Why We Want Wendell Willkie Again

Why We Want Wendell Willkie Again

Wendell Willkie is one of the best men never to be President. The list of “what-ifs” when it comes to Presidential elections is long. What if Richard Nixon had won the squeaker election of 1960 and been President during the Cuban Missile Crisis? What if Al Gore had carried the Electoral College and the popular vote in 2000 and been President on 9/11? Speculative, alternative history can be fun. Among the men who ran for but did not become President, Wendell Willkie is one of the most fascinating. I think the re-election of FDR better served the country. Yet the more I learn about Wendell Willkie, the more convinced I am that he was an extraordinary patriot and a model for loyal opposition during wartime. Today’s political parties would be fortunate to have a man of Willkie’s abilities and patriotism. We need more Presidential candidates like him!

The Barefoot Boy from Wall Street

Wendell Willkie always stressed his Ellwood, Indiana roots. He came from a small town and seemed like the “gee whiz, all-American boy.” In reality, he was the son of lawyers. His mother was one of the first women admitted to the bar in Indiana. After a stellar academic career that included a law degree from Indiana, he joined the Army. He served in France at the tail end of World War I. Willkie returned to America and began an impressive career as a corporate lawyer. By the time he ran for President, Wendell Willkie was one of the wealthiest and most influential New York City lawyers. Harold Ickes was one of FDR’s top aides. He laughed at the way Willkie spun his life story. Ickes mockingly called him “The Barefoot Boy from Wall Street.”

 Why We Wanted Wilkie – and Still Do

Wendell Willkie Campaign Button

We live in an era of political polarization. Compromise is seen as a negative rather than as a way of moving forward thoughtfully and moderately. We teach children to find a middle ground and to work together towards common goals. Yet, we reject those notions when it comes to our politics.

When Pres. Obama got sweeping health care reform passed; he did so without a single Republican vote. When Pres. Obama was elected, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell declared that the top legislative priority of Republicans was to try and make sure that the President did not get elected to a second term. Both of these situations are wrong. Americans need to listen to each other and consider each other’s points of view. A bill as massive and meaningful as the Affordable Care Act should not be passed by one party alone. And it is un-American for a minority party to be obstructionist and not part of creative problem-solving simply. Wendell Willkie understood that.

Wendell Willkie began as a Democrat who supported FDR. As a patriot, he continued to support his President when he thought he was right and criticized FDR when he saw he was wrong. Willkie was the top lawyer for a major power company. While he supported programs to ease the horrible suffering brought about by the Great Depression, he also saw how mismanagement and poorly designed programs hurt the public. He spoke out against the Tennessee Valley Authority, believing that it was actually hurting the people it was trying to help. He tried to devise a private business solution to a public problem. He offered constructive opinions and ideas. That is one of the most important things a minority party can do. They can help shape the discussion toward productive ends.

In 1940, Wendell Willkie sought the Republican nomination for President. Three large issues captured most of the public’s focus. First, we were still mired in the Great Depression. Second, Europe was engulfed in a colossal war—third, Pres. Roosevelt had decided to seek a third term. While other former presidents had tried for a third term, none had been successful. Most presidents and candidates have followed the example of George Washington and limited themselves to two terms.

The Republican Party was split between isolationists who saw the United States as having no role as a global leader and internationalists who believed that the USA would need to become involved. We have the benefit of hindsight and a sense of the absolute evil of Hitler and his brutal regime. But in 1940, important Republicans like Charles Lindbergh were telling us that Hitler wasn’t so evil. Sen. Robert Taft and former Pres. Herbert Hoover spoke about the possibility of impeaching FDR for trying to bolster Britain’s defenses. Today, we know that FDR was right in supporting Britain. But the Republican Party was deeply split on the question. Wendell Willkie endlessly criticized FDR for inefficient and mismanaged government social programs. However, he correctly supported FDR’s decision to exchange destroyers for bases and would later support the Lend-Lease Act. Both helped save the world from falling under the thumb of Adolph Hitler. If the right wing of the Republican Party, led by Lindbergh, Taft, and Hoover, had won the argument, Britain probably would have fallen, and the USA might have had to negotiate a peace treaty with the Nazi Third Reich.

The electorate was split in 1940. Had Wendell Willkie taken a hardline isolationist view, he might have gotten more votes. Instead, he put patriotism ahead of political advantage. He criticized Pres. Roosevelt where he was wrong. That is the obvious role of a candidate challenging an incumbent. But Willkie played an important role in helping the American people understand that Lindbergh and the isolationists were wrong. He lost the presidency but helped to save the world. That seems like a reasonable trade-off!

We desperately need a Wendell Willkie again. We need political candidates unafraid to agree with their opponents when they hear a good idea. “Bipartisanship” must not be a dirty word. It should be a goal. Our politics must reflect the ideas of Jefferson and Madison, who saw compromise and moderation as good for America.

President Reagan worked with the Democrats and made significant changes to Social Security and strengthened our defense. President Clinton worked with Republicans and, made important changes to welfare, and built a budget surplus. Both the Democratic and Republican parties need to dig deep into American history and understand that compromise, creativity, and cooperation are not just concepts we teach our children. They should guide us as Americans to becoming more civil in politics and everyday life.