George W. Bush -- grand strategist

townhall.com ^ | 2/11/04 | Tony Blankley

[kattracks]

ping

[Hugin]

No, the Rapid Deployment Force was about 100,000 troops mainly consisting of the 101 and 82 Airborne Divs, and the 24th Mech. The same units that were first sent to the Gulf in 1990. Really one of the very few good things to come out of the Carter administration.

[skr]

My son can turn right around and say to me, "But dad, Bush is the top-dog conservative and he's running a $500 billion dollar deficit this year, has proposed a multiple hundred billion dollar medication healthcare bill, has raised the spending roof on the department of education and on and on..." What can I tell the kid?

The good news is that it's you your son will be most influenced by in his education in conservatism in his daily life.

[Howlin]

It is worth noting that John Kerry and the other Democrats' central criticism of President Bush -- the prosaic argument that he should have taken no action without U.N. approval -- is implicitly rejected by Professor Gaddis as being a proposed policy that would be constrained by an "outmoded international system."

OH, BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[paul51]

Oh, I think I'm going to like the release of this book.

[DoughtyOne]

I'll take your word for it. Carter was essentially convinced we didn't need a military any longer, or long term allies for that matter. He single-handedly destabalized the middle-east for thirty years through his actions with regard to the Shah.

If he wasn't so stupid, I think the guy should have been brought up on charges of treason, but then it takes some intelligence for a person to knowingly make a decision, something we'd have a pretty tough time of proving with Carter.

[DoughtyOne]

Well, at least he'll be exposed to the ideas. Thanks for the comments.

[Mo1]

I suspect that as this election year progresses, that may end up being the decisive debate. You can put me on the side of the professor.

I think a lot of folks will be also

[malia]

bump

[AmericanVictory]

Right you are. We look forward to the read.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for the ping!

I like this article!

[Porterville]

Great post, but honestly, most of us at FR do not have PHD's and work at an Ivy League... and we all knew these facts as the trends unfold them.... I guess pin heads rely on the FR to develop their theories.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I really, really like it!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Professor Gaddis slams bill clinton for being wrong, shallow, and asleep. That's a great way to summarize the clinton presidency.

That's the way I see it too!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

fyi

[Ophiucus]

OH, BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL...bounce away, Howlin.

Lovely to see lines like this too:
"Clinton said as much at one point. I think that was shallow. I think they were asleep at the switch," Professor Gaddis observed.

Although, I think he gives too much credit to FDR. If the reconstruction of Europe post WWII was the grand strategy, then that credit has to go to Marshall, who fought tooth and nail for his plan against a skeptical President and a resistant Congress. I have to agree with earlier posters that Truman is more deserving of presidential credit than FDR.

Still, this book should be worth a read.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Wonder if Amazon has anything on it yet?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Available soon at Amazon!

1.

Surprise, Security, and the American Experience (The Joanna Jackson Goldman Memorial Lectures on American Civilization and gOvernment) by John Lewis Gaddis (Hardcover - March 2004)

Not yet released.

List Price:		$18.95
Buy new:		$13.27

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

fyi

[BigSkyFreeper]

Excellent read! This article is spot on, and what I've been telling liberal friends for months!