Washington

I'm not ready to replace Abraham Lincoln with George Washington, but it's getting closer.  The more I read and think about Washington, the title of James Flexner's brilliant biography of Washington perfectly fits, "The Indispensable Man."  Washington was more far-sighted than people realize, from things such as treatment of Indians to future American greatness.  "He kept us out of war" was a campaign slogan used for Woodrow Wilson (who first did, then didn't--five months later), but so did Washington, at a time when war might well have brought the American experiment with self-rule to a quick and crashing halt.  He kept two giants of US History, Hamilton and Jefferson, in his Cabinet, allowing both to voice their views, although they were bitter political rivals.  He ran for a second term, something he didn't want to do.  But, like an American Cincinnatus, his duty to country (like that of Cincinnatus to Rome) was more important than his personal life and return to his farm at Mt. Vernon.  He recognized that he, perhaps he alone, could provide the stability the young nation needed.  But then, after that second four years, he stepped down, creating yet another significant precedent, the rotating of the office of the Presidency.  He was opposed to monarchy (although his close adviser Hamilton favored it).  It may be apocryphal, but it does reflect his view, "We just fought a war to get rid of one King George.  We don't need another."  I could go on, but you get the idea.

I also read this.  In his Second Inaugural Address, Washington used "I" a mere six times.  (I never bothered to count before.)  "Unlike Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama [and the book was written before Don Trump or he would most assuredly be included], whose narcissism seemed to know no bounds, Washington was a profoundly humble man."  It's too bad these latter-day Presidents didn't learn from history.

I was also reminded that "The General did not like shaking hands."  Although he loved dancing with the ladies, he disdained most physical contact, in political or social settings.  A man after (or before) my own sentiments.

Here's a story that demonstrates a few things.  At a reception, an aristocratic and powerful, but patriotic man (One of the Van Renssalaers?  I don't remember.) remarked that he could go and put his arm around Washington's shoulder, like an old buddy.  Others there thought VR would never do that, but to goad him into it, passed the hat to collect a tidy sum as a reward if he had the guts to follow through with it.  Well, he did--and regretted it.  He walked over to Washington and in a very friendly way, inquired how "George" was doing.  "George" gave him "such a cold, hard glare" that VR immediately released his grip and raced out of the reception without collecting his money.  And the guys didn't joke and guffaw about it, not at all.  They, too, were silenced by Washington's reaction.  More than 30 years later, with Washington dead for about 25 years, VR wrote in a letter he was still haunted by that "cold, hard stare."

We usually equate loud, rousing ovations with modern times--ball games, political conventions or rallies, etc.  Yet at a gathering of 12,000 guests to celebrate Washington's last birthday in office, he was greeted by "such deafening applause" that his wife, Martha, was brought to tears and he himself was so moved he couldn't speak.  A little more than a year later, at John Adams' inauguration, as Washington strode from the building, the crowd "roared with a sound like thunder."

Before people start tossing around the word "great" to identify Presidents, perhaps they should do more reading about Lincoln and Washington.