There is very little that Pat Buchanan has ever written with which we disagree here at Sunlit Uplands. In summing up the Bush presidency, he seems to us a bit restrained in his criticism; there is so much more that could be said. But we take strong exception to comparing George W. Bush with Harry S Truman as two "unreflective" and failed Presidents. Indeed, we rank Harry Truman among the greatest of Presidents.Truman had more momentous decisions to make than did any other twentieth century president. His decision to use nuclear weapons on Japan, brought an end to the war and saved an estimated 1 million American military personnel from a deadly invasion of the Japanese mainland. He integrated the armed services. He met the Communist challenge in Greece and Turkey. He authorized the Berlin airlift, broke the communist blockade and secured that city's freedom. He established NATO which secured the West through the Soviet era and is expanding today to guarantee a Europe that is free and whole. Perhaps most monumental of all, his Marshall Plan saved thousands of lives, rebuilt a shattered Europe, and protected those countries from succumbing to internal communist threats. Indeed, Truman was the architect of the world we have occupied in the last half century. The first battles in the war that Ronald Reagan ultimately won, were fought by Harry Truman. He was bold and decisive and was guided by deep faith, Midwestern common sense, and decency. None other than our greatest hero, Sir Winston Churchill, said to Truman: "I misjudged you badly. Since that time, you, more than any other man, have saved Western civilization." And history has vindicated the decisions of Truman and the judgment of Churchill.
Unlike our current President, he had a zealous regard for the Constitution and the limits of Executive and Federal power. He retained an extraordinary humility and humor. When his service was done, he went quietly home. He refused all opportunities to serve on corporate boards and to reap hefty honoraria for speeches, believing that to profit from his Presidency would demean the office he held and be disrespectful to the Constitution he revered.
We love and admire Pat Buchanan at Sunlit Uplands, but let the record show that on this point we respectfully disagree. George W. Bush is no Harry Truman!
