The Right Man Won

[poliphilo]

Well, that's a relief!

I'm not a fan of Obama- I'm not a fan of any politician- but I think the right man won.

I believe this'll be my eleventh American president. I've just counted them on my fingers. My first was Truman. Have I left anyone out?

Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush. Hang on, That makes Obama the twelfth. So I did miscount. I believe I skipped straight from Kennedy to Nixon. Sorry, LBJ!

There aren't any heroes in that list. By which, I mean anyone I regard as a hero. The one who comes closest is Ike, whom I respect for his speech on the military-industrial complex. And for his war record, obviously.

The only American president who makes my personal pantheon is Abe Lincoln.

The Times recently asked a panel of experts to rate the presidents in order of excellence. Lincoln came top, followed by Washington and FDR. The full list is here. Dubya ties with Nixon at the bottom, above Harrison (who died after catching a chill at his inauguration), Van Buren ( responsible for the genocide of native Americans), Pierce (who mismanaged everything and was disowned by his own party while in office) and Buchanan (worst of the worst, who failed to prevent the Civil War).

Ike comes in at number 6, by the way. He sent troops into Little Rock to enforce the desegregation of schools. He also desegregated the army. I hadn't realised just how radical and forceful a president he was.

Obama comes into office on a great wave of hope. Some of my friends have been disturbed by the messianic tone of his campaign. But "he's not the Messiah, he's just a....." Well, you know the rest.  Remember that he inherits the most god-awful mess: two misbegotten wars, an economic crisis at home and abroad, American prestige more battered and bruised than at any time I can remember.

Don't expect too much of him, folks.

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I have to admit I've never studied Lincoln that closely. I'm responding to the myth.

And I love the Gettysburg Address.

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

Brilliant speech, to be sure, one of the finest in US history.

Sometimes our myths are much more powerful than the history they conceal. Lincoln is remembered as one of the greatest leaders this nation has known and, given the trying times of his presidency, I believe that's a fair assessment. He's given credit for the Emancipation Proclamation, and rightly so, but few seem to remember that it didn't apply to slaves held in the United States proper. What he did was abolish slavery in what was, at the time, a sovereign nation: the Confederacy. Slavery wasn't ended completely until after Lincoln's death.

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

And while on the topic of US presidents: Hackneyed as he is in the nation's history, I always tend to give a lot of credit to Washington. He could have controlled the fledgling republic for the rest of his life and chose not to, despite the fact that he didn't really believe the "noble experiment" would succeed. Privately, he gave it about twenty years, before the country went crawling back to a monarchy again.

I also love what Washington said to General Henry "Ox" Knox, just before their fateful crossing of the Delaware, 25 Dec 1776: "Shift your fat ass, Harry - but slowly, or you'll swamp the damned boat".

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Washington was the ideal of the English country gentleman. I think Churchill had him in mind when he said of the War of Independence that it was a war between England and Germany and, as usual, the English won.

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

I think that's a good way of looking at the Revolutionary War. The differences between the English aristocracy and its Colonial counterpart were somewhat superficial. Men like Washington and Jefferson saw themselves as loyal subjects of the Crown and deeply resented being treated like a Royal possession, despite the fact that is exactly what they were. King George's government never quite understood this difference of opinion.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

There are at least two English country houses that sell themselves to tourists as Washington's ancestral home.

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I think I've seen Washington's ancestry discussed somewhere, but don't recall any details.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The Washington family has a coat of arms which features stars and stripes. Some see this as the origin of the American flag.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Like the guy says at the end of The Man Who Shot liberty Valance- when history and legend disagree, print the legend!

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

Exactly! It's the 'Murican way.