How Popular Culture prevented the wire. How was aware presented from the 1940s . How was it presented and comic books from the 1940s . How was it presented in athletic events from the 1930s and the 1940s . How was it presented in tin pan alley in music from the 1940s . And now on booktv, encore booknotes. Richard ben cramer appeared on booknotes in 1992 to discuss his book, what it takes. In the book mr. Cramer profiled the president ial election, george h. W. Bush, robert dole, gary hart, richard gephardt, joseph biden and Michael Dukakis. Mr. Cramer died this past monday at the age of 62. This is about an hour. Cspan Richard Ben Cramer, in your book what it takes the way to the white house. Is there any one thing that was a thread through the six candidates that you followed that would tell you what it takes . Guest i think there was, although i didnt set out to write a paradigm of a president ial candidate. There were some similarities, and, alas, similarities in the stories of thei