President Truman
Seldom does an article in Opinion provoke me to lose my composure, but Michael Kazin’s “In the Search for Greatness, Is Eisenhower the Answer?” (Feb. 9) almost caused me to lose my cherished Sunday morning cup of coffee.
Harry Truman did great things but was not tested by a major war or national crisis? Truman’s seven years were distinguished by horrendous, almost daily crises the likes of which would have annihilated most succeeding presidents. Ending World War II; to drop the bomb; should Russia come into the Pacific War; Europe in a state of total collapse; the conversion of a wartime economy; millions of returning GIs; the extension of price controls; coal, steel and railroad strikes; North Korea invades South Korea; Russia’s constant violations of the Yalta pact; an insubordinate Gen. MacArthur; McCarthyism; the list is endless.
Any student of the presidency of Truman can only have the utmost admiration for the character, strength and tenacity of this great man who faced these emergencies alone, with barely a fragment of the staff that assists today’s presidents.
SID KARSH
La Canada Flintridge
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
