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As McCullough (1992) notes, "He was not the same man who left for France only the year before. The change was astounding. He had new confidence in himself. He had discovered he could lead men and that he liked that better than anything he has ever done before" (p. 142). Another skill that helped Truman lead America through WWII, the Korean War and one of the greatest election upsets in American history when he defeated Thomas Dewey to win a second term of office was his ability to put his ego on hold and hire the best people around him. He argued much more could be done if it didn't matter who got the credit and he was skilled at ensuring the best people in their fields were on his staff. This is a skill similar to one used by Reagan to achieve success as president. As McCullough (1992) explains this transformative period, "He wasn't afraid to have people around him who were more accomplished than he, and that's one reason why he had the best cabinet of any president since George Washington....He knew who he was" (p. 712). Truman was not a president who demanded to have all the facts before he made a decision. He often believed it was better to make a firm decision with eighty percent of the information than to wait around for the rest of it, especially in times of military conflict. Truman was so uninformed when taking office that he had no kno |
