‘History Will Be the Judge,’ Or Is It An ‘Argument Without End’?

Journalists I read when I was younger would flesh out some presidential policy decision and then end with a throw-away line like, “history will be the judge” of presidential decisions, implying that I would know later in life, with hindsight, whether a decision was good or bad. Yes, in some cases, history does clarify debates and decisions. I think of t…