Richard Nixon coveted, to the point of obsession, a controversy-free, stage-managed coronation.

JFK had a way of grabbing grandeur from mishap.

Eisenhower on LBJ: "He hadn't got the depth of mind nor the breath vision to carry great responsibility.

The author's alliterative description of politics since the 1960 presidential debates: "Government by Gotcha".

Eleanor Roosevelt on the changes in John F. Kennedy that led her to drop her opposition to his nomination for president: "He has the qualities of a scholar, and a sense of history. I had the feeling that he was the man who can learn. I like him better than I ever had before because he seemed so little caulk-sure, and I think he has a mind that is open to new ideas.

While JFK had made the sale on a political level, he had not yet completed it on an emotional one.