Editing Clark Clifford (section)

==Legacy==

Clark Clifford emerged as a national figure almost overnight,  moving from a low-level naval aide in the White House to President Truman's top adviser and strategist. His success came from hard work, a good mind, poker skills to match those of his boss, the ability to stroke the press, the knack to immediately seize on serendipitous opportunities, and the ability to identify, reshape and promote good ideas first proposed by others, such as George Kennan. He thus gained fame for papers that he presented forcefully, but did not actually write, including his 1947 proposal on Truman's reelection strategy and the Clifford-Elsey papers on Cold War strategy. He became a trusted advisor to presidential candidate John F. Kennedy in 1960, assuring his access by indicating he wanted no public office. His reputation – and his law practice – continued to soar until finally Lyndon Johnson appointed him Defense Secretary to lead the nation out of the Vietnam trap.<ref>John Acacia, ''Clark Clifford: The Wise Man of Washington'' (2009), passim and p. 122.</ref>  Historian [[Walter Isaacson]]  argues that in many ways Clifford resembled the four wise men who shaped American foreign policy in the 1940s and early 1950s – [[Dean Acheson]], [[Averell Harriman]], [[Robert A. Lovett]], and [[John J. McCloy]]. However, Isaacson argues,  "Clifford remained a Wise Man wannabe because he could never quite shake his reputation as a partisan wheeler-dealer and manipulator."<ref>Walter Isaacson,  ''American Sketches: Great Leaders, Creative Thinkers, and Heroes of a Hurricane'' (2009) pp 66-67</ref>

In 1995, [[Tony Goldwyn]] portrayed Clifford in the [[HBO]] [[television movie|television film]] ''[[Truman (1995 film)|Truman]]''.  In 2002, [[Donald Sutherland]] portrayed Clifford in the HBO television film ''[[Path to War]]''.