Gen. Alexander Lebed, the man who negotiated peace in Chechnya, fancies himself not only the next president of Russia but also something of a political philosopher. After meeting Colin Powell on his visit to Washington just before Thanksgiving, Lebed declared: “Good generals make good politicians.” You wish, Alex.
Dwight Eisenhower served two terms as president, but the list of generals who failed in politics is quite long: Douglas MacArthur, William Westmoreland, Pete Dawkins, George McClellan, Edwin Walker. . . . Lebed, who chatted about all this over dinner at businessman Fred Bush’s house in Chevy Chase, Md., was on firmer ground on social philosophy. “Virtue,” he said, “must be backed by strong fists.”
