Ed Haley was recently quoted as saying the following:
Edward Haley, a specialist in politics and international relations at Claremont McKenna College in California holds different opinion. He said: "The tour of world capitals and hot spots represented a test that was necessary to pass. It looks as if he's done far better than just passing. He's aced this tour. If there was any doubt of his stature on the world stage, I think he's more than answered that. He hasn't put a foot wrong in any of these places."Note that he is quoted as a "specialist" in politics and international relations. That will be important to note in a moment.
I thought it might be interesting to note Professor John J. Pitney's blog post in The Corner. You can read the entire thing here. He quotes Truman scholar, Elizabeth Edwards Spalding, associate professor at Claremont McKenna's Washington semester program. I found and linked to her lecture on Truman. I put it up on wikipedia, but you can listen here and here to that lecture.)
...And so Obama came to Berlin to build up his image on national security. If only appearances matter, then he did himself some good. The substance of his remarks was different. He credited the 1948 Berlin Airlift to international cooperation. “It was this spirit that led airlift planes to appear in the sky above our heads,” he said, as if some global vibe called aircraft from the vasty deep. Actually, it was Harry Truman. As Elizabeth Spalding recounts in The First Cold Warrior, “At first, Truman was almost alone in thinking that an airlift would work as an effective response to the Soviets.”Given that Haley teaches international relations -- heck, the article calls him a "specialist," you would think he would have noticed Obama's mess up.
Truman made a tough, risky decision. That’s what presidents do. Obama did not acknowledge this point. He didn’t even mention Truman’s name.
But then you'd be assuming that international relations were, you know, actually scholarship.
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1 comments:
Describing Obama's statement as a failure to understand history, or implying that he ignored Truman's contribution to the effort is somewhat disingenuous in the context of Obama's entire speech (which you so conveniently linked).
In context, the quote reads as such:
Now is the time to build new bridges across the globe as strong as the one that binds us across the Atlantic. Now is the time to join together, through constant cooperation, and strong institutions, and shared sacrifice, and a global commitment to progress, to meet the challenges of the 21st century
It was this spirit that led airlift planes to appear in the sky above our heads and people to assemble where we stand today. And this is the moment when our nations, and all nations, must summon that spirit anew.
Obama was citing the Berlin Airlift as an example of how a multilateral effort can succeed in defeating an entity such as the USSR. Britain pushed heavily for the airlift to be implemented and provided much of the initial carrying capacity and aircrews, German citizen volunteered en masse to provide ground crews and construct additional runways, and most importantly refused to capitulate to the Soviets and the U.S. provided funding and aircraft of its own. Indeed, even the French contributed to the effort. So while Truman undoubtedly made an incredibly tough decision (near unanimous opposition from both parties), multilateral cooperation made it possible. That is the spirit to which Obama is speaking.
Within the additional context of the remaining speech, it is clear that Obama is stating a need for a global, multilateral effort to defeat a variety of challenges including global warming, terrorism and poverty. This does not ignore Truman's own tough call, but instead, focuses on the benefits of multilateral action. If anything it is an act of ommission rather than ignorance.
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