SamSaid!

GREATNESS

     The eloquent speakers at both the Democratic and Republican conventions dearly love to use the word “great” or some derivative. Great father, great leader, great president , great American,  —  great, great great. Frankly, I have a hard time applying that term to either John Kerry or George Bush. It seems to me that “greatness” is something that comes along once in a while, and only time will tell whether the label fits.

     Every time I hear a reference to a great President, I think of Harry Truman. Most historians will say that Harry ranks in the top five of the 43 Presidents of the USA. Harry was not an accomplished or eloquent speaker, and neither did he qualify as an Ivy League intellectual with an IQ high enough to qualify for Mensa. But Harry qualified as a “Great” President because he made some very big decisions, and almost without exception he was right. Harry made decisions that changed the world. Not bad for a mediocre politician who was a last minute pick by FDR to replace the discredited Henry Wallace as VP. In this day and age, the hotshots in the mass media would have a field day lampooning and discrediting the plain talking man from Missouri.

     George Bush is not a great speaker and is not some kind of high brow intellectual. But he is a leader and decision maker. While I stop short of equating George to Harry Truman, I would say that a lot of the media spokesmen couldn't spot a great leader if they tripped over him. It is amazing how so many of them are enamored with John Kerry whose most decisive word is “maybe”. He reminds me of the Chairman who calls a meeting of 10 people to make a decision. If the vote is 10-0, he will manfully rise to the occasion and make the decision; if the vote is 9-1 or 8-2, he will squirm, wiggle, equivocate and then check with Ted Kennedy.   

     I think George is made of sterner stuff.