Richard Neustadt identifies three specific traits that a person must possess to succeed as President of the United States of America. He said "the presidency is not a place for amateurs" and that candidates must possess specific characteristics if they are to succeed in commanding one of the world's largest and strongest nations. According to him, the three criteria a man must possess to succeed as president include the power of persuasion, a professional reputation and public prestige. Herbert Hoover, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan are three elected presidents in office during three very different eras in American history. The following research paper will examine how each of these three men succeeded and failed in meeting Neustadt's criteria for presidential greatness. Additionally, this research paper will compare and contrast the successes and failures of all three men and finally, the paper will conclude by offering a personal consideration of what, in my opinion, makes a truly great president. Looking at how he met Neustadt's three criteria, one could classify Hoover as a weaker president than the others. Due to his apolitical background, Hoover was not a very persuasive man and did not possess the skills necessary to succeed in Washington. Although he was one of the smartest men ever elected president and the only engineer, his programs often failed to stimulate the consumption and production needed to lift America out of the Depression. As a result, many attribute the severity of the depression to the lack of government involvement in trying to stimulate the economy. Hoover refused to allow the federal government to set prices, control businesses, manipulate currency values, etc. Because Hoover had always... middle of paper ... been considered weaker at the time than Kennedy or Reagan, he also entered the presidency at a difficult time in American history. Comparing the presidency of these three men to Neustadt's three criteria helps us break down a president and analyze his strengths and weaknesses. However, basing a president's success on these three criteria alone would be a bad decision. If it were up to me to create criteria, to evaluate a presidency, I would include the Neustadt criteria but I would also look at them based on the time period the president was in and I would look at what was happening in America at that moment. In my opinion, a great president would be one who ran a campaign based on the current American situation and achieved success through clean policy by having a strong stance on issues but being able to work with the majority of parties involved..