2537 The Bravest President

Tonight I listened to Richard Land on radio compare George W. Bush and Harry S. Truman. But first he quoted from this article by Michael Novak who said "after Washington and Lincoln, Bush is the bravest of our presidents." Now, he doesn't say greatest, wisest, smartest, or most fluent, but bravest.

"On the number-one issue facing the nation—the war declared upon us by fascists who pretend to be religious—he has not wavered, he has not bent, he has stayed on course and true.

In Iraq, civil society, nearly comatose under Saddam Hussein, is today alive and full of vitality. Newspapers and television and magazines are full of diversity and energy, political parties multiply, private associations are functioning by the thousands, most of the country is more secure than some American cities. Iraqi exiles from around the world, far from fleeing, are coming back in droves."

He will be vilified even more this week for his support of the marriage amendment.

Land say Harry Truman put into place the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, NATO--the machinery needed to fight international Communism. He made the tough, unpopular decisions--like getting us into the Korean War. His approval rating was 26% when he left office in 1953. Fifty years later he is considered one of the greatest Presidents of our country, and Land thinks he is the third most consequential after FDR and Reagan. But when he left office he was vilified. Land thinks Bush was the first to see that we will be in a very long battle with Islamofacism, and in 50 years people will look back and marvel at his foresight. Bush isn't concerned by the polls or popularity, says Land, and neither was Truman.

Land's web page.