May 26, 2003

Is Bush more like Woodrow Wilson or Theodore Roosevelt?

Neither, says Times Online reporter, Tim Hames.

If Mr Bush should be compared with anyone it is Harry Truman. Truman was a slightly accidental President (he took office on the sudden death of Franklin Roosevelt), widely mocked by American and European elites. He was swiftly confronted with the end of the Second World War, the invention of nuclear weapons and the emergence of the superpower struggle. He had to shape foreign policy on the hoof, invent institutions at home and abroad to match new circumstances, set precedents and draw lines in the sand. Substitute the chads of Florida, religious terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and it is not a bad (if imperfect) fit.

Pretty intuitive for a Brit. Although I have always admired Louisiana's former Governor, Huey Long, as my favorite politician, Harry S. Truman was always the President I admired the most. He was never afraid to make the hard decisions and never stood back and let others take the blame. Bush would do well to walk in the footsteps of a man who showed no fear of wearing the mantle of President of the United States even when it meant he got stuck with the dirty work.

attribution: OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY

Posted by Tiger at May 26, 2003 09:39 PM | TrackBack
Comments

hi, how are you?

i am doing an essay about comparison of the approches bush (the son) and wilson after september 11th. can you direct me to useful resources.
cordially
hila

Posted by: hila at December 8, 2003 03:39 AM

if you had to compare bush with wilson or roosevelt wich one would u pick and why

Posted by: kim at October 19, 2004 07:15 PM

Well, there are few similarities, but Bush has to be closer to Wilson due to his belief in the world joinin' together to solve its problems and findin' a lot of countries would rather stand on the sidelines and let someone else do all the work. Of course, that could be the flu talkin'.

Posted by: Tiger at October 20, 2004 03:20 PM