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Theodore "Ted" Sorensen (FPinfomart: Restricted, Canada.com: Restricted) |
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There is a fashionable school of thought among historians
that says leadership doesn't matter much: Human events are shaped by broad
social and technological forces, not one man's force of will.
Theodore "Ted" Sorensen-- whom John F. Kennedy once called his "intellectual
blood bank" -- couldn't agree less. As advisor and speech-writer to JFK during
his presidency, Sorensen became convinced that a great leader can profoundly
change the world with his actions -- and even his mere words.
On Thursday night, he appeared at The Economic Club of Toronto, in an event
sponsored by Amgen Canada Inc., to share his leadership lessons. I was given the
enviable task of moderating the discussion between the audience and this living
link with the Kennedy White House.
By his own admission, time has slowed Sorensen down. But his wit and
intellect are still razor-sharp -- and he remains a scathing critic of George W.
Bush. ("My vision's not much these days," he said, squinting to read his notes.
"But it's better than the current president of the United States.") His power of
recall, in particular, proved shockingly good on Thursday. Just about every
point he made was illustrated with a detailed blow-by-blow anecdote plucked from
his time in Camelot.
Sorensen's main focus was the Cuban Missile Crisis, which he described not
only as the most dangerous two weeks in the history of the human race, but also
the occasion on which JFK definitively demonstrated his leadership mettle.
Throughout his narrative, Sorensen scathingly compared Kennedy's leadership
instincts to those of Bush. Defenders of the current president's neo-con
adventurism -- of which I am arguably one -- got a point-by-point earful about
the merits of JFK's foreign-policy realism.
As Sorensen described it, the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion was, in one
way, a disguised blessing: It showed JFK the limits of direct military action.
During the balance of his presidency, he hewed to a set of cautionary principles
that, to Sorensen's mind, define Kennedy's leadership. Among them:
Multilateralism On this score, Sorensen recalled the attitude of French
president Charles de Gaulle. When the Americans offered to show him photo
evidence of missile sites in Cuba, de Gaulle waved them off -- "The word of the
president of the United States is good enough for me." Added Sorensen: "I can't
imagine any world leader saying that today." Caution The naval "quarantine" that
JFK imposed on Cuba was in fact only one of the options put to him during the
crisis. Other options included "surgical strikes" on Cuba that, as closer study
showed, would likely have mushroomed into full-blown war.
Here again, the point was made at Bush's expense: Presidential leadership
means critically examining any war plan, rather than blithely accepting the
sunny predictions offered by the Pentagon.
Communication The Cuban Missile Crisis was resolved without a shot being
fired because JFK and his brother spoke to the Russians -- which meant treating
them as rational actors amenable to reason and compromise. If the Bush
administration were willing to deal with Iran on these terms, Sorensen told us,
we would not be living in fear of a nuclear exchange in the Middle East in
coming years. Modesty Sorensen recalled the rapturous praise JFK received after
defusing the Cuban Missile Crisis. Within mere hours, one of the president's
underlings urged him to intervene in the Sino-Indian War, which had broken out
the same month. "I don't think either [country] would be interested in hearing
from me," Sorensen recalls JFK saying. To which the underling responded: "But
you're 10 feet tall!" "Oh, that'll last a couple of weeks," replied JFK. (The
words "mission accomplished," Sorensen didn't need to add, never left the
president's lips.)
"Leadership" is often defined by reference to bold, decisive action. But in
Sorensen's view, JFK showed the world that less could be more -- that
co-operation, prudence and humility are better tools for solving problems than
out-sized hubris and military force.
"The United States occupies just 6% of the world's land mass," Sorensen told
us. "You can't just go and impose your will on the other 94%."
jkay@nationalpost.com
Illustration:
• Color Photo: / Theodore "Ted"
Sorensen
Idnumber: 200711170148
Edition: National
Story
Type: Column
Length: 685 words
Keywords: ASSASSINATION
Illustration
Type: CP
PRODUCTION FIELDS
NDATE: 20071117
NUPDATE: 20071117
DOB: 20071117
POSITION: 1
