If you have any interest at all in the outcomes of the coming Presidential election or the current Republican nomination circus, I urge you to read the Douthat column at the link below.
Most Americans remember Dwight Eisenhower as a sort of hero but nothing to write home about. In a 2011 Gallup poll on the greatest president, Eisenhower came in a lame 12th, in a tie with Jimmy Carter. How dumb can we be?
Washington is planning a memorial to Ike and the only significant statue will portray Eisenhower as a barefoot boy, rather than a war leader or president. There could not be a greater distortion of historical personal achievement and impact.
In this column, Ross Douthat attempts to show just how far we have strayed in our understanding and expectations for leadership. Please read this, it’s brilliant.
The Greatness of Ike
By Ross Douthat, NYT
Published: February 25, 2012
Now, consider Douthat’s view of Ike and everybody’s current view of Romney.
Nobody can know whether a President Romney will be any better than Obama. What we do know is that President Obama has not only failed to lead but blames his failure on others – he cannot be rewarded with a second term.
What we can also plainly see is that Mitt Romney is a boy scout and a man who prefers quiet competence to bumper sticker grandstanding and AM radio rabble rousing rhetoric.
Let’s try to get this right folks.
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