History's Verdict
Harry Truman wasn't popular in office, but he is now. George Bush is hoping for the same treatment
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow told U.S. News that Truman "laid the foundation for presidents later. President Bush wants to lay foundations for future presidents on the central point of our national security for many years to come."
Still, the critics are skeptical. Bush's creation of the Department of Homeland Security, which he initially opposed, and his other steps to fight terrorism—like reorganizing the nation's intelligence capabilities—may not measure up to Truman's achievements, according to some historians. "He's really reaching," Dallek argues. "Where is his containment doctrine, as Truman had? What is his doctrine for ending the war on terrorism?"
Yet there is one big unknown: The scholars admit that if there are no more major terrorist attacks on the United States by the end of his presidency, Bush can argue that he accomplished his most vital mission—keeping America safe. That would be an accomplishment that historians couldn't ignore. Both Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have always linked the war in Iraq to the global war on terrorism. They say fighting in Iraq is keeping the "evildoers" at bay and preventing them from taking their battle into the United States.
BIG DOINGS
Truman and Bush governed during historic times. "Each period of our national history has had its special challenges," Truman said in his inaugural address on Jan. 20, 1949. "Those that confront us now are as momentous as any in the past. Today marks the beginning not only of a new administration but of a period that will be eventful, perhaps decisive, for us and for the world."
In his State of the Union address on Jan. 31, 2006, Bush made a similar point. "We've been called to leadership in a period of consequence. We've entered a great ideological conflict we did nothing to invite," he said. "[T]he destination of history is determined by human action, and every great movement of history comes to a point of choosing."
Both presidents sought to spread democracy around the world—Truman in opposition to communism, Bush in opposition to Islamic jihadism. "Democracy alone can supply the vitalizing force to stir the peoples of the world into triumphant action, not only against their human oppressors but also against their ancient enemies—hunger, misery, and despair," Truman proclaimed in his 1949 inaugural. Bush has echoed those themes many times.
In a statement that startled many in Washington, Bush declared in his inaugural speech on Jan. 20, 2005: "The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world. ... So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world."
COMPARING KOREA AND IRAQ
It was after his surge of far-reaching Cold War initiatives in the late 1940s that Truman experienced his most bitter dilemma. In November 1950, as American and allied forces pushed North Korean invaders out of South Korea, disaster struck. China flooded the peninsula with several hundred thousand troops and pushed the United States, the South Koreans, and other coalition forces back 300 miles. Gen. Douglas MacArthur urged the administration to recognize that the United States was in a state of war with China and to drop 30 to 50 atomic bombs on Manchuria and the cities of China. Truman, fearing a world conflagration, refused to seriously consider those options. MacArthur, however, continued to promote his plan on Capitol Hill, until April 11, 1951, when Truman announced that he had fired the popular general. At the time, it was a much-criticized decision; Truman was accused of refusing to take the blame for a war gone bad. But the firing was later lauded by historians. They said the commander in chief could never allow a military officer to defy him.
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