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Yet Truman stood up under successive blows. When cornered by disaster, as in the European crisis or the Red attack on South Korea, he reacted out of deeply rooted American principles. The Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the decision to defend South Korea are examples of the healthy Truman reflex. If any problem was close enough, desperate enough and clear enough, he knew what to do. He did not possess and he did not develop the ability to look ahead, to avoid the crises, to build.
In his speech last week, he said that he was proud that he had come "from precinct worker to President." It was a long way—and Americans can be proud of Harry Truman's journey. In his term of office, however, the responsibilities of the U.S. presidency came a long way, too. It is no shame to Harry Truman that he could not keep pace with the awful responsibilities of his job.