Fear itself (draft)

I recently wrote a review of a new biography of FDR that will appear later this month. Don't want to give too much away--"scoop myself," in journalism lingo--but I do want to affirm and amplify this insight [1] by the blogger Atriot. He riffs:

Our leaders showed more courage when they informed us that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself " instead of telling us to be scared all of the time. True leaders will move us past the notion that what we want is a Great Protector to keep away the demons.

Straight up. Couldn't be more true. And FDR demonstrated its wisdom just about every day of his adult life. He managed to refuse to be afraid as the hysteria of others swirled around him. In 1919 Washington went mad

His cool confidence let him make his decisions wisely, calmy. Meanwhile, it served as an inspiration to others - and let hthe public evaluate his decisions wisely and calmly. Together, it made his leadership great. By any measure, the crises of Depression and war were more profound, more fundamentally dangerous to the very survival of our nation, than any we face now.