What Joe Biden can learn from Harry Truman

[Alben Barkley]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/joe-scarborough-trump-biden-transition-fdr-truman/2020/11/23/c5ca5fda-2dde-11eb-bae0-50bb17126614_story.html

Like Truman, Joe Biden enters the White House facing a world in crisis. The global coronavirus pandemic is racing across America’s heartland; a generation of economic growth stands at risk; democracy is in retreat; and China’s rise has created a bipolar rivalry much like the one Truman inherited.
Biden should look to Truman’s example as he seeks to navigate numerous crises abroad while dealing with a divided government at home. Unlike his predecessor, who surrounded himself with former caddies and ideological cranks, Biden should see to it that his administration is run by the best and the brightest minds the United States has to offer. So far, his early White House and Cabinet choices have been promising.


For five years, Trump and British Brexiteers heaped contempt upon experts, and their repeated political failures show the high cost of their ignorance. Truman’s administration, by comparison, was filled with what historians Walter Isaacson and Evan Thomas called “the wise men.” Gen. George C. Marshall organized the allies’ victory in World War II; Dean Acheson was the architect of Truman’s revolutionary foreign policy; George Kennan was the diplomat who first warned of Soviet designs on world domination; and W. Averell Harriman was Truman’s ambassador to the U.S.S.R. Like the rest of his foreign policy team, Harriman was uniquely suited for his assignment, having first visited Russia in 1899, when Nicholas II was czar. Truman surrounded himself with gifted diplomats and advisers; Biden should do the same.

Biden should also follow the example of the “Man from Missouri” by striving to conduct a bipartisan foreign policy. As challenging as that task might be in 2020, it was no easier bringing Democrats and Republicans together in 1947. Republicans had just regained majorities in the House and Senate for the first time since Herbert Hoover was president, and they remained committed isolationists, having regressed into a “Fortress America” stance after the Great War. Then, as later, the Senate would prove to be an impregnable citadel of isolationism. But through patience and a stubborn persistence, Truman moved the United States beyond the destructive policy that had facilitated the rise of Hitler and led to yet another world war in 1939.


Like Joe Biden, Harry Truman spent much of his career in Washington being underestimated by elitists. A prominent historian and journalist described Truman as “strange little man.” The New York Times dismissed him as a “rube.” Time called FDR’s 1944 selection for vice president “the mousy little man from Missouri”; others mocked Roosevelt’s pick as “the Second Missouri Compromise.” Even after he was president, the slights continued. Following Truman’s eight years in the White House, he returned to Independence, Mo., with the lowest approval rating of any president.


It would take historians a generation to grasp what Winston Churchill understood of Truman in his time: “You, more than any other man, have saved Western civilization.”


Let us hope the Man from Missouri’s extraordinary life can provide guidance and inspiration to our next president as he leads America through what will certainly be four eventful years.

I made some comparisons between Biden and Truman (especially the part about being underestimated for much of their careers), so glad to see others are making the connection and the point that there is much Biden can learn from Truman’s example.

[Sir Mohamed]

While I don't necessarily disagree with the substance of this op-ed, the GOP has fundamentally changed since the days of Harry Truman. This is not even the Reagan or W Bush GOP. Their attitude for at least the past decade has been to obstruct any agenda for a Dem prez and Dem govs. And as of today, they have little reason to change. Neither does cooperation benefit the opposition party, nor has the GOP paid a huge price for their obstructionism. Let's be honest, they have been rewarded. Otherwise, McConnell and McCarthy would have been wiped out downballot. For sure, men like Mr. Scarborough want to have their "good old GOP" back, but he misses the reality that these days are gone and won't return.

Biden won't be able to succeed with Truman's or Johnson's playbooks from decades ago, when there was much more bipartisanship on Capitol Hill. From today's perspective, it's kind of hilarious considering how Truman ran against the 80th congress in 1948, slamming them was Do Nothing Congress when at the same time said congress passed the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe and contain communism. Anyone thinking this is remotely possible today? Lol! The GOP can't even agree climate change is real and ratify the Paris Accords. Same with the Iran Agreement, which is far from perfect, but objectively an important milestone for stability. Biden will restore these by the stroke of a pen, and we have no idea how long it lasts (likely as long as we have a Dem prez).

The only foreign policy "accomplishment" in the 117th congress is both parties agreeing on new sanctions against Russia. I'd support that, but that's hardly an accomplishment. All in all, I'd like to be proven wrong few years from now, but my optimism in terms of legislation for the coming years will remain cautious.

[Person Man]

While I don't necessarily disagree with the substance of this op-ed, the GOP has fundamentally changed since the days of Harry Truman. This is not even the Reagan or W Bush GOP. Their attitude for at least the past decade has been to obstruct any agenda for a Dem prez and Dem govs. And as of today, they have little reason to change. Neither does cooperation hardly benefit the opposition party, nor has the GOP paid a huge price for their obstructionism. Let's be honest, they have been rewarded. Otherwise, McConnell and McCarthy would have been wiped out downballot. For sure, men like Mr. Scarborough want to have their "good old GOP" back, but he misses the reality that these days are gone and won't return.

Biden won't be able to succeed with Truman's or Johnson's playbooks from decades ago, when there was much more bipartisanship on Capitol Hill. From today's perspective, it's kind of hilarious considering how Truman ran against the 80th congress in 1948, slamming them was Do Nothing Congress when at the same time said congress passed the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe and contain communism. Anyone thinking this is remotely possible today? Lol! The GOP can't even agree climate change is real and ratify the Paris Accords. Same with the Iran Agreement, which is far from perfect, but objectively an important milestone for stability. Biden will restore these by the stroke of a pen, and we have no idea how long it lasts (likely as long as we have a Dem prez).

The only foreign policy "accomplishment" in the 117th congress is both parties agreeing on new sanctions against Russia. I'd support that, but that's hardly an accomplishment. All in all, I'd like to be proven wrong few years from now, but my optimism in terms of legislation for the coming years will remain cautious.

Pretty much. Its going to be harder this time. I'm not sure if the 2020s are going to be the 1950s or the 1850s.

[Sir Mohamed]

While I don't necessarily disagree with the substance of this op-ed, the GOP has fundamentally changed since the days of Harry Truman. This is not even the Reagan or W Bush GOP. Their attitude for at least the past decade has been to obstruct any agenda for a Dem prez and Dem govs. And as of today, they have little reason to change. Neither does cooperation hardly benefit the opposition party, nor has the GOP paid a huge price for their obstructionism. Let's be honest, they have been rewarded. Otherwise, McConnell and McCarthy would have been wiped out downballot. For sure, men like Mr. Scarborough want to have their "good old GOP" back, but he misses the reality that these days are gone and won't return.

Biden won't be able to succeed with Truman's or Johnson's playbooks from decades ago, when there was much more bipartisanship on Capitol Hill. From today's perspective, it's kind of hilarious considering how Truman ran against the 80th congress in 1948, slamming them was Do Nothing Congress when at the same time said congress passed the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe and contain communism. Anyone thinking this is remotely possible today? Lol! The GOP can't even agree climate change is real and ratify the Paris Accords. Same with the Iran Agreement, which is far from perfect, but objectively an important milestone for stability. Biden will restore these by the stroke of a pen, and we have no idea how long it lasts (likely as long as we have a Dem prez).

The only foreign policy "accomplishment" in the 117th congress is both parties agreeing on new sanctions against Russia. I'd support that, but that's hardly an accomplishment. All in all, I'd like to be proven wrong few years from now, but my optimism in terms of legislation for the coming years will remain cautious.

Pretty much. Its going to be harder this time. I'm not sure if the 2020s are going to be the 1950s or the 1850s.

More like the 2010s, with shifting coalitions between the parties.

[Person Man]

While I don't necessarily disagree with the substance of this op-ed, the GOP has fundamentally changed since the days of Harry Truman. This is not even the Reagan or W Bush GOP. Their attitude for at least the past decade has been to obstruct any agenda for a Dem prez and Dem govs. And as of today, they have little reason to change. Neither does cooperation hardly benefit the opposition party, nor has the GOP paid a huge price for their obstructionism. Let's be honest, they have been rewarded. Otherwise, McConnell and McCarthy would have been wiped out downballot. For sure, men like Mr. Scarborough want to have their "good old GOP" back, but he misses the reality that these days are gone and won't return.

Biden won't be able to succeed with Truman's or Johnson's playbooks from decades ago, when there was much more bipartisanship on Capitol Hill. From today's perspective, it's kind of hilarious considering how Truman ran against the 80th congress in 1948, slamming them was Do Nothing Congress when at the same time said congress passed the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe and contain communism. Anyone thinking this is remotely possible today? Lol! The GOP can't even agree climate change is real and ratify the Paris Accords. Same with the Iran Agreement, which is far from perfect, but objectively an important milestone for stability. Biden will restore these by the stroke of a pen, and we have no idea how long it lasts (likely as long as we have a Dem prez).

The only foreign policy "accomplishment" in the 117th congress is both parties agreeing on new sanctions against Russia. I'd support that, but that's hardly an accomplishment. All in all, I'd like to be proven wrong few years from now, but my optimism in terms of legislation for the coming years will remain cautious.

Pretty much. Its going to be harder this time. I'm not sure if the 2020s are going to be the 1950s or the 1850s.

More like the 2010s, with shifting coalitions between the parties.

So nothing will really happen?

[Sir Mohamed]

While I don't necessarily disagree with the substance of this op-ed, the GOP has fundamentally changed since the days of Harry Truman. This is not even the Reagan or W Bush GOP. Their attitude for at least the past decade has been to obstruct any agenda for a Dem prez and Dem govs. And as of today, they have little reason to change. Neither does cooperation hardly benefit the opposition party, nor has the GOP paid a huge price for their obstructionism. Let's be honest, they have been rewarded. Otherwise, McConnell and McCarthy would have been wiped out downballot. For sure, men like Mr. Scarborough want to have their "good old GOP" back, but he misses the reality that these days are gone and won't return.

Biden won't be able to succeed with Truman's or Johnson's playbooks from decades ago, when there was much more bipartisanship on Capitol Hill. From today's perspective, it's kind of hilarious considering how Truman ran against the 80th congress in 1948, slamming them was Do Nothing Congress when at the same time said congress passed the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe and contain communism. Anyone thinking this is remotely possible today? Lol! The GOP can't even agree climate change is real and ratify the Paris Accords. Same with the Iran Agreement, which is far from perfect, but objectively an important milestone for stability. Biden will restore these by the stroke of a pen, and we have no idea how long it lasts (likely as long as we have a Dem prez).

The only foreign policy "accomplishment" in the 117th congress is both parties agreeing on new sanctions against Russia. I'd support that, but that's hardly an accomplishment. All in all, I'd like to be proven wrong few years from now, but my optimism in terms of legislation for the coming years will remain cautious.

Pretty much. Its going to be harder this time. I'm not sure if the 2020s are going to be the 1950s or the 1850s.

More like the 2010s, with shifting coalitions between the parties.

So nothing will really happen?

Legislatively? I doubt. Now we have to wait and see how GA runoffs turn out, but I assume we'll end up with a 52-48 R senate. In this scenario, McConnell will block any meaningful bills from becoming law and stonewall certain judicial nominees. By looking at how the past decade went, there is not too much reason for optimism. It's possible Biden will get something done on infrastructure and drug prices and a small stimulus package, but no major legislation or approval of major treaties. For sure no public option, no student debt reform, 15$ minimum wage or criminal justice reform. Most stuff on climate change will be done by EO or via the EPA.

For sure I'd like to be wrong here, I'm just trying to be a realist. Biden will do the best he can and his decades of experience in Washington are a major asset here.