With President Reagan’s funeral now past, I reflected on my personal perspective of other Presidents. I have several favorites, although I will ignore those who served while I was old enough to understand what was actually happening at the time. I think honest evaluation of any President must be done through a buffer of time. Eisenhower and Nixon seem to have been more effective in retrospect, and Kennedy less. I think history will show Clinton less effective than some now believe, and even Carter will suffer due to events now happening in the world. That, as I said, will come with time.
George Washington must be at the top of anyone’s list. If he isn’t at the top of yours, you don’t grasp the context of his tenure. Period. Much of what we now expect of the President, unwritten in the Constitution, is a direct result of how he viewed the office and his seat in that office.
He could have easily served for life. He felt two terms were the limit for any President, and so stepped down. So did every President after that until Franklin Roosevelt.
He could easily have retained his rank as General of the Armies, and served his terms as a military dictator. He eschewed that position, and insisted on strict adherance to the concept of civilian command of the military–something unknown in the world of the time. The only civilians commanding militaries in the rest of the world were kings.
When Adams was elected to follow him, there was a peaceful transfer of political power–something else new to the world. An even greater step was taken when Jefferson became President. This transfer was once again peaceful, in spite of the fact that Jefferson was from a different political party. Washington’s precedence ensured compliance with the Constitution.
Teddy Roosevelt is #2 on my list, although Lincoln is a close third. During his entire political career, Roosevelt worked hard. He made a lot of career politicians mad because he upset all kinds of backroom agreements. As Civil Service Commissioner he fired large numbers of political appointees, many of whom couldn’t even read or write. As President he challenged the monopolies of the day, broke them up, and supported labor reform. He also hosted a negro (omigod!), Booker T. Washington, for dinner at the White House. Southern Democrats despised him. And the Northern politicos didn’t much care for “that damned cowboy” either. Roosevelt knew how to play the game, but he used his own rules. The “common man” loved him. With good reason. I see more to compare Dubya to Roosevelt than to Reagan.
Harry Truman is another man to be emulated. There are two very good books on Truman I recommend. The first is Plain Speaking by Merle Miller. It apparently has some quotes that Miller created, and as an oral history (Miller wrote it after interviewing Truman) has inherent bias of both the writer and Truman. But it gives a good sense of the President’s personality. Read it to enjoy, and to learn about Harry, but don’t take it as gospel.
The second won a Pulitzer Prize for biography: Truman by David McCullough. I enjoy McCullough’s writing, and this is a very personal biography.
Like Roosevelt, Truman became President by the death of the previous man in office. But he won reelection on his own. Like Teddy, Harry was also derided as an outsider who didn’t “understand how things are really done.” Actually, he did. And he didn’t like it. Many applecarts were upset in the process. He had one of the toughest decisions to make any President was faced with–whether or not to use the atomic bomb on Japan. Characteristically, he weighed the positives and negatives, and made a decision. And he never regretted it.
Truman is the kind of man who would find it difficult to be elected today. He campaigned by driving himself around the entire state of Missouri. He met people and shook hands. And it was very personal to him. People in Washington, even then, had lost that common touch, and Truman was sometimes derided as a bumpkin. But he had a practical education most couldn’t match, and friends that mattered. And he knew where he was going, and that he would always return to Independence. And he didn’t become wealthy as a result of his public life. In fact, he always said an honest man cannot become rich serving in office.
It is a moral indictment we should all consider when voting.