Where the buck stops

Here. It stops here.

I just finished “The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World.” I’m a Missourian. Of course I’ll dive into yet another book about Missouri’s favorite son.

We can discuss the tough decisions he made in another space, but what the author, A.J. Baime, keeps coming back to is Truman’s utter ordinariness, his fearlessness, and his ability to move in the rarified air in which he never intended to move.

The sign on his desk, above, let everyone know precisely who bore responsibility for those tough decisions.

I think about him a lot in these days of Kari Lake, the failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate who was questioning the outcome of the midtermIelection before the first ballot hit the bottom of the box. I also think about the various law enforcement officials in Uvalde, who have been lying about what they knew and when they knew it in their town’s horrible school shooting. The audio that’s been coming out is stunning.

Just read Ms. Lake’s snotty letter to Liz Cheney, who endorsed Lake’s successful opponent, Katie Hobbs.

Somewhere along the way, these people forgot how to take responsibility for their actions. They also forgot how to be gracious in defeat. It’s gross to watch, and the memory of these folks’ actions will linger like a bad smell.

But nothing’s wasted. Use this as a teachable moment for the children in your life. Tell them these stories — and remind them that below is the way to frame the former president’s announcement that he is running again in 2024.

Be sure to remind the children that grownups who live with grace do not live like this.