ABSTRACT
The most successful event-making presidents have respected and worked with constitutional institutions and not overreached to any great extent, the three exemplary examples being George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt. Eventful leaders, however, match the logic of American constitutional institutions even better because they make no attempt to overpower checks and balances as some event-making presidents do. Event-making leaders who have made a significant difference are Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush. American democracy does not require that all presidents be event-making. Domestic reform, on John Kennedy's leadership, would have taken place without Johnson, but he added a tempo and velocity that was unique in his leadership of Congress. National security policy has afforded a greater scope for presidential action, for better or for worse. Policy achievements in domestic affairs are more likely to follow from eventful leadership because the constitutional constraints on presidential action are greater.
