The documentary did not flatter Wilson, nor did he deserve any flattery. Many may not know or remember that Woodrow Wilson had a stroke in October 1919, and for the rest of his term, his second wife Edith Wilson WAS the surrogate President. No idea why she was allowed to get away with it.
Part of the problem was the lack of guidance when the President may be incapacitated, temporarily or permanently. There were cabinet members who exerted a great deal of influence after his stroke in 1919.
It wasn't until the adoption of the 25th Amendment and subsequent legislation that succession was codified. Even minor surgical procedures require that the President advise the Speaker of The House of his inability to carry out Presidential duties.
Edith Wilson was doting, even overbearing of Woodrow's health and well-being. His Vice President, Thomas Marshall, wasn't a real political force as was the policy of the day. It was never thought, even after McKinley's assassination, that the Vice President should be selected for his ability to take over in the case of the President's death or disability. Edith was a true believer, and it's believed that she used force of will to keep up his policy aims. His "Fourteen Points" was an idealistic plan, and those Progressives who really believed in it, were doing what was necessary to keep up the illusion.
Prior to Wilson's Presidency, McKinley put Theodore Roosevelt on the ticket as his Veep. Roosevelt's political foes engineered that move to "kick" him upstairs into an impotent office. No one anticipated his ascendancy to the Presidency. He served out McKinley's nearly full term, and was elected on his own. However, after Roosevelt got a taste of the power of the Presidency, he regretted not running for a "third" term, and instead lost political capital trying to "Bull Moose" his way into another term.
Today, a Wilsonian presidency, especially the last 19 months, wouldn't be possible with the degree of access the press has.
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