Each president brought a different viewpoint and strategy. Kennedy tried to contain communism by showing armed force towards Cuba, making the space race an imperative,and by touting America's airforce with secret flyovers. Reagan was more political- he worked to rile up citizens of communist countries- and used them to help bring down communism without getting America's army involved.
Those are the best two examples I can think of, because currently George Bush is not really containing anything anymore. Before that there is Kuwait, there's Vietnam, and Korea. Those obviously are shows of armed force.
