PREFACE TO THE
SENTRY EDITION
W xNow almost everything about Presidents， I suggest
in these pages， but far too little about tile Presidency. That
paradox has not changed markedly during the eight years
since this book was written -- four years of Lyndon Johnson
and almost four of Richard Nixon. We have had a super-
~ abundance of information about the man in tile oval office，
his wife， daughters， sons-in-law， his daily routine， moods，
i entertainments， travels. But we know all too little about the
vast gray executive establishment that expands， proliferates，
and partially devours the decision-making apparatus of the
rest of the government， hehind tile pleasantly deceptive \"low
profile\" of the White House.
Perhaps it was not surprising that tile executive office
should become bigger and more institutionalized during
Johnson s full term in the White House. Liberal Democratic
Presidents are expected to he \"strong\" chief executives; John-
son had a huge agenda of domestic and foreign policy goals;
and in any event the momentum of tile Roosevelt， Truman，
and Kennedy Administrations could be expected to put pres-
sure on and dilate the executive bureaucracy. The test would
come when a Republican entered the White House with the
aim not only of curbing big government ill general but of
curtailing the \"unbridled executive power\" that good Re-
publicans are taught from tile cradle to abhor.
President Nixon faced and- from a conservative Repub-
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