Behind Bedroom Doors at the White House

“Chief executive” sounds good. “Commander in chief” is nice, too. “Mr. President” passes muster, as does “leader of the free world.” There are many things you can call the person who sits in the Oval Office at the White House – some good, some not-so-good – and in “Sex with Presidents: The Ins and Outs of Love and Lust in the White House” by Eleanor Herman,” “darling” and “sweetheart” work well, too.

Some four hundred years ago, the Puritans set foot on the shores of this continent and in the ensuing months left their name as a synonym for stuffiness and prudery. Today, we like to imagine that our forefathers maintained that same virtue, but nothing could be farther from the truth, says Herman, especially when it comes to the highest office in the land.

Presidential dalliances, of course, are nothing new. Thomas Jefferson famously had children with his wife’s half-sister, who was also his slave. James Buchanan is believed by scholars to have been America’s first gay president. Martin Van Buren tried to pass off not one, but two enslaved women as his wife, which was absolutely scandalous in his time. It’s even possible that the dour Richard Nixon had a honey that wasn’t Pat, much to the chagrin of the FBI.

And then there are the guys who took things to another level.

Woodrow Wilson was having a torrid affair with a widow while his first wife was alive, and he did it with her reluctant knowledge. When Wilson’s long-suffering wife died, the mistress hoped to be the next Mrs. Wilson. Imagine her shock when she learned from a newspaper story that Woodrow got engaged to a D.C. socialite.

Warren G. Harding was quite the ladies’ man, and Secret Service agents were reportedly busy keeping him in his hotel room on the evening before his inauguration. Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt had a unique household situation set up. JFK dallied at a cocktail party while on his honeymoon; and LBJ, says Herman, “truly cared about” those he slept with.

So why in the world would any first lady stay with her philandering husband? Herman explores that very question and the answer shouldn’t surprise you: Love is a powerful thing. And power is a thing they love.

And to address another thought you may have: No, this book is not X-rated. Readers will find a handful of four-letter words and bawdy slang here, but it’s laughable, not leering. There’s nothing explicit in this book, no TMI descriptions, and no childish tee-hee-ing. It’s not pornographic, but then, it’s not prissy, either.

Instead, you’ll read about randy Republicans and daring Democrats who got away with affairs and flings that are jaw-dropping, even in today’s times; and you’ll learn about other U.S. politicians and a few foreign leaders. It’s like finding a secret portal inside a high school history class, a fascinating one that requires an ID to enter.

If you hold any mental images of staid 20th-century presidents, prepare to have them shattered. Historians, scandal lovers, and tabloid fans, “Sex with Presidents” should sound pretty good to you.

“Sex with Presidents: The Ins and Outs of Love and Lust in the White House” by Eleanor Herman

384 pages. HarperCollins. $27.99.