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The American President

The American President

“The American President” is a series that aired on PBS in 2000 profiling 41 U.S. chief executives, using exclusive interviews with Presidents Clinton, Bush, Ford, and Carter. Well known figures lend their voice to presidents of the past who lived before sound recordings, including: Colin Powell, Bob Dole, Walter Cronkite, Ben Bradlee, John Glenn, James Carville, Andrew Young, and the Rev. Billy Graham. Narrated by Hugh Sidey.

Created By
StatusEnded
Original NameThe American President
First Air DateApril 9, 2000
Last Air DateApril 13, 2000
Seasons1
Episodes10
Episode Runtime 53min
LanguageEnglish
Original LanguageEnglish
Production Countries
Production Companies
NetworksPBS
S01E10

The Balance of Power

The final episode examines presidential leadership in an era of an increasingly divided government. The American presidency was conceived as one part of a larger system of institutions, and its effectiveness rests in part upon a good measure of cooperation among the branches. The presidents arrayed in this episode (James Madison, James Polk, William Howard Taft, Bill Clinton) suggest four different conceptions of governance within a constitutionally structured balancing act.

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