What would Ike, Truman or Reagan do?

My wife asked an interesting question this morning, she asked what Ike or Truman or even Reagan would do in this situation with the world on the brink of war.  I had to think a while as the question hit home.  I don’t believe we would have reached this point had any of the above listed been president.  Why you ask, because they would have reacted a lot sooner to the different cases.  Ike or Truman would have at the first sign of escalation put out an ultimatum to stand down immediately that the world would have listened to, as they were known for being men of action not just diplomacy.  In the last few decades we have become appeasers and are not expected to react other than to send our diplomats to negotiate with these rogue leaders through third party intermediaries. 

“We will not negotiate with terrorists” is what they say, but in the background we have an emissary from the French speaking for us.  Our stature in the world has fallen to the degree that if Korea wants more food they rattle the saber and we send food, it’s a big joke in the world.  America the country that was left to these last two generations a strong and feared nation among nations has become the piñata of the world, poke her and goodies will fall out.  We saw what Reagan did when he took command, the hostages in Iran were released immediately, how about when the Cubans sought a foothold in Grenada, he didn’t negotiate he reacted.  We saw what Truman did at the end of WWII to show the world that it doesn’t pay to mess with the United States of America.  Ike was so strong coming out of WWII that we had the greatest period of economic growth in our history.  Why did these leaders succeed where today’s fail?  Because they had the heart and soul of America and all these tin horn dictators knew it.  The John Wayne syndrome has always been the mantra for success in leadership in America.  The press called Reagan the Cowboy in a very derogatory way, yet it was that Cowboy who brought down the Berlin Wall and brought The Soviet Union to her knees. 

A thing to ponder; all three presidents that I spoke of brought themselves out of poverty just as most Americans did in the day.  There were no hands reaching down to lift their spirits or fill their larders.  These were self made men who took the personal responsibility to succeed. The Presidency was the most prestige’s position in the world and when the President of the United States spoke people listened.  Today we have a reflection of what we have become; a spoiled aristocratic government that thinks more about their personal power and prestige than the glory of the American way that defined our nation for decades.  

That’s my opinion, what’s yours?