Similarities between Bush and Truman (David Shuster)

If you've been watching Hardball, you've seen some of our reports that dip into the vast NBC archives to put current political events in perspective with previous presidents, lawmakers, and etc. I'm excited to tell you that we are going to offer some of those same stories here on our blog. For example, for Hardball I've been working on a report that compares the challenges President Bush is facing with those of Harry S. Truman.

Truman was our 33rd President. He took over following the death in 1944 of President Roosevelt and had to deal immediately with a host of foreign policy issues. The video we have is remarkable. There was the conclusion of the war in Europe, the Potsdam conference when allied leaders (Truman, Churchill, Stalin...) decided how to handle a defeated Germany, and the dropping of atomic bombs in Japan. Three years later, in 1948, Truman held on to the Presidency by just four percentage points. Last fall, after four years dominated by 9-11, the invasion of Afghanistan, and the war in Iraq... President Bush held on to his presidency by three points. Like President Bush's critics, Harry Truman's considered him not up to the job of President. Truman was a folksy man who popularized simple phrases (i.e. "The buck stops here.") President Bush is a folksy man who tends to see the world in black and white.

There are other similarities as well... Despite a growing economy and job growth, President Bush's approval rating is falling because of problems in Iraq. President Truman's approval fell even lower because of the war in Korea. President Bush felt the sting of allegations that his White House leaked classified information. President Truman was hurt by allegations that his State Department was riddled with communists.

Today, historians regard Harry Truman as one of our nation's best Presidents. His huge U.S. investment in rebuilding post-war Japan and Germany paid off... and Truman's policy of containing Soviet expansionism was a role model throughout the cold war. The question with President Bush, of course, is whether his huge war on terror investment in Iraq will pay off and whether history judges him to be a treasured President like Truman or somebody regarded far less.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5445086