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In 1991, the
historian James
McPherson
published a book
entitled,
Abraham Lincoln
and the Second
American
Revolution.
The book was a
collection of
essays about the
Civil War and
our Nation’s
sixteenth
President.
One of the
essays was
called, “The
Hedgehog and the
Foxes.” In it,
McPherson quoted
the Greek poet
Archilochus, who
wrote that, “The
fox knows many
things, but the
hedgehog knows
one big thing.”
McPherson used
this quote to
argue that, in
his
single-minded
pursuit of
policies which
were guided by a
central vision,
Lincoln was very
much like a
hedgehog.
In reading
McPherson’s
essay, it is
remarkable how
easily one could
apply the points
he makes about
President
Lincoln to
President George
W. Bush today.
Like Lincoln,
President Bush
finds himself in
the middle of a
controversial
war. Like
Lincoln,
President Bush
has been harshly
criticized for
his prosecution
of the war.
Like Lincoln,
President Bush
leads a
political party
in which many
candidates are
trying to
distance
themselves from
him as the fall
elections draw
near.
Perhaps the most
striking
similarity,
though, is that,
like Abraham
Lincoln, George
W. Bush is
driven by a
single, central
vision – what
McPherson called
the “lodestar.”
President
Lincoln’s
lodestar was
putting the
Union back
together. For
President Bush,
it is making
sure our country
is not attacked
again. As
McPherson noted
in his essay,
Lincoln was
“surrounded by
foxes who
considered
themselves
smarter than he
but who lacked
his depth of
vision and
therefore
sometimes
pursued
unrelated and
contradictory
ends.” These
were men like
Horace Greeley
and William
Seward, who at
various times
encouraged the
President to
make a deal with
the confederacy
and bring an
early end to the
war. Lincoln
refused, and
history has
proven him
right.
It is obviously
too early to
tell whether
history will
prove George W.
Bush right in
the course he
has taken for
our Nation. The
war in Iraq is,
seemingly, a
long way from
resolution. And,
although
scholars like
Walid Phares
make a
persuasive case
that, in the
long run,
establishing a
democracy in
that country is
the right thing
to do because it
brought down a
tyrant and
interrupted the
spread of
Jihadism across
the globe, in
the short run,
many Americans
clearly have
their doubts.
Similarly,
although
knowledgeable
officials like
Homeland
Security
Committee
Chairman Peter
King make a good
case that
important steps
have been taken
to strengthen
our homeland
security, there
are clearly some
who believe that
the steps taken
so far have not
been enough.
Only history
will tell who
was right.
Until that time,
George Bush
finds himself
surrounded by
foxes. Foxes who
supported the
decision to send
troops to Iraq
in 2003 but who
now say the
mission was a
mistake and our
troops should be
withdrawn. Foxes
who supported
bills like the
Patriot Act when
they were passed
in 2001 and 2002
but who now say
these laws went
too far and
portions of them
should be
repealed. Foxes
who supported
the President
when he stood on
the rubble of
the World Trade
Center but who
now view him
more as a
political
liability and
someone to
avoid.
History will
indeed tell us
who was right.
But history
already tells us
this: Presidents
are not elected
to deal with
small things.
Jimmy Carter
scheduled tennis
courts; Ronald
Reagan defeated
communism. You
don’t need to be
a historian to
know which one
used his time in
office the best.
Like Lincoln,
Reagan was a
hedgehog. And
so, too, is
George W. Bush.
For good or for
bad, he has
dedicated his
presidency to
fighting
terrorism. And
despite the
criticism of how
he has managed
various aspects
of this fight,
and despite
other
initiatives he
has pursued like
reforming Social
Security that
have been
anything but a
success, the
fact remains
that America
hasn’t been
attacked in five
years.
We could be
attacked
tomorrow. We
could be
attacked next
week. But for
the past 60
months, the
President has
kept our country
safe and our
citizens secure.
In short, he has
gotten the job
done.
And in that
important
regard, the
lodestar of
George W. Bush
has proven to be
right.
RF
Louis M. Zickar
is the Editor of
the Ripon Forum. |
