The 10 toughest presidential decisions

Tuesday, 30 August 2011 15:45

The 10 toughest presidential decisions

Written by Scott LaMar, Director of Radio Smart Talk

Radio Smart Talk for Wednesday, August 31:

Leaders must make difficult decisions. It's just part of being a strong leader. A person who waffles or can't make a decision, especially in tough times, will not garner the confidence of those he or she is supposed to be leading.

American presidents are forced to decide on thorny issues every single day. Some decisions are more challenging than others. Often, lives or a segment of the population's well being can be at stake or the economy can be impacted depending on a decision a president makes.

Ranking the 10 toughest presidential decisions is a challenge in itself, but that's what Wednesday's guest on Radio Smart Talk has done. Mark Kehres is the Public Programs Trainer at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. He'll list his top 10 toughest presidential decisions and we hope the audience will weigh in with suggestions of their own.

What do you think is the toughest decision a U.S. president has had to make?

Read Mark Kehres' list of ten tough presidential decisions.

LISTEN TO PROGRAM:

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comments

# Tom 2011-08-30 18:17

Handling the response to 9/11. 'Nuf said.

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# Jim 2011-08-31 06:38

# 1 has got to be the Emancipation Proclamation. Clearly Lincoln and his supporters wanted to do it. But, the concern was whether it would drive some remaining slavery states and supporters out of the Union. Also, it made it much clearer that the Civil War was largely about slavery, and not just a fight for state's rights. This also might have sowed dissension among those who didn't want to fight to free the slaves. A very tough decision.

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# Caleb 2011-08-31 09:21

I couldn't imagine having to live with the "what-ifs" associated with the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan.

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# Tony 2011-08-31 09:42

Maybe not the toughest, but how about President Washington's decision *not* to run for reelection in 1796? It influenced every president since.

Or, FDR's decision *to* run for a third term in 1940...

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# Jonathan 2011-08-31 09:50

The pardoning of Nixon by Gerald Ford. Perhaps not the toughest of them all but a very smart decision at a time when the nation was very divided.

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# robin 2011-08-31 09:51

On FDR, the US lended the destroyers, Britain gave us naval bases - as well as RADAR, Enigma secrets and Jet Engines.
Also, the Tripartite pact with Japan "required" Hitler to enter the war and Mussolini for that matter.

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# robin 2011-08-31 10:28

Lyndon Johnson, a southern Democrat, puruit of the Civil Rights act of 1964. He had to know he was risking the 100 year old "solid south" "Dixicrats" branch of his party.
The loss of seven states, to the American Independent Party's candidate, George Wallace in the 1968 election seems evidence particularly after the over whelming 1964 Democratic landslide.

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# Jim 2011-08-31 12:54

A great show, Scott. Though I disagree somewhat with the guest's list, it's a good one. Topics like this are what make history so endlessly fascinating. Yet another reason why I love public radio. You don't find this anywhere else.

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