People like comparisons because they help to give them some perspective on historical and recent historical events. Direct comparisons cannot be made for the obvious reasons: No two eras or people are the same. Yet politicians seem to thrive on making just such comparisons especially when it comes to Americas greatest Presidents. George W. Bush is no exception as he likes to compare himself to President Harry S. Truman. As stated direct comparisons really can’t be made but lets try and compare their leadership styles.
Leadership and leadership styles manifest themselves in many ways from the simplest of problems to ones which involve life and death. Both President Truman and President Bush served in the National Guard Bush as a pilot and Truman as an artillery officer. In comparing their service the out comes are vastly different. Harry Truman ended his service in the National Guard in 1911. But with the onset of the First World War he reenlisted and served as the commander of a field artillery unit in France. During Truman’s time in France the Germans launched a surprise attack on his artillery unit the men broke ranks and began to scatter. Using some rather “Colorful Language” Captain Truman was able to rally his men and lead them to safety.
George Bush’s time in the Air National Guard is fraught with controversy especially but not including how he was able to gain a position in the National Guard at a time when it was almost impossible to do so: His actual service including large gaps in which there is no record of him having reported for duty along with his failure to take his flight physical to maintain his operational status. While President Truman’s service had a profound effect not only on his life it would set the tone for his leadership style through out his professional career. For George Bush his service it seems was just away to avoid serving in Vietnam and had little or no effect instilling any type of real leadership qualities in him.
As I said George Bush likes to compare himself to President Truman’s time in office so let’s try and compare their presidencies if that is possible.
Harry Truman was the serving Vice President when he ascended to the office of the President of the United States upon the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in April of 1945 and World War II still in progress.
As with the ending of any major conflict the problems resulting from that conflict remain such as ruined national economies the displacement of huge numbers of people and along with governments trying to reconstitute themselves these were just some the problems Truman faced. Truman believed that it would take international cooperation to solve these problems as they were just beyond the scope of any one nation and its government that is why in favored the formation of the United Nations.
President Bush is just the opposite as was proven by the appointment of John Bolton as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Here’s what he had to say about the United Nations:
” There is no such thing as the United Nations. There is only the international community, which can only be led by the only remaining superpower, which is the United States.”[37] He also stated that “The Secretariat building in New York has 38 stories. If you lost ten stories today, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference.”
It wasn’t only John Bolton who has been or is hostile towards the UN the Bush administration and the Republican party have shown out right hostility towards the UN. Cooperation and diplomacy have never been the first choice of the present administration.
One of the most difficult times for any leader is to be faced with a situation which could lead to armed conflict with a known adversary. President Truman was confronted with just a moment when on June 24, 1949 military forces of the Soviet Union blocked all land routes under the control of the Western Powers leading to West Berlin. Several options were open to President Truman: Diplomacy, the use of military force to reopen the access roads, or an airlift. Those are 3 very limited choices. While diplomacy is always preferable to war considering the time and the paranoia felt on both sides by the time an agreement was reached the citizens of West Berlin would probably have been faced with a grave humanitarian crisis. Trying to force the land routes open through a show of military force could have lead to another full scale war in Europe. The airlift while not the most efficient way for providing relief to the citizens of West Berlin it avoided military conflict and it allowed time for both sides to find a diplomatic solution to the problem.
Faced with the same set of circumstances what would President Bush and his advisers have done to resolve the problem? First some background. President Bush has stated that he views the world in terms of black and white. In other words he recognizes by his own standards good and evil. Further this administration has a real penchant for not communicating in anyway with those governments whom they view as obstructing their policy initiatives even though finding some rapprochement with these governments could at least lead to some stability in various regional hot-spots such as the Middle East. With that background one can only surmise that the Bush Administration would have chosen the least desirable of the three options. Forcing open the land routes through the use of military force because they would have only seen the inherent evil of the Soviet Union rather than the real consequences of military action a wider war involving all of Europe along with the inability to provide West Berlin with enough aid to prevent a humanitarian disaster in the city.
Considering what President Truman faced in those years following World War II in terms of domestic and foreign policy any lesser person might have folded their tent and gone home. Truman desegregated the military, initiated the Marshal Plan greatly adding Europe in its recovery from the war. Recognized Israel, helped in the creation of NATO and fought to preserve the rights of unions by opposing the Taft-Hartley Act these are just a some of what his administration accomplished. Harry was also an advocate for Universal Health Care which he proposed in 1948.
What has President Bush accomplished that is comparable to that of President Harry Truman? What George Bush has accomplished is this: Allowing the NSA to spy on Americans with Warrantles Wiretaps, used National Security Letters as search warrants thus circumventing oversight by the courts and violating the Bill of Rights, used Signing Statements to circumvent laws passed by the United States Congress because he disagreed with the laws. In other words a line item veto which is unconstitutional. Finally the Iraq war: A war based on lies which has lead to almost 4,000 American service members deaths. The use of torture and the Global War on Terror. Secret C.I.A prisons, holding people indefinitely without being charged, kidnappings and the denial of rights of those being held.
Somehow President Bush considers these policy decisions along with his alleged leadership skills to be Trumanesque in nature if not in deed. Nothing could be further from the truth. A true leader doesn’t set out to obstruct the rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution or the Bill of Rights. Leaders don’t approve of torture as a means to obtain vital information in an effort to contain terrorism or any other criminal activity. Leadership doesn’t mean using false information as means for gaining the public’s consent to invade a sovereign nation which is no threat to your own. Tunnel vision and blind single mindness are not qualities of a leader either.
President Truman showed what leadership meant when backed the creation of the United Nations and forced the U.S. military to integrate. He showed vision in realizing that without the Marshall Plan the countries of Western Europe might not recover from the aftermath of World War II and in dealing with the Soviet blockade of West Berlin.
Leadership isn’t obtain because you make statements like this: “I’m the Commander Guy,” “I’m the Decider” and “I make Decisions.” Nor is it leadership just because you hold a “position of leadership.”
Qualities of leadership come from many facets of a persons life many learned others inherent where it doesn’t come is a gift box.