Heart of Power, With a New Preface

David Blumenthal was until recently the Samuel O. Thier Professor of Medicine and Professor of Health Policy at Harvard Medical School and a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital. He has advised Democratic presidential candidates from Michael Dukakis to Barack Obama, and now works on health issues for the Obama Administration. James A. Morone is Professor and Chair of Political Science at Brown University and the author of Hellfire Nation and The Democratic Wish, a New York Times Notable Book and winner of the Gladys Kammerer Award of the American Political Science Association.

• Preface to the 2010 Edition 2009 Preface and Acknowledgments introduction 1. Franklin Delano Roosevelt The Enigmatic Angler 2. Harry S. TrumanWe’ll Take the Starch Out of Them—Eventually 3. Dwight D. EisenhowerCompassionate Conservative 4. John F. KennedyThe Charismatic with a Stricken Father 5. Lyndon B. JohnsonThe Secret History of Medicare 6. Richard NixonA Flower That Bloomed Only in the Dark 7. Jimmy CarterThe Righteous Engineer 8. Ronald ReaganSocialized Medicine and the Working Stiff9. George Herbert Walker BushStick to the Running Game 10. Bill ClintonKicking the Can Down the Road 11. George W. BushBring It On—Reforming Medicare ConclusionEight Rules for the Heart of Power Notes Index

"A riveting history of health-care politics." -- Atul Gawande New Yorker "A book that sets a standard for the study of the presidency and of health policy." Congress & The Presidency "This timely and insightful book puts Barack Obama's current quest for universal health insurance in historical context and gives new meaning to the audacity of hope." -- Robert B. Reich New York Times Book Review "More than an excellent primer on American health policy, the book offers a thorough, incisive look at the presidency as an institution and the men who have occupied the office." STARRED REVIEW Publishers Weekly "A masterpiece and a valuable primer for future presidents as they wrestle with the dragon of health reform." -- Jeff Goldsmith Health Affairs