The distinguished historian David Herbert Donald once tried to prompt John F. Kennedy to evaluate the performances of his predecessors. “No one has a right to grade a president — not even poor James Buchanan — who has not sat in his chair, examined the mail and information that came across his desk, and learned why he made decisions,” Mr. Kennedy said in a 1962 conversation.
Nancy Gibbs, author of more cover stories than any other Time writer, tried the question on George W. Bush, asking him whether as president he thought more or less highly of the presidents who served before him.
“More highly of them all,” he answered. “I’ve got a much better appreciation of what they’ve been through.”
Mr. Kennedy held no brief for James Buchanan, whose indecision often is blamed for the onset of the Civil War, and Mr. Bush implicitly included Jimmy Carter, whom his father sought to defeat in 1980 when George H.W. Bush ran for the Republican presidential nomination, as worthy of merit. That’s because those who have possessed great power, both in the United States and abroad, tend to grow in the respect of those who shared their burden in office; they understand the pressures their predecessors endured, the challenges of leadership, the ease with which impulses can lead to inopportune events.
What follows is a sampling from leaders who, with one exception, found merit in politicians of their opposite parties or their intraparty rivals holding different views. It is a reminder that with high office sometimes comes great grace.
— Jimmy Carter (president, 1977-1981) on Gerald Ford (1974-1977), whom he defeated: “We enjoyed each other’s private company. And he and I commented often that, when we were traveling somewhere in an automobile or airplane, we hated to reach our destination, because we enjoyed the private times that we had together.”
— Gerald Ford on Jimmy Carter, in a posthumous funeral tribute read by Steve Ford, Mr. Ford’s son: “It’s a long way between Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Plains, Georgia, but distances have a way of vanishing when measured in values rather than miles. It was because of our shared values that Jimmy and I respected each other as adversaries, even before we cherished one another as dear friends.”
— Bill Clinton (1993-2001) on Richard Nixon (1969-1974), whom he sought to defeat as a student activist: “As a public man, he always seemed to believe the greatest sin was remaining passive in the face of challenges. And he never stopped living by that creed. He gave of himself with intelligence and energy and devotion to duty. And his entire country owes him a debt of gratitude for that service.”
— Bill Clinton on George H.W. Bush (1989-1993), whom he defeated: “He never stopped serving. I saw it up close, working with him on tsunami relief in Asia and here at home after Hurricane Katrina. His remarkable leadership and great heart were always on full display. I am profoundly grateful for every minute I spent with President Bush and will always hold our friendship as one of my life’s greatest gifts.”
— Daniel Webster, a Federalist and then a Whig, on Thomas Jefferson, whose democratic ideas he deplored, and John Adams, with whom he had a frosty relationship, in remarks after the two founders died within hours of each other on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence: “They live in their example; and they live, emphatically, and will live, in the influence which their lives and efforts, their principles and opinions, now exercise, and will continue to exercise, on the affairs of men, not only in their own country but throughout the civilized world.”
— Winston Churchill (British prime minister, 1940-1945 and 1951-1955) on Neville Chamberlain (1937-1940), whom he had pilloried as an appeaser: “It fell to Neville Chamberlain in one of the supreme crises of the world to be contradicted by events, to be disappointed in his hopes, and to be deceived and cheated by a wicked man. … Whatever else history may or may not say about these terrible, tremendous years, we can be sure that Neville Chamberlain acted with perfect sincerity according to his lights and strove to the utmost of his capacity and authority, which were powerful, to save the world from the awful, devastating struggle in which we are now engaged. This alone will stand him in good stead as far as what is called the verdict of history is concerned.”
— Wilfrid Laurier (Liberal prime minister of Canada 1896-1911) on John A. Macdonald (Conservative prime minister 1867-1873 and 1878-1891): “Sir John Macdonald now belongs to the ages, and it can be said, with certainty, that the career which has just been closed is one of the most remarkable careers of this century … As to his statesmanship, it is written in the history of Canada. … His actions always displayed great originality of views, unbounded fertility of resources, a high level of intellectual conceptions, and, above all, a far-reaching vision beyond the event of the day, and still higher, permeating the whole, a broad patriotism — a devotion to Canada’s welfare, Canada’s advancement and Canada’s glory.”
— Brian Mulroney (Conservative prime minister of Canada 1984-1993) on Justin Trudeau (Liberal prime minister 2015-2025): He praised the younger man’s efforts in renegotiating NAFTA with Donald Trump, a leader who “was out to sabotage Canada,” adding that it was harder than his negotiations with Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Mr. Trudeau, he said, “invited me in as an adviser to his cabinet. And I saw the big decisions he had to take at crucial moments. … The end result was a significant victory for Canada and it is due to the leadership that we saw.”
— Barry Goldwater, a Republican who would have run against John F. Kennedy, a Democrat, had the 35th president not been assassinated: “Both Mrs. Goldwater and I are extremely shocked to lose a fried like that and shocked to think that the world has to lose a young leader at a time like this and in a way like that.”
— Donald Trump (2017-2021, 2025-present) taking a different tack late last month marking his first 100 days, on Joe Biden (2021-2025): “He goes to the beach, right? And he could fall asleep … drooling out of the side of his mouth. And he’d be sleeping within minutes.” He spoke of his predecessor “carrying the aluminum chair — you know, the kind that’s meant for old people and children to carry? It weighs, like, about 4 ounces. And he couldn’t get his feet out of the sand.”
David M. Shribman is the former executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
