05-10-2011, 10:09 PM
I am in agreement with posts #22 and #23. Especially #23. This is perhaps why he was so loved. Far be it for me to characterize the man who has been mythologized, lied about, desecrated, deified, and had more books written about him that most people can read in a lifetime, but I saw him (retrospectively, as I was only an adolescent) as a cautious, pragmatic fiscally-conservative, militarily-strong (but in the right ways), moderate centrist who dabbled in the social sphere only with caution. Someone posted a recipe for his chowda; I remember the instructions for how to cook a fish. I think he approached national governance with the same recipe: don't turn it too often.
"Where is the intersection between the world's deep hunger and your deep gladness?"