It is uncommon to have a President who is a “policy wonk”, a person who delves into the details of policies.
After all, that is what White House staff and cabinet officers are for.
But yet, we have had “policy wonks” that have been President, and not always for the good.
Who among our Presidents clearly qualifies as a “policy wonk”?
Well, we have Abraham Lincoln, who spent innumerable hours a day trying to keep track of every detail of the Civil War.
Theodore Roosevelt put his eyes, ears, and hands into keeping track of everything imaginable, even after he left the Presidency.
Woodrow Wilson, as a good scholar, was intimately involved in every detail of his Presidency, until he suffered a stroke in the middle of his seventh year in the Presidency.
Franklin D. Roosevelt became a great detail man on every aspect of the New Deal and on foreign policy crises.
John F. Kennedy was always on top of everything going on in his administration.
Lyndon B. Johnson kept track of Great Society programs and the casualty counts in the Vietnam War, and was obsessive-complusive.
Richard Nixon was fanatical in keeping track of everything, including details of White House dinners, and that is a major reason why he taped every Oval Office conversation.
Jimmy Carter was obsessive in being intimately involved in his administration’s policies.
Barack Obama has, certainly, been a hands on President in every sense of the word.
And finally, it is clear that Hillary Clinton is a policy wonk, a very bright and perceptive woman, who will not let anything pass her by when she is elected President.