Patriots and Scoundrels Revealed in ‘Confronting the Presidents’

“Confronting the Presidents: No Spin Assessments from Washington to Biden” by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard give interesting profiles of American presidents.

A few millennia ago Greek storyteller and fabulist Aesop wryly opined on the subject of politics: “We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.” Echoing that point centuries later, Italian political philosopher and writer Niccolò Machiavelli said, “Politics have no relation to morals.”

The helpful moral for voters today would seem to be that attaining elective office is no guarantee of noble character or pristine persona. Authors Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard maintain that point in American politics in their latest bestseller, “Confronting the Presidents: No Spin Assessments from Washington to Biden.”

Bill O'Reilly at a Hudson Union Society event in September 2010. Justin Hoch/CC BY 2.0

As noted in a recent article about Epoch Times news show host Steve Lance’s interview with Mr. O’Reilly, America tends to mythologize its past presidents. As the authors make clear, the 44 presidents they write about are, like America itself, noble but flawed. Some were patriots, and some were scoundrels.

“Some presidents were drunks. Some corrupt. A few outright racist. Almost all had hidden eccentricities that may startle you,” the authors write in the Prologue. However, they all had one thing in common: “All endured heartbreak.”

From Washington to Obama

The authors make no attempt to rank the presidents. Instead, they objectively list their achievements and failures during their term(s). The book is apolitical—each president’s profile receives roughly the same number of pages regardless of how long they were in office. For instance, Zachary Taylor served just 17 months, and Franklin Roosevelt served 12 years and 39 days, but their profiles are roughly the same length.

As with the other books in the authors’ popular historical series, they entice readers with interesting facts and little known anecdotes in every profile. Each chapter opens with an interesting vignette that is humorous, foreboding, or mysterious. For instance, Chapter 27 begins its narrative describing how the portly William Howard Taft often called for help when he was stuck in the bathtub. The chapter on Stephen Grover Cleveland opens like this: “Grover Cleveland has a secret … He has kept his dark past hidden for a decade. But now the scandal is revealed in black and white.”

Each chapter reveals a significant behind-the-scenes moment or event about the portrayed president; included are biographical data, information on the president’s eating habits and personal life, and a concise summation of their accomplishments or lack thereof during their time in office. (We’re looking at you, Millard Fillmore and Benjamin Harrison.)

Millard Fillmore (L), circa 1855–65 and Benjamin Harrison, 1896. Library of Congress. Public Domain

The authors do a remarkable job of going beyond what’s traditionally known about the presidents. They peel away the veneer of heroism and prestige common in school history books and highlight the humanity of each commander-in-chief. All 44 presidents portrayed had strengths, weaknesses, and character flaws that shaped their character and actions. Many readers may be learning about these for the first time.

Presidential Trivia

Here’s a sample of trivia that would interest readers. America’s sixth president, John Quincy Adams, liked to skinny dip in the Potomac River nearly every day. “Adams has no problem whatsoever standing nude along the riverbank in full view of strangers,” the authors write. His predecessor, James Monroe, ran for his second term unopposed in 1820. He’s the only American president in history to do so.

John Quincy Adams (L), 1824, by Thomas Sully; James Monroe, 1820–1822, by Gilbert Stuart. Public Domain

Zachary Taylor, America’s 12th president, died of cholera in 1850, but suspicions persisted for decades that he was poisoned by political enemies. It wasn’t until 1991 that Taylor’s body was exhumed in Louisville, Kentucky; testing confirmed he died of bad food and water and a combination of the “medical treatments” he got.

America’s 20th president, James Garfield, survived 80 days after being shot twice at point blank range. The first bullet hit his arm, and the second his back where it lodged in his torso. When a team of nine doctors was unable to remove a bullet lodged in his torso, he died of blood poisoning and infection.

Warren Harding was America’s 29th president. While president, he engaged in numerous extramarital affairs, fathered a daughter out of wedlock, and smuggled in whiskey for late night poker games during Prohibition.

Prior to his presidency, Calvin Coolidge was Harding’s vice president, and succeeded Harding as the nation’s 30th chief executive; he won every election he competed in except one. Prior to serving as a town mayor, state representative, lieutenant governor, and governor of Massachusetts, vice-president and president, he lost the race for his local school board.

Presidents Harding (L) and Coolidge (when Coolidge was Harding’s vice president) with their wives, 1921. Library of Congress. Public Domain

After America’s 33rd president, Harry Truman, ordered atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in 1945, a third atomic bomb was readied to be dropped. The authors explain why that didn’t happen.

A Balanced Perspective

The authors state the purpose of their book is to show readers who the presidents were as human beings, not just powerful men who reached the pinnacle of politics. Mr. O’Reilly says he discovered something about each president in every chapter, and he thinks that is the most entertaining part of the book. It’s also interesting to contemplate how presidential decisions made decades, or even centuries, ago affect us today by the way each president conducted himself in office.

There are no profiles on Presidents Biden and Trump because their history is still unfolding. The authors do include essays on both at the end of the book. They outline their personal perspectives on the 45th and 46th presidents.

“Confronting the Presidents” strikes a fine balance between being informative, compelling, and entertaining. Academics, history enthusiasts, and high school students are certain to learn details about the presidential patriots and scoundrels they didn’t know.

“Confronting the Presidents: No Spin Assessments from Washington to Biden” by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard.

Confronting the Presidents: No Spin Assessments from Washington to Biden By Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard St. Martin’s Press, Sept. 10, 2024 Hardcover: 432 pages

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