Good Evening, Friends ...

---

President Roosevelt after one of his Fireside Chats.

---

No matter what a president wants to achieve during his time in office, the presidency can be confining for some, liberating for others.

Today, for example, Harry Truman is remembered for his achievements, but half a century ago, he was not as highly regarded by his countrymen. Truman said the White House was the "crown jewel of the federal penal system."

And James Buchanan — who is almost universally regarded as the worst American president for allowing the conditions that led to the outbreak of the Civil War after his departure to go unchecked during his administration — said to his successor, Abraham Lincoln, "If you are as happy on entering the White House as I am on leaving, you are a very happy man indeed."

(In fairness to Buchanan, he never wanted to be president. He was nominated on the 17th ballot and accepted, in spite of the fact that it was an office he did not want.)

A president can become isolated and overwhelmed in the Oval Office. He may be perceived as vacillating or rudderless. He may be seen as too prone to manipulation by his cronies. Citizens may come to view him as out of touch with their needs. But Truman's predecessor found a way to connect with his countrymen and seek their support in the darkest days of his presidency.

Now, while his approval ratings are still strong (although public support for his policies is not), the current occupant of the Oval Office should learn from Franklin Roosevelt.

Roosevelt took a page from his playbook as governor of New York, and, on this day in 1933, he held the first of his famous "Fireside Chats," taking his case over the heads of his critics and making a direct appeal to the people.

On Sunday, March 12, 1933, just over a week after taking office, FDR spoke to the country about the bank crisis. By the time he died in 1945, Roosevelt had given 30 fireside chats.

Roosevelt did not give a fireside chat every week or even every month — unlike today, when every president since Reagan has given weekly Saturday radio addresses, usually lasting only a few minutes and often devoted to relatively innocuous subjects.

Roosevelt gave fireside chats infrequently — three or four per year, at the most, although he held only one each in 1935 and 1936 — and he gave them when he needed to enlist the public's help in promoting his agenda. They were marked by an informal style, typically beginning simply, with a friendly opening phrase, "Good evening, friends," followed by an appeal for faith in the banks or support for his New Deal policies.

It is not too early for Barack Obama to do something similar. He already makes his Saturday addresses available on radio and the internet, in both audio and video forms, but his agenda can benefit from making direct contact with the people in a primetime setting.

It may not always succeed. It didn't always succeed for Roosevelt. But now, while his popularity is still strong, Obama needs to make the most of the public's good will.