Putting the U.S. presidency in a wider context -- Reagan, Bush, and the emergence of the gridlocked system -- Bill Clinton encounters the governability gap -- Thatcher, Major, and the problem with leaders as icons -- Trudeau, Mulroney, Chrétien, and the rise and fall of personalized leadership -- Hawke, Keating, and a balance between personal and institutional leadership -- Toward a rehabilitation of U.S. executive leadership.