Hanging With Harry Truman

I have a certain fondness for presidential retrospectives. I was a history minor in college and my favorite classes were those that dug into a president's life and times, both in office and out. Toss in a president who was relevant from WWI to WWII and I'm happier than a pig in slop.

You see, The Great Depression and New Deal are gold mines in terms of American history - especially American political history. I had a college professor named Fred who positively adored New Deal politics - mostly because there was so much for him to disagree with - and I've never gotten over that rush of glee that I felt every time Fred screamed, "And that's why Roosevelt was WRONG!"

And he screamed that a lot. Fred was not a Roosevelt fan.

But me, I'm more of a Truman fan. Fred was quiet on the subject of Truman, mostly because there was so much criticizing of Roosevelt to be done, but another professor turned me onto Truman by making me read Truman (catchy title, eh?) by David McCullough. You'd think forcing an undergrad to read a 1,120 page book would engender lifelong hatred, but I came away thinking Truman was a nifty sort of president. I've actually read the book again - in fact, I purchased it so I could have it around the house. At 1,120 pages, it makes a nice doorstop.

Anywho, all of this rambling is meant to explain why I voluntarily grabbed a book at the library called Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip. After the Trumans' left the White House, they took off on a three week road trip across America, with Harry at the wheel. Not only is it a fun book, it's also an interesting look into presidential history. Did you know that when Truman left office, he was no longer given Secret Service protection and wasn't paid any type of salary or retirement? He published the phone number to his office and actually answered the phone himself. He and Bess moved back to the house that Bess had grown up in, because it was the only place they could afford to live. Oh... and while he was in the White House, he had to pay the White House expenses out of his own presidential salary?

See? This is the interesting sort of stuff I adore.

Can you imagine telling the Obamas that they had to pay for the White House expenses out of their own pockets? I'm guessing that would seriously cut down on the number of State dinners and trips to visit the Vatican.