Amazon.com description: Product Description: This is a fresh analysis of the core factors that spell success, mediocrity, or outright failure in the White House. It discusses how some chief executives have managed to avoid pitfalls better than others. It shows us how core presidential errors interact and compound, with significant implications for the performance of the political system as a whole. With just two exceptions - Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama - all of our recent presidents have proved unsuccessful or mediocre as leaders. This is one reason why Washington has become more dysfunctional than at any time in over a century. Since the administration of Richard Nixon, each president, one after another, has tended to commit similar mistakes. This book identifies the core factors that spell success, mediocrity, or outright failure in the White House. It discusses how some chief executives have managed to avoid pitfalls better than others. Reaching back to the beginning of America's national history, earlier presidents' "best practices" are contrasted with those on display in recent decades. Were they guided by these examples, the argument runs, modern presidents would enjoy a higher rate of success. Finally, the book shows that core presidential errors interact and compound, with significant implications for the performance of the political system as a whole.