i ntroduction 29Of the six core leadership challenges war poses, presidents have
struggled most with the task of maintaining popular support. Ameri-
cans continued to back the Second World War to its conclusion, but
the years of sacrifi ce took their toll, replacing the gung-ho patriotism
that followed Pearl Harbor with a grudging recognition that crushing
Germany and Japan was a nasty job that had to be done. Short wars
(American involvement in the First World War lasted just over eighteen
months, with serious fi ghting by U.S. forces limited to the last fi ve)
never tested public commitment. In all other confl icts, presidents have
grappled in vain to overcome rising public disillusionment and
discontent.
Th e mismatch between American military means and the demands
of asymmetric war has undercut popular support at home: the domestic
audience sees not stirring images of tanks advancing in triumph across
an empty desert landscape but endless small skirmishes with an elusive
foe against a dreary backdrop of physical wreckage and civilian casu-
alties. If early battlefi eld triumphs do not yield victory and the safe
homecoming of the troops (see Korea or Iraq), the disappointment
becomes especially bitter to swallow. Presidents have also sacrifi ced
popular domestic initiatives as a trade-off for even limited military
commitments. Accordingly, they have little with which to reward their
political supporters.
Overview: Five Wars, Six Presidents
I support my argument about why presidents struggle as wartime
leaders through six case studies that cover seven presidents. I begin with
Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. Lincoln wrestled with the full set
of tasks that confront a wartime leader in a democratic society, and he
did so under daunting circumstances. In many ways he established the
template for his successors, though each would copy only parts of his
approach. Much has been made of Lincoln’s genius as a wartime leader,
and rightfully so. But we should also learn from his mistakes and
shortcomings.
The other cases involve modern presidents: Woodrow Wilson
(First World War), Franklin D. Roosevelt (Second World War),
Lyndon Johnson/Richard Nixon (Vietnam), George W. Bush (Iraq),