Michael Beschloss

In February I had the chance to hear Michael Beschloss speak at a meeting I was at. His speech inspired me to get two of his works - the Conquerers and Reaching for Glory. Beschloss is an engaging speaker but I wondered whether he was as engaging a writer. He is an admirer of presidential power but not in the manner of James MacGregor Burns. Rather he is a sympathetic observer to the issues and concerns that face presidents. I wrote my BA Thesis on Burns' theory of presidential power and am admittedly not much of a fan of his fawning at presidential power. Beschloss is a lot more subtle. He seems to understand two things which I believe Burns did not. FIrst, he understands, way better than Burns did, the situational setting for many presidents. But second, I think he is more assertive in his understanding of the variations of leadership styles that are possible in the US Presidency. The two works demonstrate his skill in seeing the subtle nature of presidential leadership

The Conquerers is about Henry Morgenthau, the longest serving Secretary of the Treasury and FDR and Truman. The picture here is a complex one - although he is not altogether sympathetic to Morgenthau (but then neither am I). He also seems to be a fan of Truman, giving the President a lot more credit for innate skills that many of his early biographers somehow missed.

The LBJ tapes are even more interesting. You get a lot from hearing LBJ speak to Hoover, and King and Marshall and Humphrey and Lady Bird. My picture of LBJ was not changed by this book. Nor was my picture of McNamara (who I think was one of the worst cabinet members in history), nor of McGeorge Bundy or Ball (ditto and ditto) nor for Hoover. But what did change was my view of Lady Bird. His description of her mettle in the Walter Jenkins affair was wonderful. LBJ wanted to cut and run from his long time aide but Lady Bird said no, in a firm but gentle way. She clearly understood how to move him on an issue.