Word: trumaning
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...When you look back at the firing of General [Douglas] MacArthur, President Truman writes in his memoir that civilian control of the military "is one of the strongest foundations of our system of free government. Many of our people are descended from men and women who fled their native countries to escape the oppression of militarism." The importance of it really comes from the founding of our nation, [similar to] the separation of church and state...
...Were those silent generals in Vietnam reacting to Truman's firing of MacArthur...
...previous war, it's very possible. Clearly MacArthur's having spoken out in disagreement with the policy of the president and then being fired for insubordination would have been very much on the minds of the generals in Vietnam. And in MacArthur's case, it was - according to Truman - a clear violation of civilian control of the military. At a time when Truman was drafting the possibility of a settlement in the Korean conflict, MacArthur comes out saying that this war must essentially be won by arms...
Open revolts by the top military brass against their civilian minders are rare but not unprecedented. General MacArthur objected to Harry Truman's handling of the Korean War and was fired in 1951. The Air Force didn't like the way Lyndon Johnson handpicked bombing targets during the Vietnam War. And Bill Clinton had to back down after he ordered the Pentagon to openly admit homosexuals in 1993 by settling on the narrower "Don't ask, don't tell" policy...
...This week Bush's approval ratings sank to levels that had pollsters quietly whistling through their teeth. It's not just the number, 34% - Truman holds the record, when only 23% approved of the job he was doing in November of 1951, and Nixon fell as low as 24%. (In contrast, among the most beloved in year six of their presidencies were Eisenhower at 64%, Reagan at 63.5% and Clinton at 57%.) What struck the surveyors was Bush's 60% disapproval number, and the fact that 47% stronglydisapprove. That's like trying to climb out of a deep hole filled...