. The first female presidential counselors and their stories...

Send us Fan Mail We all have friends, and politicians have A LOT of friends.  But when it comes to political “Best Friends”, TR and his buddy Henry Cabot Lodge sets the bar. From a young age, the two men were taught to serve others and achieve tremendous success, which they did with the assistance of each other. But as close as they once were, political bickering tore them apart, only to be brough...

Send us Fan Mail On the national stage, humble politician James Garfield was a virtual unknown - thrust into a long-shot run for the ultimate office, the Presidency. He went on to win the White House in one of the closest elections up to that time. And unexperienced as he may have been, after just 6 months in office he was making a difference and citizens were beginning to take notice.  But as soo...

Send us Fan Mail It was Thomas Jefferson’s big bold real estate deal, the 15 Million Dollar Louisiana Purchase that was just too good to pass up.  It doubled the size of the country, eliminated the threat of a foreign power, connected the western lands, and gave us a stronger hold on the incredibly valuable Ohio territory. So why was this deal that was as important as the revolution and the consti...

Send us Fan Mail Abraham Lincoln’s election of 1860 saw an amazing 80% voter turnout due in part to extreme passions for who would be leading our divided nation, they had never and would never be as high. As a result, Honest Abe’s whisker-close win proved to be the final spark in the explosion of Civil War. So the stage was now set for him to take over, but first he had to travel through the South...

Send us Fan Mail Jack Kennedy won the presidency as a fresh new face for a new generation.  A young, renegade leader who pushed the standards of how the White House conducted its business.  And to this, he was successful just as much as he was a failure. But when he was assassinated in Dallas, his very short 2 plus years in office suddenly became the Presidential standard that our politicians are...

Send us Fan Mail Harry Truman was a smart, humble, confident midwestern Vice President, who woke up one day to find himself in the top job, running the country! And it was no time to sit back and let issues and policies just play out.  It was one of the most tumultuous times in global history, wrapping up a world war and attempting to manage a new cold war! The surprising rise to power of POTUS 33...

Send us Fan Mail The Soviets weren’t too thrilled when this actor turned President rolled into the White House.  His Build-Up-To-Build-Down strategy was about to make life very, very difficult for them. But if one thing was certain, he wouldn’t be able to star in this production alone.  So he put together a dynamic internal cast of characters and relied on supporting allies around the world. We&ap...

Send us Fan Mail When the Soviet Union fell apart, and China began its economic liberalization, it looked like those two old Cold War foes were becoming, if not friends, at least not enemies.  But now we find ourselves in a new Cold War as both those nations aggressively confront America and our allies.  On this special episode of American POTUS being hosted at the Howard Baker Center for Public P...

Send us Fan Mail Marine One is easily the most famous helicopter in the world, typically using the South lawn of the White House to pick up the most famous passenger in the world. So, it’s to no one’s real surprise, that flying, operating, and maintaining this important aircraft is a huge job, because there’s plainly zero room for failure! Flying the POTUS, from the White House, from Camp David, f...

Send us Fan Mail It had been a long time since a Democrat was elected to the White House, until New Yorker Grover Cleveland grabbed the keys in a squeaker.  Taking a tough stand on several domestic issues got him kicked out after just 4 years.  But the poor performance from the guy that replaced him opened the door for an unprecedented return trip to Washington. We're uncovering Cleveland&apo...

Send us Fan Mail From Washington to Buchanan, the first group of guys to head up our new nation were not just dealing with an exciting new job, they were also figuring out what that new job should or shouldn’t be. As the growing pains of our fragile country developed deep divisions both domestically and internationally, each man’s hand was forced.  They were required to do something, anything to t...

Send us Fan Mail In mid-June of 1972, Richard Nixon was riding high.  After just 1-term, the country was getting along better with each other and with our global frien-enemies.  His reelection was all but certain. But after a sloppy burglary of the Democratic headquarters in Watergate, and the chaotic cover-up that followed, our 37th POTUS’s 2nd term fell into a tailspin. We’re offering up a moder...

Send us Fan Mail World War 1 had just wrapped up, and the nation was desperate for a “return to normalcy”.  So who’s more normal than Warren Harding, a small town newspaperman from the Midwest? He was elected in a landslide and seemed to have a fairly successful presidency.  But after he got sick and died in office, trouble started bubbling to the surface.  It seems, while Harding may have been a...

Send us Fan Mail While in office, we debate and critique just about everything a POTUS does.  When they pass on, either in office or long after, the conversation about their policies might lighten up a bit, but the controversy rolls on. Washington’s last wishes, Adams and Jeffersons divine timing, Lincoln’s eventual resting place, Reagan’s final closing scene.  They all reflect the impact these le...

Send us Fan Mail This son-of-a-peanut-farmer could have easily laid down his roots on the land he grew up on.  But great things were calling him far removed from the Georgia countryside.  A graduate of the Naval Academy, a Governor, a President, the man just kept achieving amazing things no one thought possible! But a rough economy here at home and trouble abroad brought his unlikely presidential...

Send us Fan Mail The Watergate cover-up and the resignation.  To this day, they are the first things we remember when it comes to our 37th POTUS. But take away the emotional pre-conceived notions, and what do we discover?  A man with a modest background, a complicated personality and a drive-to-succeed that was off the charts. Leave what you thought about Richard Nixon aside, and consider our obje...

Send us Fan Mail World War 1 was building steam in Europe, with the British and the French desperately doing all they could to get the U.S. involved.  But before America could take up arms on the European battlefield, 3 progressive political heavyweights were battling it out here at home, trying to win over public opinion. It's the fascinating story of 1 past POTUS, 1 current POTUS and 1 fema...

Send us Fan Mail About 5 years into President George W. Bush's War on Terror, things were not going well.  The war in Iraq was failing and The President was getting pressure from all sides, including his own, to pull out and call it quits. But instead, he doubled-down, increasing the number of troops and rethinking how those troops would be used.  It ultimately turned things around and succes...

Send us Fan Mail American POTUS is proud to present a special preview episode of our brand new show, American FLOTUS!  Just like our highly successful series on the history of the presidency, this podcast will include national experts, facts and important perspective to the amazing women who have served as First Lady.  We have a lot of terrific guest experts lined up for future episodes, so be sur...

Send us Fan Mail American POTUS is proud to present a special preview episode of American SCOTUS!  Just like our highly successful series on the history of the presidency, this podcast will present national experts, facts and important perspective to the highest court in the land.  We have a lot of terrific guest experts lined up for future episodes, so be sure to subscribe to American SCOTUS toda...

Send us Fan Mail Grover Cleveland is the only President to serve 1 term, leave the White House, then return for a 2nd term.  His 2 presidency’s were politically rough; a depressed economy, overzealous corporations, and railroads steaming out of control.  But there’s another challenge he dealt with, a more personal, health-related challenge.  And somehow, someway, this President was able to virtual...

Send us Fan Mail The pressure of living and working in The White House can be immense, so pouring a glass of beer, wine or whiskey every now and then to relax and unwind, it’s understandable.  But to each President, his own.  Over time, some may have drunk too much, some not at all, and some cleverly using a well-crafted cocktail…or two… as yet another political tool to push their agenda.  From th...

Send us Fan Mail Martin Van Buren just might be the most important President you don’t really know much about.  Governor, Senator, Secretary of State, VicePOTUS, and POTUS – this man’s resume is long and impressive.  After this lifetime of politics working toward The White House, he had the bad luck of dealing with a nasty financial crisis that ended his presidency nearly as soon as it started, ge...

Send us Fan Mail O ur young, vibrant 35th President’s career path was both fast and fascinating.  He was born into a prominent Massachusetts family, served heroically in World War 2, beat the odds to become a 3 term U.S. Congressman and then served as a U.S. Senator.  But his journey wasn’t all smiles and fairy tale stories.  He faced an incredible amount of challenges; politically, emotionally an...