"If the disaster at Malaya discredited the British Empire, the doomed defense of the Philippines turned an American general, Douglas MacArthur, into an international hero and ensured that the future war with Japan would be fought under his influence. It was one of the most bizarre twists of World War II, for MacArthur made a defeat look like a victory of sorts, largely because of the dogged resistance of his common soldiers against what appeared to be overwhelming odds. A pioneer in army public relations even before World War I, MacArthur had already established his credentials as a hero of the Republican Party, an opponent of American subversives from the Right and Left (mostly left), a champion of the Chinese and Filipinos, and an outspoken critic of the British influence on American foreign policy. One of his contemporaries characterized him as the greatest actor ever to serve in the U.S. Army, and another observed that MacArthur did not have a staff but a court. His behavior under stress- including combat- confounded worshipers and detractors alike; he could be absolutely insensitive to danger, yet he also shrank from direct contact with combat troops, especially the sick and wounded. He had a habit of becoming ill at times of crisis, and his behavior even when he was young (and in 1941 he was sixty) suggested chemical depression and a tendency to hyperventilate and vomit. He always kept a physician in close attendance, and he observed his meal and rest schedule with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker. Without doubt, he understood American politics and the role of the media in shaping policy. FDR once characterized MacArthur as one of the two most dangerous demagogues in American politics, the other being Huey Long."