Ike, Harry and Hillary (KS, MO)

Today was pretty ridiculous. Owing to yesterday’s fuck-ups, we had a crazy agenda – trying to cram in two presidential libraries in two states (Kansas, then back to Missouri), and then head off to a third state (Oklahoma), and all on a Sunday. In total, we put 600 miles on the clock.

Still worth it though. 9 hours driving inevitably meant we probably rushed the two libraries – and certainly the second of them. But, as with the others (as of today, I’ve been to four of the 13 with possibly another three to do on this trip), they are terrific places to visit: brilliant educational resources about US and world history in the 20 century and not necessarily adulatory, fulsome tributes to important men.

(We did it a bit out of sync as well, going to see Eisenhower (1953-60) in Abilene, Kansas in the morning before heading across to Independence, Missouri for Truman (1945 – 1952).)

There’s a better setting for Eisenhower’s. Driving through the small town of Abilene, I felt like I was travelling through a replica of 1950s Kansas: a grid system, traffic lights at the end of every block, bungalow houses, sparse streets, a few general stores. His museum and library is in the town itself, but unobtrusively set back in a tree-lined park.  It’s really nicely done.

There are four bits to it: his actual childhood home, an understated church/Place of Meditation which is his final resting place, a museum and then library.

The childhood home is largely as it was in the very early 1900s, and the guided tour revealed something I didn’t know about him. His parents were members of the River Brethren, a branch of the Mennonite religion: among other things, they were known to be vigorous pacifists. That their son, 40 years on in World War 2, subsequently led the biggest land army the world has ever known would have taken parental disappointment to new levels…

The museum itself left me a little cold. Understandably, given his achievements as a soldier and five-star general, there is an enormous amount of space and time spent not only on his time in the military but on very detailed explanations of the lead-up to WW2,  and none of it via multi-media or interactive means. Maybe two thirds of the place was given over to that stuff, and gave little to his childhood, his post WW2 life, his retirement and Presidency.  I didn’t feel I got to know the man or what he had to face and address in his time in the White House. Since that period covered the Cold War and nuclear proliferation, the end of the Korean War, the beginnings of Vietnam as a problem for the US, an emerging space race, civil rights challenges and relative prosperity, it’s all a bit disappointing and not in keeping with what one expects of someone consistently voted in the top 10.

There are better indicators of his greatness near his final resting place, certainly through the statesmanlike quotes that adorn the walls there. One betrays his loathing of (and human of) the ‘Military Industrial Complex’:

Another is his Presidential Prayer, which probably needs dusting off in election year 2016:

Harry Truman’s Library & Museum was much better. After hurtling across to Missouri again just after noon, we only had a couple of hours to spend there but it was a more satisfying experience. Certainly a more rounded picture: loads of his early life (including noting that his maternal grandfather was a slave owner), his almost reluctant entry to politics, a fair bit on his personal life. And really excellent exhibits of the presidential years: not just a linear walk through of pictures and quotes but thought-provoking, interactive sections regarding the often terrifying decisions he had to make.

Obviously, there was lots on the decision to drop the Atomic Bomb (twice) but these were surprisingly balanced pieces, outlining criticism of his judgement on that and its implications. Even if you disagree with what he did on those things, you can’t help but feel sympathy and admiration for him. I think we forget that his time in office coincided with some of the most turbulent times in our history. He had to deal with the death of a much-loved predecessor in FDR; trying to end WW2; the early days of the Cold War; the fall of Berlin and the Berlin Airlift; the Marshall Plan to reconstruct Europe; the fall of China to communism; the beginning of the Korean Conflict. And against much opposition, he effectively had to sign off on the creation of the State of Israel.

He made absolutely momentous decisions with long-lasting impact, and appeared to do so as a down to earth, fairly simple, occasionally prickly but humble man.

PS – I’ve mentioned the upcoming election a few times over the course of the past few weeks: it’s impossible not to reflect on it (maybe even obsess over it) when you’re out here. But it’s especially hard when you’re visiting places like these museums. You just can’t help but be impressed with the lives and achievements of the people who became President. My mate and travelling companion on this trip Al (a bigger Americanist than me, an MBA graduate of the University of Virginia) is of the view that all of them were exceptional people, by dint of just getting there. I have some reservations on that but I do think it’s easy to find something special in pretty much all of them, and in what they did when they got there.

This should continue after 8th November 2016. Certainly, the prospect of the first female President in the history of US politics is – this time, by its very definition – exceptional. But there is a lot more to admire about her as a candidate. In line with predecessors like Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower, she is serious, tough and clever and has a long track record of successful public service. She understands domestic policy and how the world works. Her temperament is sound: one feels safe with the idea of her in charge of the US military and its nuclear capability, appointing sensible Supreme Court judges, developing legislation, and working to reduce tensions around the globe.

Donald Trump is the opposite of all of these things. I heard last week on TV that his team at the Convention was insinuating comparisons with Eisenhower (mainly because the latter was the last non-politician elected). It’s utterly laughable in hundreds of ways. Someone so palpably inconsistent and incoherent on all his policy positions, who appears to have no core beliefs other than his own self-worth, who is unashamed by the douchebaggery of some of his support, who appears to have no interest or compassion for anyone less fortunate than himself (which is pretty much all of the US), and who has given very little to his country or communities other than periodic bankruptcies. I have a profound aversion to that Billy Big Bollocks, alpha male, swaggering CEO type that he so personifies. “Only I have the answer, only I can make things happen, the way ahead is simple folks’; there’s no room for nuance, hesitation, uncertainty. 

It’s not a slam dunk for Clinton. The polls tonight (25^th July) suggest that Trump is ahead by a few points. Some of that will be a post-Convention bounce of course but the likelihood is that it will still be a relatively close result. Our taxi driver in St Louis the other night was convinced that Trump will win mainly because people dislike Clinton more. All we’ve seen in Kansas and Oklahoma so far are ‘Trump’ banners and car stickers. That might not be too surprising in the South but I heard the same in supposedly more liberal New York and Connecticut. I don’t pretend to know why but I suspect it’s mix of things: contempt for ‘establishment’ Washington figures, overfamiliarity, constant innuendo and conspiracy-mongering, simple tribal politics and – plainly – outright misogyny.

And yet, I’m still confident that it will be alright. The electoral math(s) are with her: the idea that Trump will do well with Latinos, African Americans, Muslims, any immigrants, the disabled, women and hundreds of other sections of American society is just not credible. And nationally, he has to win over several of the big states like Ohio, Michigan, Colorado, Virginia and Florida – all won by Obama in 2012.

But more than that I just have faith that overall they’ll get it right again. And elect the exceptional candidate for (probably) the 45^th time in a row.