The presidency of George W. Bush ended with a whimper and an approval rating of 22%. It's hard to imagine anyone approving of his perfomance; obviously they believe he has been misunderestimated.

Bush believes he will be vindicated by history. He rests those faint hopes on the example of the man he compares himself to, the man he imagines others will compare him to one day. 

Sorry, George W. Bush, but you're no Harry Truman.

Truman made many tough decisions, and some cost him dearly. But rather than passing the buck as Bush did, Truman said "The buck stops here."

His decision to integrate the military led to the revolt of Southern Democrats like Strom Thurmond -- and forever altered American politics. When told that decision might cost him re-election, Truman replied that if it did, the job wasn’t worth having.

In 1948, 50 out of 50 top political pundits predicted his certain defeat. They were wrong; the experts were often wrong about Harry and about his policies, many of which have proven far-sighted.

Truman, after much soul-searching, ordered the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Some still decry that decision, but given the  suicidal resistance of the Japanese on Iwo Jima and Okinawa, it is likely that decision saved millions of American and Japanese lives.

But let us all pray, no president ever has to make such a decision again.

After World War II, he put the Marshall Plan in place, a plan that was roundly criticized at the time, but which many now agree helped prevent World War III and bring about the eventual downfall of the Soviet Union. 

Truman fired General Douglas MacArthur for refusing to obey orders during the Korean War, and though he was renounced and reviled for it at the time, historians now generally agree it was the right thing to do.

There has been a generally positive reassessment of Truman’s legacy, a reassessment aided by the fact that his behavior as an ex-president was so exemplary.

When he left office in 1952, Harry and Bess Truman drove home to Independence, Missouri, by themselves without a Secret Service escort.

In retirement, his only income was a U.S. Army pension of $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an 'allowance' and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year. 

In May 6, 1971, Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday. But Truman refused to accept it:

“I don't consider what I’ve done to be a reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise.”

Truman never sought to profit from his presidency. When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined:

“You don't want me; you want the office of the President, and that doesn't belong to me. It belongs to the American people, and it's not for sale.”

In the end, he was beholden to no one,  and that gave him the advantage of being able to speak his mind plainly.  He once observed:

“My choices early in life were either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference.”

 •           •           •

Give 'Em Hell Harry

To err is Truman, you ever hear that?
I thought it was pretty damn funny
Well, I made my share of mistakes in this life
But it wasn't because of the money

The way I see it, I just did my job
There's not much else to the story
Doing my duty the best I knew how
Let someone else go for the glory

Now you take McArthur, the sonfabitch
That pipe, that hat, and those glasses
He posed like a statue most of the time
And preened for his adoring masses

Now don't get me wrong, he's a brave SOB
As a general, there weren't many better
But generals have orders like everyone else
To be followed right down to the letter

The thing of it is, there's no end to debate
Or ways to examine an issue
And there's too many yes-men kissin' your ass
And waiting to hand you a tissue

The buck stops right here, that's how it is
And I'll listen to just so much bitchin'
End of discussion, now it's time to act –
Don't like it? Stay out of the kitchen

But all that's behind me, I'm retired now
Captain Truman completed his mission
But those damn reporters still follow me around
I can't figure out why they listen

Well, they'll get no pearls of wisdom from me
I'm old and worn-out and contrary
I expect a reckoning one day real soon
Either Heaven or "Give 'em Hell, Harry!"

•           •           •

Anyone who’d like to learn more about one of our better presidents is encouraged to read David McCullough’s thorough, entertaining and informative biography.

(For the record, a small portion of the content of this post came from a friend without attribution, though it has been substantially rewritten; the poem is mine from my book The Disappearing Cemetery.) 

©2009 Tom Cordle