Wednesday, February 1, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Looking
Outward
Dan Glode
Columnist
On being
‘presidential’
Some day I hope to meet
you. When that happens you
will need a new nose, a lot of
beefsteak for black eyes, and
perhaps a supporter below.
— P re s i d e n t H a r r y
Truman in a letter to critic
Paul Hume 1950
President Harry Truman
was very proud of his daugh-
ter and had encouraged her
singing for many years. In
December of 1950 she had a
performance in Washington,
DC, and the arts critic for
the Washington Post, Hume,
was in attendance.
On December 6, Harry
woke up to read a scathing
review of his daughter’s per-
formance and, while angry,
unleashed a rant in the form
of a hand-written letter to
Hume. In addition to the
above, he called him a “frus-
trated old man” (Hume was
34 at the time) and said he
was an “eight ulcer man on a
four ulcer pay.” Harry acted
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impulsively, in anger and
without consulting his advis-
ers. Those closest to him
were aghast and predicted
the logical outcome: the pub-
lic perceived Harry’s actions
as being totally inappropriate
and beyond the bounds of
proper behavior for a sitting
president. Harry learned a
lot about public outrage after
the incident.
Harry Truman didn’t
have too many instances
where he acted that way,
but for some reason he car-
ried the reputation as being
somewhat impulsive and a
hot-head. I couldn’t disagree
more. The day he took office
he was informed about the
atomic bomb and spent a
few months gaining infor-
mation, hearing opposing
viewpoints, seeking advice
and we, of course, know the
result. Regardless of how
you feel about his decision,
know it was very delibera-
tive and not reactive.
But the above incident,
and a few others, skewed
public perception of him as
impulsive and a guy who
shot from the hip. Most of
all, though, he listened and
guided this country through
some of the darkest days in
its history during the begin-
ning of the Cold War. He
was a steady hand at the
helm as he consolidated the
vast executive power that
he inherited from Franklin
Roosevelt.
What Harry did with
Hume was something people
thought hurt the office, the
perception of the office of
president. People didn’t like
the office of president to be
cheapened or tarnished in
any way.
There have been some
presidents in my lifetime
whom I strongly disliked,
but to a person they were
all presidential. This is
incredibly important. It goes
beyond maintaining the dig-
nity of the office. The presi-
dent needs to project certain
things as the holder of the
most powerful single posi-
tion on the planet. Among
other things his words,
actions and deeds speak vol-
umes about the person and
the role they occupy. I guess
you could sum it up as being
“presidential.”
For example, when
Barack Obama made
remarks following the
Newtown horror he tried —
and succeeded in — making
some sense out of this trag-
edy and gave us hope. After
9/11 George Bush did the
same thing. The president’s
presence and demeanor have
a lot to do with how he is
viewed internationally as
well. There is a specific type
of dignity and grace which
are necessary and which are
expected of the person in
that position. When Harry
Truman crossed that line
it offended almost every-
one, and he pulled back and
regretted the momentary
lapse.
The projection of calm-
ness, ease, cool-headedness
and steadiness does make
us think things are OK or
will be OK in spite of what
is in the headlines. We rely
on the one in charge to give
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us that sense of understand-
ing in times of tragedy and
confusing world events, and
it gives us all hope for recov-
ery. Since we trust him we
know we will bounce back.
He puts it all in perspective
for us, otherwise we would
be in a constant state of agi-
tation and uncertainty. He
makes order out of chaos.
Internationally, it’s
vitally important to have this
approach. Friends and allies
need stability and steady
steering from the most pow-
erful country in the world.
They need to know we hold
to our commitments and we
are there to help them in
times of need. They need to
know they can count on us.
I think those days are
over. Donald Trump’s style
of bait-and-switch, illusions,
contradictions, unpredict-
ability and his tendency to be
fast and loose with the truth
may have served him well
in making deals. I can see
where putting someone in
the position of not knowing
what comes next could be
useful for someone bullying
9
their way into a deal, but it
is just the opposite of what
is needed here. For the next
four years we will all be on
edge. His manner may have
mesmerized his followers
but it will not play well for
most of us. His crazy behav-
ior will bring a state of con-
stant anxiety for us and our
international partners.
To somehow think hav-
ing someone who “shakes
things up” is a good thing is
beyond naive; its downright
dangerous for all of us.
But every cloud does
have a silver lining. I have
not seen this level of activ-
ism in a long time. I guess
all that agitation has its ben-
efits, especially if it eventu-
ally leads to responsible and
steady leadership some day.
A great thing about our
country, we can deal with
lunacy if we work at it. We
will have a lot to regret in
the next four years but I
think we will also have much
more involvement in public
affairs. Nothing brings peo-
ple together like a common
foe.
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Ameriprise Financial and its affi liates do not offer tax or legal advice. Consumers should consult with their
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