Congress, Presidents, and American Politics: Fifty Years of Writings and Reflections

"A treasure trove of insightful, real-time commentaries from a consummate legislator highly respected by members of both parties." —US Senator Olympia Snowe When Lee H. Hamilton joined Congress in 1965 as a US Representative from southern Indiana, he began writing commentaries for his constituents describing his experiences, impressions, and developing views of what was right and wrong in American politics. He continued to write regularly throughout his 34 years in office and up to the present. Lively and full of his distinctive insights, Hamilton's essays provide vivid accounts of national milestones over the past fifty years: from the protests of the Sixties, the Vietnam War, and the Great Society reforms, through the Watergate and Iran-Contra affairs, to the post-9/11 years as the vice chairman of the 9/11 commission. Hamilton offers frank and sometimes surprising reflections on Congress, the presidency, and presidential character from Lyndon Johnson to Barack Obama. He argues that there are valuable lessons to be learned from past years, when Congress worked better than it does now. Offering history, politics, and personal reflections all at once, this book will appeal to everyone interested in understanding the America of the 20th and 21st Centuries. "Hamilton provides a solid look at the thinking, actions, and failures from the Lyndon Johnson years to the present." — Kirkus Reviews "This superb collection of Lee Hamilton's commentaries about Washington reminds us why he was a great bipartisan leader for half a century: he understood politics, and he always put his country first." —David Ignatius, columnist, The Washington Post