Letter to the Editor: US News and World Report
April 30, 2006
Dear Editor:
Recently I was on vacation and picked up an old issue of US News (January 30, 2006- the birthday of FDR) that featured an article titled The Presidents at War. Your so-called expert, Mr. Michael Barone, when writing in his know-it-all arrogant fashion wrote that FDR, “did a masterful job (referring to his wartime appointments), however better than any other president, far better than Lincoln, of selecting the right commander for the right tasks early on – General John Marshal…General Mathew Arnold for the Army Air Force.” Unfortunately the confused Barone must have been daydreaming when he wrote that sentence. John Marshall, as we all know was a famous Supreme Court Justice, and George Catlett Marshall was the Army Chief of Staff. Mathew Arnold was an English poet and writer of the 19th Century, who was the son of the founder of the Rugby School, of which “Tom Brown” became famous. Henry “Hap” Arnold just happened to be the famous head of the Army Air Force and the Arnold Air Society of college ROTC fame is dedicated to his memory. Either your proofreader doesn’t know the difference between a Norden bombsight and iambic pentameter, or Michael Barone should bone up on his facts.
Richard J. Garfunkel