Watch The American President online: Episode 3 Executive Vision (The American Way & The World Stage)

The American Way: It is often observed that American national identity is less a condition than an idea. No one is better positioned to express that idea than the president. What we have come to refer to as "the vision thing" is an expectation that our presidents will bring to office a particularly strong sense of national mission. The four chronicled here may have understood the special character of America in different ways, but in each case a belief that there was a distinctly American way of doing things guided their decisions. The World Stage: The president has no greater responsibility than representing the nation on the world stage. Securing a stable world in which American interests can be asserted and defended has been a basic part of the president's job description from the very beginning of our constitutional history. These four men engaged in this task at critical times in our national history and their achievements on the world stage stand as their most durable legacy.

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