<p>Richard Norton Smith is a celebrated historian and author, and ABC News' presidential historian. His numerous books have received critical acclaim, with his 1997 biography, "The Colonel: The Life and Legend of Robert R. McCormick," winning the prestigious Goldsmith Prize from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.</p>
<p>Richard Norton Smith has served as the director of the Hoover, Eisenhower, Reagan, and Ford presidential museums. He has also been a prolific political speech writer, working for both Presidents Reagan and Ford.</p>
<p>His in-depth knowledge of the presidency and American history make Richard Norton Smith a sought-after source for analysis of history and predictions for the future of the United States. Using historical examples and his viewpoints on history, he shows it to be a living, breathing entity, bringing it to new life, and showcasing the excitement of the last few hundred years.</p>
Nationally Recognized Authority on the American Presidency
<ul><li><b>Presidential Leadership: Does Character Matter</b></li><li>Millions of voters have joined the academics in debating whether Chester Arthur outperformed William Howard Taft and whether Thomas Jefferson belongs on Mount Rushmore at all. The Constitution is remarkably stingy in defining executive obligations, leaving it to each generation to decide for itself what constitutes presidential success. In recent years, especially, more and more attention has been paid to personal qualities—above all, that hardest of all to measure, individual character. Richard Norton Smith will assess how former presidents such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe constitute a remarkable company of (mostly) role models, as relevant in the twenty-first century as in America's infancy.</li><li><b>Giving Politics a Good Name: Abraham Lincoln's Permanent Campaign</b></li><li>Imagine a time when candidates wrote their own soundbites, and presidents governed without pollsters or spin doctors? Keynote speaker Richard Norton Smith discusses how if Abraham Lincoln is the president against whom all others are measured, it is in no small part because he was the greatest politician ever to occupy the White House. Both pragmatist and idealist, Lincoln told jokes to ward off tears, and defined a president's war powers in ways that affect us all today.</li><li><b>Choosing a President: What Does History Tell Us?</b></li><li>Richard Norton Smith adds a historical perspective to election coverage. His depth of knowledge on the American presidency makes him an engaging political speaker.</li></ul>