Marshall here. Welcome back to the rear alignment. I didn't originally plan to schedule things this way, but I recorded this episode before the announcement this past weekend that former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer. First off, I just want to kick off by wishing him all the best. I've

been lucky to have not had a family member or friend have cancer. So to basic human level, I can't

imagine how tough this is supposed to be for him and his family. I also want to point out, though,

that today is also the launch of an explosive new book by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alexe's

Alex Thompson, original sin, President Biden's decline, its cover-up, and his disastrous choice

to run again.

The book created a lot of controversy even before the cancer announcement, and while I'm not

going to cover it specifically on the show, I will probably be listening to it on Audible as you

listen to today's episode. It'll definitely inform how I consider the past four years and what it

means for everyone involved in the political system over the next four years. All that said,

today's episode is going to offer a much more positive view of presidents, the presidency,

leadership, and character.

My guest is Mark K. Uptigrove, the president, CEO of the OBJ Museum, and former director of the

OBJ Library Museum here in Austin, Texas. He's the author of a new book, Make Your Mark Lessons

and Character from Seven Presidents. I should note that Mark has written a bunch of books on the

presidency,

and my favorite is the last Republicans inside the extraordinary relationship between George

H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. Not only is it a great character study of two presidents,

but it also captures the transition from the traditional GOP of the 1980s and 2000s to Trump's

Republican Party today.

Personally, the thing I appreciated the most about the book is the lack of cynicism about

the office and presidents themselves. I just increasingly think that the public's negative

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