Discussion » Statements » Rosie's Corner » Why is it that sometimes presidents are NOT appreciated during their term but later on in retrospect we discover how great they were?
RosieG

Why is it that sometimes presidents are NOT appreciated during their term but later on in retrospect we discover how great they were?

Posted - April 5, 2017
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Responses


  • It's hard to see the effects they have and what good comes from their policies and actions until later on when we see what direction they took us.  When they are in office it's mostly just predictions about what they do being good or bad.
      April 5, 2017 7:32 AM MDT
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  • 5614
    Funny how people think you can tell how great they are while in office before the effects of their decisions are felt. How? Is it their looks? Their stature? Gift of gab? What criteria are folks using to decide greatness while still in office?
      April 5, 2017 8:53 AM MDT
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  • I don't know.  It's that so many people think of the position as them being a leader.   They aren't really. Except in cases of wartime.    The President effects the future more than the present.

    As you suggest.  Greatness and lack of can only be retroactively applied.
      April 5, 2017 8:56 AM MDT
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  • 5614
    Aye, indeed.
      April 5, 2017 8:57 AM MDT
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  • 113301
    I liked Ike. I like him even more now! Thank you for your thoughtful reply Glis! :)
      April 6, 2017 12:48 PM MDT
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  • 53509


    One example of that is the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, especially in the months leading up to the US Civil War. Some Americans hated him and his policies so much that they advocated violence against him.  During his entire presidency, the US Secret Service and the Pinkerton Detective Agency worked tirelessly to protect him.  In the euphoria brought about in April of 1865 due to the end of the war, the mood softened to a certain extent, and many assumed that the threatening atmosphere had diminished sufficiently that Lincoln and the First Lady went to the theatre to enjoy a play, with tragic results . . .

      April 5, 2017 7:57 AM MDT
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  • 113301
     Thank you for your thoughtful and very  informative answer Randy and Happy Thursday. So the protect ors   let their guard down and the predictable result occurred.  :(
      April 6, 2017 12:49 PM MDT
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  • 53509
    Lincoln himself was of the opinion that things had relaxed enough for an evening at the Ford Theater to be safe.

    ~ 
      April 6, 2017 9:44 PM MDT
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  • 113301
     That makes it even sadder doesn't it? :( Thank you for the info RandyD and Happy Friday to thee!  :)
      April 7, 2017 3:48 AM MDT
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  • Hi RosieG,
    In my life, the reason I don't appreciate a president during his term has been two things, first it is me, I did not have the life experience/wisdom to understand. 
    Second, and related, is that the way subsequent events play out will demonstrate the insight, the selfless compassion of a head of state, making horrendous difficult decisions.

    Or vice versa...their doltishness...sometimes I think maybe I should not ever have voted until  sixty years of age! ;)
      April 5, 2017 11:56 AM MDT
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  • 113301
    As I've gotten older I've become more interested in political outcomes. Before that I was cavalier/blase. Now? I could not believe that American citizens elected Donald Trump. I never will be able to believe it. It will always astound/astonish/perplex me. Thank you for your reply and Happy Thursday! I was delighted with the elections of JFK and Obama. I would not have been delighted with Hillary but she was so much the better candidate it wasn't even a contest. What happened happened. If we could have a do-over or make it unhappen or have a Deus ex Machina solve our nightmare it would be loverly. But it isn't gonna happen. Now we live with this until something changes it. Hopefully sooner rather than later.  :(                               
      April 6, 2017 12:55 PM MDT
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  • 372
    Truman is another good example. He was vilified for firing MacArthur - a national hero. Years later, he is seen as one of the best - primarily for firing MacArthur.

    Some have gone the reverse - from adulation to condemnation. Kennedy has been on a roller coaster - from Camelot, to his phiandering, and lately for his intelligent approach to getting us out of what became the Vietnam quagmire. But before he could make that happen, he was gunned down. Interesting question.
      April 5, 2017 1:04 PM MDT
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  • 53509

    Thank you, but do you think that President Kennedy was headed towards less US involvement in Southeast Asia?  I think that had he lived, he would have acted similarly to his successor, President Johnson, on the Vietnam issue. 






    ~
      April 5, 2017 8:19 PM MDT
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  • 372
    Hi Randy. To answer your question, the link below shows the events from the November 1963 assassinations of Diem and Kennedy to the US-manufactured incident in the Gulf of Tonkin involving the USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy in August 1964.

    Warning: the material is dense and not easy to read. However, if you scroll down to the Conclusion, you can decide whether to continue from the beginning.

    Many historians refuse to change their long-held opinion that Kennedy was in complete favor of escalating the US involvement in Vietnam, but the documents cited are proof that the opposite was true. He intended to start withdrawal in 1964 to be completed by 1965. His death changed US policy.

    If nothing else, the article should trigger your historical interest.



    I forgot to add the link ------ http://bostonreview.net/us/galbraith-exit-strategy-vietnam This post was edited by Louie at April 6, 2017 9:52 PM MDT
      April 5, 2017 10:12 PM MDT
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  • 53509
    Thank you, Louie. 

    ~
      April 5, 2017 10:49 PM MDT
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  • Louie I also appreciate your thoughtful research...I did not go to the links, but rather think you have probably looked into this well. 
      April 6, 2017 2:26 PM MDT
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  • 113301
    Thank you for your thoughtful reply Louie. I was thinking specifically of Ike. He was so prescient about so many things.  I agree with you about Truman! I see no upside to Trump. I hope for something/someone to "fix" the terrible wrong that was perpetrated. I have no idea if that will ever be possible. The damage he has already done to our country is incalculable. What he will do one can only guess.  Happy Thursday! :)
      April 6, 2017 12:59 PM MDT
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  • 2960
    Nostalgia is a strong force and the winners write history and all the Monday morning quarterbacks with 20/20 hindsight.
      April 6, 2017 9:48 PM MDT
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  • We expect "results" too soon, we judge too soon. We often view certain decisions and actions as drastic, or unfair, or even foolish, without perhaps contemplating on the motives, the long term goals, that are intended to be achieved. Our own internal "know-it-all" filters lead us to misread in haste measured words and proposed actions.




      April 7, 2017 4:34 AM MDT
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