On pages 370-371 of The Ends of Power, H.R. Haldeman (with Joseph DiMona) states the following:
“A Presidential chopper was sitting on the helipad waiting for us. I
wouldn’t be seeing that again…The Pentagon. Vietnam War, May 8, 1972.
Sitting in the Oval Office debating with Henry Kissinger on a military
move to end that war. Past. Gone.”
Haldeman debated with Kissinger on military strategy? What qualified
Haldeman to do that? Kissinger had a Ph.D. pertaining to foreign
policy and an academic career in that field. Haldeman was a former
advertising man.
I hope that I don’t come across as an intellectual snob here, because
I’m not. I think that people from all walks of life can learn things
and come up with valuable ideas. It just interests me that, in the
realm of politics, we often see academics debating issues with people
who don’t have academic qualifications in a field, simply because the
latter have power. This is especially the case with the person at the
top, the President: Presidents usually don’t have doctorates in
economics, sociology, or foreign policy, yet we entrust ourselves to
their judgment on these issues. They may listen to academics, but the
Presidents are the ones who get to decide what they will do.