Worldview

Abstract

This chapter looks closely at Eisenhower, H. W. Bush, and Obama’s leadership styles and worldviews. It asks how presidents from different backgrounds and life experiences ended up in the White House embracing a similar centrist approach to foreign policy. It explores how these leaders saw themselves, tracing how their worldview evolved. It speculates on what experiences shaped them, looking particularly at Eisenhower’s work in Panama in the 1920s, Bush’s tenure as US Ambassador to China in the 1970s, and Obama’s early childhood in Indonesia in the 1960s. It also explores some of the shared attributes of their leadership worldview, specifically pragmatism, empathy, and tragedy.