How Did We Get Here?

April 27, 2020
Historian Dallek (Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Political Life) delivers a brisk rundown of U.S. presidents from Theodore Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan in search of precedents for “the troublesome Trump administration.” He lists myriad examples of presidents overreaching established boundaries of executive authority, claiming undue credit for positive developments while shirking responsibility for bad, committing foreign policy blunders, and tangling with the press. Woodrow Wilson’s refusal to come clean about his severe health problems “left voters cynical about trusting anyone running for the White House,” according to Dallek. FDR misrepresented his private opinions about Joseph Stalin in order to foster post-WWII optimism, the combination of JFK’s brief tenure and sterling reputation encouraged the notion that presidential legacies depend more on public relations skills than policy achievements, and Ronald Reagan proved that a media personality turned politician could hold onto popular support despite economic turmoil, international scandals, and rumors of mental decline. Though Dallek writes fluidly and packs his account with intriguing tidbits, he often fails to make the links between the current and previous administrations explicit, and his hesitancy to outright condemn Trump will strike liberals as a cop-out. Still, history buffs looking for reassurance that American democracy can survive Trumpism will find it here.

May 1, 2020
A veteran American historian looks back at previous presidencies to see how we arrived at our current one. Dallek--who has published works about Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon, among others--devotes chapters to all the presidents between Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, briefly summarizing their lives and times and assessing their strengths, weaknesses, accomplishments, and failures. No fan of Donald Trump, the author emphasizes the previous presidents' failures and sees how they have led to Trump, who gets his own damning chapter at the end. Dallek does a good job of seeing the strengths of presidents he does not otherwise admire, and he also explores the weaknesses in those he does admire. For example, he credits Nixon for his advances with China, and he chides FDR for deceptions about his health. Dallek makes clear that all the negative aspects of previous presidents have come home to roost in Trump: Theodore Roosevelt's craving for attention and his self-adoration, Woodrow Wilson's "exaggerated presidential promises," Truman's making war in Korea without Congressional approval, Dwight Eisenhower's moves in Iran and Vietnam, JFK's focus on image, LBJ's "deceitfulness on foreign affairs," Nixon's fondness for imperiousness, Jimmy Carter's ineffectualness, and Reagan's use of celebrity as a political weapon and his displays of ignorance. In the final chapter, Dallek's dagger emerges. Trump is a "retrograde force" whose "abusive language" shreds dignity from the office--as do his innumerable lies, distortions, and overall boorishness. "Making America great again," writes the author, "hardly satisfies any standard for leading us into a better future." The author shifts from the third person to the first from time to time to tell us about a relevant personal experience--e.g., his 1979 meeting with some Soviet historians in Moscow. Informed and passionate words to bring cheers from Never Trumpers and no reaction from Trump fans, who won't read it.

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