THE PRESIDENT SPEAKS

A collection of Presidential rhetoric from McKinley to Lyndon B. Johnson. In his commentary and selections editor Filler seeks to elucidate the relationship which our Presidents, all in their own ways, have sought to establish with Congress and the electorate. We thus understand more of the popular mood and sensitive issues which confronted each White House resident. The sentimentalist or amateur archivist can satisfy his curiosity as to the context of such household standbys as ""the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."" Presidents have common problems - Wilson and F.D.R. were both forced to unify a nation in crisis. Their speeches, along with intelligent commentary, tell a great deal about the crises, the men and the restraints and temptations which Federalism bestowed upon the office they held.