PoliticsYahoo News StaffLyndon B. Johnson: Moral clarity on civil rights
Historian Jonathan Darman examines deciding to pursue civil rights legislation over objections of fellow Southern Democrats.
PoliticsYahoo News StaffGeorge W. Bush: Standing up for tolerance after 9/11
Author Peter Baker discusses Bush’s push against anti-Muslim hatred and discrimination after the attacks on Sept. 11. 2001.
PoliticsYahoo News StaffJimmy Carter: Staking his reputation on a dream of Mideast peace
Jimmy Carter decided to stake his reputation on a dream and personally broker a peace deal between Egypt and Israel.
PoliticsYahoo News StaffFranklin Delano Roosevelt: Calling a ‘bank holiday’ for a collapsing economy
Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin says the "bank holiday" is Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s defining moment of presidential leadership.
PoliticsYahoo News StaffJohn F. Kennedy: Cutting a deal with Khrushchev to save the world
Author Michael Dobbs discusses JFK's defining moment of presidential leadership: preventing nuclear war with Russia.
PoliticsYahoo News StaffBarack Obama: Going for broke in the bin Laden raid
Author Peter Bergen discusses Barack Obama’s defining moment of leadership.
PoliticsYahoo News StaffDwight D. Eisenhower: Facing down the Soviets — and the military-industrial complex
Historian Evan Thomas details Eisenhower's decision to push back on the military-industrial complex during the Cold War.
PoliticsYahoo News StaffGerald Ford: Doing the wrong thing for the right reasons
Journalist Barry Werth discusses the 38th president's defining moment of presidential leadership: his pardon of Richard Nixon.
PoliticsYahoo News StaffGeorge H.W. Bush: Breaking a pledge, doing the right thing on taxes
Historian Jon Meacham examines Bush's costly decision to defy the GOP base and break his "no new taxes" pledge.
PoliticsYahoo News StaffRonald Reagan: Setting back the ‘doomsday clock’ of nuclear war
Historian Lou Cannon looks at Reagan's decision to defy his base and pursue nuclear disarmament with Mikhail Gorbachev.
PoliticsYahoo News StaffHarry S. Truman: A courageous stand on integrating the armed forces
Author Cornelius Bynum explores Truman’s desegregation of the U.S. military, which went against public opinion and military leaders.
PoliticsYahoo News StaffRichard Nixon: A Nixon-goes-to-China moment
Historian Evan Thomas examines Richard Nixon's defining moment of presidential leadership: initiating a relationship with China.
PoliticsYahoo News StaffBill Clinton: Taking on the NRA to pass assault-weapons ban
Author David Maraniss discusses Clinton's defining moment of presidential leadership: getting an assault-rifle ban through Congress.