I don't know that the conclusion that pre-reform candidates were more moderate and/or effective is as self-evident as he seems to believe. It's hard to brush off the fact that our opinions of them are not only colored through the lens of history books, but also through a vastly different culture.
In addition to the distortion of perception through second-hand accounts versus perception through actively participating in the modern scene, I'd argue that no small part of the perception of modern presidents is affected by the proliferation of media sources and the formation of specialized media outlets with a particular ideological audience that didn't exist as widely in the past.
In addition to the distortion of perception through second-hand accounts versus perception through actively participating in the modern scene, I'd argue that no small part of the perception of modern presidents is affected by the proliferation of media sources and the formation of specialized media outlets with a particular ideological audience that didn't exist as widely in the past.