Tired of our current batch of so called leaders I was attracted to a biography of a previous President of the USA, Harry Truman.
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| Harry Truman |
I saw that his life had covered some momentous times, WW1, WW2, the Great Depression, the coming of the Atomic Bomb, the Berlin Airlift, the Korean War and more. Much more as it turned out.
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| Momentous times |
He was a real "man of the people", raised on the farm. He seems never to have betrayed his roots, of "knowing right from wrong and trying to do right". What was very apparent was that the closer people knew him the more they respected him, even loved him; and that he was at ease with all, from down and outs, the White House staff, to Stalin and Churchill.
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The Missouri farmlands
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The highlight for me was the long chapter on the 1948 Presidential Campaign, when Truman was 30% or more behind in the Gallup Polls yet emerged triumphant, the only man - said a comedian of that time - who had "lost at the gallop but won at a walk". There is of course the famous picture of Harry Truman holding up a newspaper which carried the headline "Dewey Defeats Truman", taken around the exact time that Dewey was conceding defeat. Truman spent all his campaign time crossing the country by train, making speeches at every stop, the size of the crowds astounding everyone, who yet insisted Dewey would triumph.
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| Winning at a walk! |
But oh yes, life on the farm. One lovely story of his grandma, confronted at the back door of the farm by a tramp who she had given a cup of coffee to. The tramp had returned to complain that the coffee wasn't hot enough. "She took the cup, went inside, and promptly returned with a shotgun. He could be on his, way, she said, or she would warm more than his coffee for him."
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| Don't mess with Grandma |
The book, a rather huge one by David McCullough, is never hagiographical. Truman is shown warts and all, but nevertheless, McCullough obviously had huge respect for the man. And why not? There is a lot to respect.
While President he yet found time for small acts of kindness towards many. He never forgot a friend. He loved his bourbon and a game of poker.
