All the Presidents' Men

Jeffersonians

Famous Jeffersonians: John Quincy Adams, Dwight D. Eisenhower, George F. Kennan, J. William Fulbright

Likes: limiting overseas entanglements, prioritizing domestic reform, warning of "imperial overstretch"

Dislikes: bloated military budgets, imposing American values abroad, close alliances with foreign regimes

"[W]e must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence ... by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist." Dwight D. Eisenhower, farewell address, Jan. 17, 1961

Hamiltonians

Famous Hamiltonians: Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, Theodore Roosevelt, George H.W. Bush

Likes: economic frameworks for prosperity, G-20 summits, American power used to advance the national interest, opening foreign markets for American business, realism regarding U.S. goals and capabilities

The Carter Syndrome

If Barack Obama can't reconcile his inner presidents -- Jefferson and Wilson -- he could end up like No. 39.

By Walter Russell Mead

Dislikes: expending resources on humanitarian missions, undue focus on the domestic politics of foreign allies, international human rights watchdogs

"One class of our citizens indulges in gushing promises to do everything for foreigners, another class offensively and improperly reviles them; and it is hard to say which class more thoroughly misrepresents the sober, self-respecting judgment of the American people as a whole. The only safe rule is ... to 'speak softly and carry a big stick.'" Theodore Roosevelt, An Autobiography, 1913

Wilsonians

Famous Wilsonians: Eleanor Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Paul Wolfowitz, Christopher Hitchens

Likes: spreading democratic values as a prerequisite for international stability, the United Nations, human rights

Dislikes: isolationism, alliances with unsavory regimes, making policy based on narrow economic interests, balance-of-power politics

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge -- and more." John F. Kennedy, 1961 inaugural address

Jacksonians

Famous Jacksonians: William Tecumseh Sherman, George S. Patton, Jesse Helms, Ronald Reagan, Sarah Palin

Likes: muscular expansion of American power, unapologetic defense of U.S.

Dislikes: international treaties, the United Nations, timidity, undue concern with human rights and other countries' sovereignty

"Americans love a winner. Americans will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win all the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost nor will ever lose a war, for the very thought of losing is hateful to an American." George S. Patton, speech to the 3rd Army, June 5, 1944

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DEAN RUSK

2:21 AM ET

January 9, 2010

Interesting list

Some of it is a bit of a stretch, though/

Sarah Palin is a famous Jacksonian??? WTF? Other than him being on the $20 she probably couldn't tell you much about him. And, as much as I'm sure she'd be honored by being grouped on a list, any list with Reagan, does she really belong in a group with him, Helms, Patton and Sherman? She doesn't even have a foreign policy. She said nothing about it as Governor and whatever she said in 2008 was all as McCain's VP and in support of his policy. Does anyone have any clue what her position is on any of the foreign policy questions of the day? I guess though her being included on the list shows she's reached a level of inclusion in the "discussion" that demands her being listed. Good for her future prospects.

I do think, though, that she has a bit in common with Jackson in terms of cultural/class background and how they were both viewed as commoners by the east coast elites. That and she'd be the 1st President to weigh less than Old Hickory if she were to take the office.

But you take too many reaches. You say Jacksonians dislike the UN? What do Sherman and Patton have to do with the UN? If Reagan disliked treaties explain the INF treaty for one. Reagan signed plenty of treaties. Seems to me he had plenty of concern for the rights of humans in say Poland, Czechoslovakia, etc...

And Eleanor Roosevelt disliked alliances with unsavory regimes. How did she stay married to a guy who joined forces with Stalin then? How do JFK's repeated attempts to assassinate Castro square with human rights

Foreign Policy Magazine

All the Presidents' Men

Many politicians, public intellectuals, and political pundits have been greatly influenced by former U.S. presidents, be it Jefferson, Hamilton, Wilson, or Jackson.

BY WALTER RUSSELL MEAD | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010

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