What we have come to refer to as "the vision thing" is an expectation that our Presidents will bring to office a particularly strong sense of national mission. Jefferson, Coolidge, Hoover, Reagan may have understood the special character of America in different ways, but in each case a belief that there was a distinctly American way of doing things guided their decisions. Securing a stable world in which American interests can be asserted and defended has been a basic part of the President's job description and more.