Two Cheers for Democracy

Not only in America, but around the globe democracy is under siege. In an era personified by Donald Trump, illiberal--increasingly hollow--democracies, and "strongman" dictatorships, it's time to take a closer look at the nature of the leaders who shape our world. The policies or positions that leaders adopt may change, but rarely their personalities. All of us have signature facial expressions that reveal the emotions we gravitate to most often over time. The difference is that in leading a country, the head of state's feelings can hold sway over events likely to greatly impact every citizen's life and well-being. In Two Cheers for Democracy, the focus is on identifying emotional patterns that help to predict three key things about leaders: will they prove to be competent, compelling, and compassionate in executing their official duties? This book analyzes all 44 U.S. presidents to date and every U.S. presidential debate ever held, from 1960 to 2016, in addition to 79 foreign leaders. With results from the American Political Science Association's presidential greatness rankings, Gallup polls, and Freedom House's annual survey of countries' commitment to democracy as benchmarks, Two Cheers for Democracy takes seriously--in a unique way--the central question of today: what's the personality of the people leading us, and can we trust them to look out for the public good? Two Cheers for Democracy comes richly illustrated with photographs and charts, and includes an epilogue with a look at the likely 2020 Democratic front-runners for The White House.