Franklin and Winston

Journalist Jon Meacham has written a fascinating memoir in Franklin [Roosevelt]) and Winston [Churchill]: an Intimate Portrait of  an Epic Friendship (2003, Random House, New York). The book should be read by every president that manufactures alliances and manages international conflicts. That would be every one! If our current president had read this book he may not have as quickly characterized Churchill as a reactionary colonialist and removed the Churchill bust from the White House. Churchill was a defender of the British Empire and unwilling to let colonial people have self-determination, but he was also the last European hope against Hitler. His success in lining up American help against the Nazi's, not an easy task in isolationist America, not only saved Britain. Churchill was instrumental in getting the U.S. in the war before it was too late for the free world.

Meacham analyzes the contrasting management styles of Roosevelt and Churchill. Roosevelt was practical, devious, always withholding a part of himself. He controlled his emotions completely, met women he wasn't supposed to see, and could completely compartmentalize his personal and private life from his public duties. He was a fair weather friend--publicly embarrassing and ignoring Churchill when, acting in matters of state as he saw them, he cozied up to Stalin. Roosevelt had utmost faith in his ability to charm anyone, even the Soviet dictator, and had he lived until the end of 1945, he may have been able to convince Stalin to act less aggressively in Poland and the rest of Eastern Europe. Roosevelt may have reacted less vociferously than Truman to Soviet provocations, keeping tensions between America and the Russians below the boiling point. Right before his death, Roosevelt avoided confrontation and suggested a middle course with Stalin (P.341).

In contrast to FDR, Churchill was a straight shooter, courageous, honest, devoted, warmhearted, magnanimous, and an ornate, brilliant orator. He saw black and white, good and evil, when battling Naziism, and history shows his was the correct attitude, when many in his government wanted to make a negotiated peace with Hitler. He was also prescient in predicting and exposing the nefarious intentions of the Soviet empire after the war was over. Roosevelt was starting to come around to Churchill's view of Stalin when Roosevelt suffered the cerebral hemorrhage that ended his life.

Two themes run through the book that also resonate throughout the history of 20th and 21st century presidents. Should a president campaign as though he is healthy even though he is gravely ill, and how much time does a president need in order to recuperate from the weighty pressures of the office?
Roosevelt had congestive heart failure and  hypertension, which eventually killed him. At some level he knew he was dying but felt he had to lead the war to a successful conclusion, and no one else could have done it as well. The last point is debatable, but it was obvious to all who met him that FDR looked terrible by mid 1944. He looked haggard, had lost weight, and had energy for only four hours of hard work each day, when the war demanded much more time from the leader of the western world. Roosevelt campaigned like a champion in the 1944 election for a fourth term, slogging through a nasty storm in New York City in an open car. The press put the photographs in all the newspapers. He was fine the voters thought or, wanted to think.

John F. Kennedy was also much sicker than voters knew. Despite his chronic ill health he looked like Adonis (according to journalist and newscaster Walter Cronkite) in his critical televised debate with Nixon and governed with youthful vigor. (See my review of Kennedy here.) If voters knew the truth about Kennedy's health would they have voted for him over Nixon? Woodrow Wilson was cursed with chronic ill health before his debilitating stroke near the end of his second term. Running against the athletic and larger-than-life Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, Wilson could not afford to let the American people know he was a frail academic.

Do presidents need to be flying to Camp David, playing golf, attending lavish banquets, and just plain enjoying themselves as much as they do? Presidents are always "on" and Meacham's book gives the reader more respect for the formidable pressures of the office, especially in war time. Older, sicker men need time to recharge, whether it's collecting stamps (FDR) or collecting conquests  vacationing at Hyannis Point (JFK). The American people can rightly ask if a president is vacationing in order to work better or, like a Roman emperor, taking the job for what it's worth in order to enjoy frequent, free and lavish vacations.

What Presidents Teach Us about Luxury

Photo from PBS

Eleanor Roosevelt's austerity in the White House kitchen (abstract here) seems quaint today. Franklin D. Roosevelt put up with meals costing ten cents per serving (adjusted by inflation to $1.70 today). Despite the strains of the Great Depression and WWII on a polio-ravaged body, FDR traveled abroad for conferences with the allies, campaigned vigorously, battled the Great Depression (unsuccessfully but with great energy) and the Axis powers (successfully), and vacationed 958 days in close to 12 years as president, about 80 days per year. During much of those 958 days he was still engaged in executive duties in his vacation house in Warm Springs, Georgia. Most considered his vacations neither frivolous nor overly expensive.

Obama vacations are much more expensive, not because of his rented house (which he pays for), but because his large Praetorian Guard must be jetted over to Hawaii and put up in hotels.The latest $7 million dollar vacation can be inspected here. Let us put this most recent vacation in perspective. This one trip will cost more than the average American would make in 175 years of work. When Obama's wife or children vacation away from the president, they too must be guarded by a large entourage, and taxpayers foot the bill.

I am aware that George W. Bush vacationed a greater amount of time than any president including Obama. However, most of that was at the Crawford Ranch, 1,300 miles away, "working at home," which W preferred. That may be qualitatively different than jetting 4,800 miles to Hawaii to play golf and enjoy a tropical paradise, maybe not, since W's trips were also expensive. Most will agree that the attitude towards luxury and the use of taxpayer funds is quite different than what FDR experienced at the hands of his wife. Neither W nor Obama seem embarrassed by these trips, 54 Christmas trees in the White House, or, most fittingly, lavish White House state dinners (such as the million dollar gala for Mexico's president). Too bad FDR wasn't invited. He would have enjoyed a little caviar and champagne.

Eleanor Roosevelt was implicitly telling the public that the Roosevelts may be rich but they can live frugally and responsibly, and she vicariously shares the hardship of most Americans during the Great Depression. The current White House attitude is the opposite in every respect. Corporate boards often tie CEOs' bonus pay to corporate performance. Maybe we should do the same for presidential vacations, limiting taxpayer funds as long as America's economic performance is sub par.

The Five Best Presidents and the Five Worst

Washington

Listed below are the five most effective and five most destructive American presidents. Some were rich. Some grew up poor. Some were brilliant. Others had only average intelligence. These are my evaluations, based on my understanding and interpretations of history, economics, and human nature and do not necessarily represent the opinions of anyone else. Since all humans have weaknesses and strengths, I also gave a criticism of the policies of the best presidents and a compliment for the successes of the worst presidents.

Five Best

5. Thomas Jefferson: Not interested in serious military preparedness. Saw that the first transition between political parties was seamless. Promoted small farmers over moneyed interests. Expanded the country with the Louisiana Purchase. A genius.
4. Theodore Roosevelt: Put the country on the path to empire. Balanced the needs of capital with the needs of labor. Expanded conservation. Incredible confidence and energy.
3. Franklin Roosevelt: His New Deal was an abject failure but his personality prevented a more damaging lurch to communism or fascism. Successfully led the country through most of WWII.
2. George Washington: Cold and aristocratic. Universally respected. Led by example. A personality marked by moderation and selflessness. Created the office of presidency. Turned down the post of president for life.
1. The best--Abraham Lincoln: Greatly limited states' power. Rags to riches biography. Shepherded the country through its worst crisis, despite vicious political opposition and personal tragedy. Writer of timeless political prose. Embodied wisdom. Died a martyr.

Five Worst

5. Woodrow Wilson: Regulated big business and lowered tariffs. Promised his new income tax would only tax the rich. His Federal Reserve has overseen the loss of almost all of the dollar's purchasing power. Meddled in Mexico, accomplishing nothing. Curtailed civil liberties during WWI. Incapacitated during his second term, and his inability to govern was hidden from the American public.
*4. Barack Obama (as of January, 2012): Oversaw termination of Osama bin Laden. Attempted to reform a broken healthcare system. Pushed through a healthcare bill before it could be vetted. Wasted billions on an ineffectual spending scheme to reduce unemployment. As debt hit critical levels continued to promote deficit spending programs. Went on lavish vacations using the people's money during difficult economic times.
3. George W. Bush: A patriot and leader against Islamic terrorism. Turned the United States closer in spirit to imperial Rome and a police state. Wasted billions on war.
2. Andrew Johnson: Believed with all his being in the sacredness of the Constitution. An opponent of doing anything for the freedmen (ex-slaves). Used presidential reconstruction to get even with plantation aristocracy rather than to do anything for equality. Emotionally unstable.
1. The worst--James Buchanan: Potentially an antebellum president both North and South could trust. Overly sympathetic to the South's cause. Promoted the Dred Scott case as a resolution to North-South divisions. Failed to cool secessionist feelings or stop southern states from seceding.

* Based on lowering of AAA-credit rating and increase of debt, low GDP growth, and poor employment when compared to other post-recessionary periods.

Feel free to comment on who I should have included or left out.