Over the course of the election, there have obviously been countless times that something comes out of either McCain, Palin or a surrogate's mouth that just makes me think, "Really? Do you REALLY want to go there?"
(See: Freddie + Fannie, lobbyist talk, inexperience talk, all that jazz and more.)
With this latest ad of McCain's attacking Joe Biden's comment about how Barack Obama will be tested (and of course cherry-picking out the line, and not using the part about how Obama will have a "spine of steel"), and the most common reference being the Cuban Missile Crisis, I figured going back 47 years and looking at major "tests" of a new President and how that President responded and reacted might be interesting.
Again, John McCain, do you really wanna go there?
**This is by no means a completely researched listing of the historic events, but rather a quick diary to take a snapshot of the "Presidential tests" as food for thought.
35. John F. Kennedy (DEMOCRAT)
Inaugurated: January 20, 1961
Tested: Cuban Missile Crisis
Initially: April 1961
Crisis Intensifies: October 8, 1962
Crisis Ends: October 28, 1962
Result: (From Wikipedia):
Ending the Crisis of 1962
After much deliberation between the Soviet Union and Kennedy's cabinet, Kennedy agreed to remove all missiles set in Turkey on the border of the Soviet Union in exchange for Khrushchev removing all missiles in Cuba.
At 9 a.m. on October 28, a new message from Khrushchev was broadcast on Radio Moscow. Khrushchev stated "the Soviet government, in addition to previously issued instructions on the cessation of further work at the building sites for the weapons, has issued a new order on the dismantling of the weapons which you describe as 'offensive' and their crating and return to the Soviet Union."
Kennedy immediately responded, issuing a statement calling the letter "an important and constructive contribution to peace". He continued this with a formal letter: "I consider my letter to you of October twenty-seventh and your reply of today as firm undertakings on the part of both our governments which should be promptly carried out... The U.S. will make a statement in the framework of the Security Council in reference to Cuba as follows: It will declare that the United States of America will respect the inviolability of Cuban borders, its sovereignty, that it take the pledge not to interfere in internal affairs, not to intrude themselves and not to permit our territory to be used as a bridgehead for the invasion of Cuba, and will restrain those who would plan to carry an aggression against Cuba, either from U.S. territory or from the territory of other countries neighboring to Cuba."
The practical effect of this Kennedy-Khrushchev Pact was that it effectively strengthened Castro's position in Cuba in that he would not be invaded by the United States. It is possible that Khrushchev only placed the missiles in Cuba to get Kennedy to remove the missiles from Turkey and that the Soviets had no intention of resorting to nuclear war when they were out-gunned by the Americans. However because the withdrawals from Turkey were not made public at the time, Khrushchev appeared to have lost the conflict and become weakened. The perception was that Kennedy had won the contest between the superpowers and Khrushchev had been humiliated. However this is not entirely the case as both Kennedy and Khrushchev took every step to avoid full out conflict despite the pressures of people in their governments. Khrushchev would hold on to power for another two years.
(Note: I am skipping some Presidents - obviously Johnson had a lot going on throughout the Presidency, but as far as I can see he didn't face an immediate "test" although I am sure if he did someone will add it in the comments. Also of course you had everything from civil rights to the 1968 riots and more as well as the obvious one, Vietnam. I suppose in a way you could make the case that his mere entering of the Presidency after Dallas was a test in a way.)
(A note on Nixon: The end of the Vietnam war again might not fall into the line of "terrorist or attack test" but it's interesting enough for Republican presidential perspective. I know there is also so much more to it than the little bit of info Wikipedia has, but it's just for a diary to think about.)
37. Richard Nixon (REPUBLICAN)
Inaugurated: January 20, 1969
Tested: Vietnam War
Initially: July 1969
End: 1973
Result: (From Wikipedia):
Vietnam War
Once in office, Nixon and his aides faced the problem of how to end the Vietnam War.In July 1969, he visited South Vietnam, and met with President Nguyen Van Thieu and with U.S. military commanders. Amidst protests at home, the president implemented the Nixon Doctrine, a strategy of replacing American troops with the Vietnamese troops, also called "Vietnamization." Under President Nixon, American involvement in the war steadily declined from a troop strength of 543,000 to zero 1973. Although the South Vietnamese were well supplied with modern arms, their fighting capability was limited by inadequate funding, primarily because of large funding cutbacks by the U.S. Congress. Nixon was widely praised in the United States for having delivered 'peace with honor', and ending American involvement in the war in Vietnam.
***
(There doesn't seem to be a test of Gerald Ford.)
***
39. Jimmy Carter (DEMOCRAT)
Inaugurated: January 20, 1977
Tested: Energy Crisis
Initially: 1973
"Malaise Speech": July 15, 1979
Result: (From Wikipedia):
Energy Crisis
In 1973, during the Nixon Administration, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to reduce supplies of oil available to the world market. This sparked an oil crisis and forced oil prices to rise sharply, spurring price inflation throughout the economy, and slowing growth. Significant government borrowing helped keep interest rates high relative to inflation.
Carter told Americans that the energy crisis was "a clear and present danger to our nation" and drew out a plan to address it.
In 1977 Carter had convinced the Democratic Congress to create the United States Department of Energy (DoE). Promoting the department's recommendation to conserve energy, Carter wore cardigan sweaters, had solar hot water panels installed on the roof of the White House, had a wood stove in his living quarters, ordered the General Services Administration to turn off hot water in some federal facilities, and requested that Christmas decorations remain dark in 1979 and 1980. Nationwide controls were put on thermostats in government and commercial buildings to prevent people from raising temperatures in the winter (above 65 degrees Fahrenheit) or lowering them in the summer (below 78 degrees Fahrenheit).
As reaction to a perceived "energy crisis" and growing concerns over air pollution, Carter also signed the National Energy Act (NEA) and the Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA). The purpose of these watershed laws was to encourage energy conservation and the development of national energy resources, including renewables such as wind and solar energy.
"Malaise Speech"
When the energy market exploded – an occurrence Carter desperately tried to avoid during his term – he was planning on delivering his fifth major speech on energy; however, he felt that the American people were no longer listening. Carter went to Camp David for ten days to meet with governors, mayors, religious leaders, scientists, economists and citizens. He sat on the floor and took notes of their comments and especially wanted to hear criticism. His pollster told him that the American people simply faced a crisis of confidence because of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War, and Watergate. On July 15, 1979, Carter gave a nationally-televised address in which he identified what he believed to be a "crisis of confidence" among the American people. This came to be known as his "malaise" speech, although the word never appeared in it:
I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to American democracy... I do not refer to the outward strength of America, a nation that is at peace tonight everywhere in the world, with unmatched economic power and military might. ...
The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation.
In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we've discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning.
I'm asking you for your good and for your nation's security to take no unnecessary trips, to use carpools or public transportation whenever you can, to park your car one extra day per week, to obey the speed limit, and to set your thermostats to save fuel... I have seen the strength of America in the inexhaustible resources of our people. In the days to come, let us renew that strength in the struggle for an energy-secure nation.
Carter's speech, written by Hendrik Hertzberg and Gordon Stewart, was generally well-received. Three days after the speech, Carter asked for the resignations of all of his Cabinet officers, and ultimately accepted five. Carter later admitted in his memoirs that he should simply have asked only those five members for their resignations.
Since the energy crunch and the explosive rise in the price of oil in the first decade of the century, Carter's speech has been re-assessed, usually in more positive light. In 2008, a U.S. News and World Report piece stated:
We would also do well to remember the sort of complexity and humility that Carter tried to inject into political rhetoric..Carter was unwilling to pander to the people..What Carter really did in the speech was profound. He warned Americans that the 1979 energy crisis—both a shortage of gas and higher prices—stemmed from the country's way of life. "Too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does but by what one owns," the president said. Consumerism provided people with false happiness, he suggested, but it also prevented Americans from re-examining their lives in order to confront the profound challenge the energy crisis elicited. Despite [some failures] Carter left behind a way of talking about the country's promise and its need to confront what is undoubtedly one of its biggest challenges—to solve the energy crisis in a way that takes seriously both our limits and our greatness.
This next one I wasn't aware of, but interesting none the less. The "great" Ronald Reagan, union buster.
40. Ronald Reagan(REPUBLICAN)
Inaugurated: January 20, 1981
"Tested"?: Air Traffic Controller's Strike
Started: August 3, 1981
Reagan Reaction: August 5, 1981
Result: (From Wikipedia):
Air Traffic Controller's Strike
On August 3, 1981 the union declared a strike, seeking better working conditions, better pay and a 32-hour workweek. In doing so, the union violated a law {5 U.S.C. (Supp. III 1956) 118p.} that banned strikes by government unions. However, several government unions (including one representing employees of the Postal Service) had declared strikes in the intervening period without penalties. Ronald Reagan, however, declared the PATCO strike a "peril to national safety" and ordered them back to work under the terms of the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. Only 1,500 of the more than 13,000 of the controllers returned to work. PATCO hoped the strike would disrupt the national air system, and that they could use that as a bargaining tool. However Reagan gave union members 48 hours to return, knowing that Transportation Secretary Drew Lewis had secretly trained replacements. The airplanes kept flying at 80% of normal.
On August 5, following their refusal, Reagan fired the 11,345 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored the order, and banned them from federal service for three years (which was later rescinded by the President). They were replaced initially with nonparticipating controllers, supervisors, staff personnel, some nonrated personnel, and in some cases by controllers transferred temporarily from other facilities. Some military controllers were also used until replacements could be trained. The union was decertified on October 22, 1981.
Moving on..
41. George H.W. Bush(REPUBLICAN)
Inaugurated: January 20, 1989
Bush was inaugurated on January 20, 1989, succeeding Ronald Reagan. He entered office at a period of change in the world; the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of Soviet Union came early in his presidency. He ordered military operations in Panama and the Persian Gulf and, at one point, was recorded as having a record-high approval rating of 89%. However, economic recession and breaking his "no new taxes" pledge caused a sharp decline in his approval rating, and Bush was defeated in the 1992 election.
Tested: Fall of the Berlin Wall
Started: 1989
Result: (From Wikipedia):
Fall of the Berlin Wall/Soviet Union
In 1989, just after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Bush met with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev in a conference at the Mediterranean island of Malta. The administration had been under intense pressure to meet with the Soviets, but not all initially found the Malta summit to be a step in the right direction; General Brent Scowcroft, among others, was apprehensive about the meeting, saying that it might be "premature" due to concerns where, according to Dr. Condoleezza Rice, "expectations [would be] set that something was going to happen, where the Soviets might grandstand and force [the US] into agreements that would ultimately not be good for the United States." But European leaders, including François Mitterand and Margaret Thatcher, encouraged Bush to meet with Gorbachev, something that he did between December 2 and 3, 1989. Though no agreements were signed, the meeting was viewed largely as being an important one; when asked about nuclear war, Gorbachev responded, "I assured the President of the United States that the Soviet Union would never start a hot war against the United States of America. And we would like our relations to develop in such a way that they would open greater possibilities for cooperation... This is just the beginning. We are just at the very beginning of our road, long road to a long-lasting, peaceful period." The meeting was received as a very important step to the end of the Cold War.
And on...
42. Bill Clinton(DEMOCRAT)
Inaugurated: January 20, 1993
As we all know, there was a lot that went on in Clinton's presidency. As far as initial tests go, it seems that the 1993 World Trade Center bombing was the first major "test."
Tested: 1993 World Trade Center attacks
February 26, 1993
Result: (From Wikipedia):
1993 World Trade Center bombing
The 1993 World Trade Center bombing occurred on February 26, 1993, when a car bomb was detonated below Tower One of the World Trade Center in New York City. The 1,500 lb (680 kg) urea nitrate-hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to knock the North Tower (Tower One) into the South Tower (Tower Two), bringing both towers down and killing thousands of people. It failed to do so, but did kill six people and injured 1,042.
The attack was planned by a group of conspirators including Ramzi Yousef, Mahmud Abouhalima, Mohammad Salameh, Nidal Ayyad, Abdul Rahman Yasin and Ahmad Ajaj. They received financing from Khaled Shaikh Mohammed, Yousef's uncle. In March 1994, four men were convicted of carrying out the bombing: Abouhalima, Ajaj, Ayyad and Salameh. The charges included conspiracy, explosive destruction of property and interstate transportation of explosives. And in November 1997, two more were convicted: Yousef, the mastermind behind the bombings, and Eyad Ismoil, who drove the truck carrying the bomb.
Aftermath and Arrests
Agents and bomb technicians of the ATF, FBI, and the NYPD Bomb Squad responded to the scene of the blast. An ATF bomb technician subsequently located a vehicle identification number on an axle found at the seat of the blast and believed it belonged to the vehicle that delivered the bomb. Identifying the vehicle led law enforcement officers to the Ryder truck rental where the vehicle had been rented by Mohammad Salameh, one of Yousef's co-conspirators.
On March 4, 1993 authorities announced the capture of Salameh. The same day, Salameh's arrest led police to the apartment of Abdul Rahman Yasin in Jersey City, New Jersey, which Yasin was sharing with his mother, in the same building as Ramzi Yousef's apartment. Yasin was taken to FBI headquarters in Newark, New Jersey, and was then released. The next day, he flew back to Iraq, via Amman, Jordan. Yasin was later indicted for the attack, and in 2001 he was placed on the initial list of the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists, on which he remains today. He disappeared before the U.S. coalition invasion, Operation Iraqi Freedom, in 2003. In March 1994, Salameh, Nidal Ayyad, Mahmud Abouhalima and Ahmad Ajaj were each convicted in the World Trade Center bombing. In May 1994, they were sentenced to life imprisonment.
The capture of Salameh and Yasin led authorities to Ramzi Yousef's apartment, where they found bomb-making materials and a business card from Mohammed Jamal Khalifa. Khalifa was arrested on December 14, 1994, and was deported to Jordan by the INS on May 5, 1995. He was acquitted by a Jordanian court and lived as a free man in Saudi Arabia until his death in 2007.
I guess I just find it interesting that the perpetrators of the 1993 were caught and arrested. Where's Osama?
And the most recent Presidential test?
43. George W. Bush(REPUBLICAN)
Inaugurated: January 20, 2001
Sigh.
Tested: 9/11/2001
September 11, 2001
Results: From Wikipedia
After Card informed him that United Airlines Flight 175 had hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center, Bush continued reading the book for more than seven minutes. Bush's critics, notably Michael Moore in his film Fahrenheit 9/11, have argued that the fact that Bush continued to read the book after being notified of the attacks shows that he was indecisive. After spending about twenty minutes with the children, Bush was scheduled to give a short press conference at about 9:30. At the conference inside the school, Bush made his first speech about the attacks and was not evacuated by the Secret Service. According to Bill Sammon in Fighting Back: The War on Terrorism from Inside the White House, Bush's then-Press Secretary Ari Fleischer was in the back of the classroom holding a pad on which he had written "DON'T SAY ANYTHING YET."
Osama bin Laden made reference to the story in a videotaped speech released just prior to the 2004 U.S. presidential election, claiming that Bush's reading of the book had given the hijackers more than enough time to carry out the attacks.
Obviously we know the rest.
As Bill Maher said on Real Time last night in pointing this out, "George W. Bush hid in Nebraska and shit his pants."
So that's that. Some interesting finds. Going back full circle to the top of the diary, is the Presidential test something you really want to visit, John McCain?
As a 29 year old in 2008, all I know is that I hope the test for 44 never comes.
But beyond that, if and when that test does come, and it will likely come no matter who is in the White House in early 2009, I certainly would feel much more comfortable with the team that cool-as-a-cucumber Barack Obama will assemble meeting in the Oval Office and deciding what to do, than with the horde of cronies and losers of McCain.
Thanks for reading, I put some time into this one.