Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped Our Recent History.

• Author: McElwaine, Sandra
• Position: Political booknotes: old wives' tales - Review

HIDDEN POWER: Presidential Marriages That Shaped Our Recent History by Kati Marton Pantheon Books, $25.00 IN Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped Our Recent History, Kati Marton provides a rehash of the intimate lives of a dozen occupants of the White House, from Edith and Woodrow Wilson to George and Laura Bush. In a series of gossipy vignettes, Marton explores these high-profile alliances, emphasizing the priapic instincts of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Bill Clinton; the amorous nature of Woodrow Wilson; Franklin D. Roosevelt's romance with Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd; and George H. W. Bush's alleged affair with his longtime secretary, Jennifer Fitzgerald. She recounts the egoism and narcissism of the men revolved and the humiliation some of their wives stoically endured.

With special access to the White House through her husband, Richard Holbrooke, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, her depiction of the tortured Clinton marriage seems especially astute. She also manages to capture the bitterness and tartness of Barbara Bush and the freewheeling, fun-loving spirit of Betty Ford. By scrutinizing these well-publicized partnerships, Marton aims to assess the impact of presidential spouses and the behind-the scenes authority they wielded through pillow talk and subterfuge.

"Whether as soulmates, helpmates or those who are essential to their husbands' political survival, all first ladies have played a part in history," writes Marton. "The quality of her relationship with her husband has been the key factor in determining the extent of her influence." Unfortunately, despite a long list of celebrity acknowledgments and interviews, copious footnotes, and a fair amount of original reporting, there is little new in this ambitious interpretation. Marton arbitrarily omits the Hardings, Coolidges, and Hoovers because "their stories simply do not resonate today." And the Eisenhowers are summarily dismissed because the author finds them wanting. She maintains they left no historic imprint as a couple and calls them anachronistic--"a nostalgic throwback to America's age of conformity."

"Insignificant" is how she describes the colorful Mamie Eisenhower, writing that she played no part in Ike's administration. "Her role was a simple extension of her many years as a dutiful Army wife."

If Marton asserts full-fledged collaboration like the Roosevelts, Johnsons, and Carters as basic criterion for hidden power, though, it is hard...