2020 Gave the Lie to the Idea That Leaders Will Lead

History is fond of remembering leaders during times of crisis. Wartime quotes by Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill are modern-day clichés; we laud the resolve of John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the decisiveness of Pierre Trudeau during the October Crisis, the rallying cries of Rudy Giuliani after 9/11—diminished though he now may be.