Will a tragic hero emerge?

Victor Davis Hanson notes that

in those rare times of existential crisis, civil or global, the tragic hero is our only salvation.

He writes about Lincoln, Churchill, Patton, and many others, including movie tragic heroes, then asks if one will emerge in the 21st century to save America.

Could there be a tragic hero in the 21st century? Might a candidate reform the tax code, balance the budget, recalibrate entitlements, return the U.S. to a meritocratic and self-reliant society, and understand that he had to be hated for doing what might save us? “I shall end agricultural subsidies entirely and cut Food Stamps back to 2009 levels,” a heroic president might thunder as he welcomes a single term as the price for that defiance.

Perhaps things must become even worse to cause a tragic hero to emerge — for someone to speak the truth, offend the majority, and, when the successful effort is over, to lose.