For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: "How Clinton and Bush Would Have Handled the Oil Spill."
Several pundits have offered suggestions, but maybe NEWSWEEK’s Jonathan Alter said it best: “The inspirational figure of the campaign is under the delusion that he will be cheapening himself and the office if he uses memorable soundbites in the theater of the presidency.” But U.S. history is filled with stirring examples of presidential theater that have united, comforted, and inspired during national emergencies. By the same token, there have been plenty of Oval Office flops in the face of disaster. As Alter writes, “For all his study of history, Obama somehow has failed to notice that Lincoln’s ‘house divided’ and FDR’s ‘fear itself’ were, well, soundbites.”
With this in mind, we asked presidential historians to help us speculate as to how the past five U.S. presidents would have handled the BP oil spill if they were still in office. The question isn’t who would cap the leak quickest —all of them would have been at the mercy of BP—but, rather, how their leadership styles would have guided their responses, and what lessons Obama can learn from them.
Read the whole thing and offer your thoughts.
