"Instead of helping resolve when, how, and where [presidential] popularity should matter, Merry treats the whole matter as sport..."

"... a game in which 'the rules … can be changed from time to time.' In a time of purported national decline, the last thing we need when exploring statesmanship is another game. Where They Stand provides a diverting and occasionally enlightening tour through the legacies of dozens of presidents. But those seeking to chart a course between the argument for polarization-as-greatness and the pursuit of shallow popularity will be left at square one."

The conclusion of a TNR book review by Michael Signer. The book is: "Where They Stand: The American Presidents in the Eyes of Voters and Historians," by Robert W. Merry. (I love that the man named "Merry" is inclined to make a game of it, and the man name "Signer" would like something specific to endorse.)