Three Egonists in "the Coldest Winter"

"It reminded him of Napoleon saying, after he had advanced all the way to Moscow in his ill-fated invasion of Russia, "I beat them in every battle, but it does not get me anywhere." - P.603

Comment: Classic example of winning the battles but losing the war, same as Americans in Vietnam. A general's job is to win a battle tactically, but a commander-in-chief's job is to win the war with strategic visions.

"MacArthur saw himself as someone descended linearly from Washington and Lincoln, Harry Truman saw him less flatteringly, as the modern reincarnation of George McClellan. McClellan was the general who, in Truman's view, not only served Lincoln poorly in the field, but had treated him with open contempt, often deliberately keeping him waiting before their scheduled meetings. McClellan openly referred to Lincoln as "the original gorilla."
McClellan's ego was enormous, greatly exceeding his talents. He had seen himself as nothing less than the savior of the country. If, he said, "the people call upon me to save the country - I must save it & cannot respect anything that is in the way." .... He greatly preferred the idea of dictator, and he was willing, he sometimes added, to make that sacrifice. He hungered to run against Lincoln, which he finally did, unsuccesfully, in 1864, gaining 21 electrol votes to Lincoln's 212. ' A great egoist', Truman later said of McClellan. "A glorified Napoleon. He even had his picture taken with his hand in his overcoat, like Napoleon."
Comment: What a egoist! what a clown! You talking to me?


"After a long and often distinguished career, MacArthur's lesser side had finally caught up with him. He was, as Max Hasting summed up, 'too remote, too old, too inflexible, too deeply imprisoned by a world view that was obsolete to be a fit commander in such a war as Korea.'"
Comment: this sums up John McCain too in my opinion. John is a good man, but his world view is obsolete and his vision, if any, is blur if not in a rearviewing mirror.