Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Warren Buffett -- a better investor than historian.
Warren Buffett, speaking on dealing with today's economic problems, invokes the good old days of the nation pulling together after Pearl Harbor...
And as to how the populace instinctively rallied around its political leadership, the White House Historical Association tells us...
Warren Buffett, speaking on dealing with today's economic problems, invokes the good old days of the nation pulling together after Pearl Harbor...
People -– when you have a Pearl Harbor, you have to know the nation is going to be united on December 8th to take care of whatever comes up. And we have little squabbles, we put them aside and everybody goes to work ... The Army doesn’t blame the Navy because there were too many ships in Pearl Harbor, and it shouldn’t have happened ... None of that sort of thing. We got united, and we really need that now...In reality there were nine official government investigatory commissions and Congressional hearings, the first of which, the Roberts Commission, appointed by President Roosevelt, met on the same day it was established -- not December 8th but the 22nd. It was remarkably efficient as government commissions go, as in just four short weeks (which included Christmas and New Years) it was able to find the Pearl Harbor commanders Admiral Kimmel and General Short guilty of "dereliction of duty". Both lost their rank and commands as a result -- Kimmel lost two stars and was out of the navy in two months. But that didn't prevent him from being put before the eight other investigations. Since then...
... you didn’t have–start congressional hearings on December 8th, you know, that were going to last for weeks while all of the commanders and the various people were in various ways pilloried or taunted or whatever about `Why in the world did they let this happen?’ None of that. I mean, people said, `We’ve got to get something done.’ And they–and they trusted their leadership.
Thirty-three four-star admirals, two former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a former director of intelligence, the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, and others have subsequently supported the effort to have the ranks of Admiral Kimmel and General Short restored. [NY Sun]The scapegoating of the day even was dramatized by Hollywood in the film In Harm's Way, in which the navy captain played by John Wayne is put before a board of inquiry for having his ship torpedoed during the Pearl Harbor attack.
And as to how the populace instinctively rallied around its political leadership, the White House Historical Association tells us...
Crowds of angry Americans surrounded the White House on December 7 as news spread of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. The Secret Service installed bulletproof glass in the windows of the president’s Oval Office, sentries patrolled the roof with machine guns...Historical events become much prettier as they recede into the past.
