Bill Press is a syndicated columnist and the co-host of CNN's Crossfire, which airs Monday-Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, and The Spin Room, which airs Monday-Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Bill Press: It's way past time to honor John Adams

WASHINGTON (Tribune Media Services) -- There's a serious disconnect in the Washington landscape. Just look around.

At one end of the Washington Mall, the most beautiful and sacred parcel of land in this country, sits the mighty Lincoln Memorial. In the middle of the Mall stands the noble Washington Monument. Across the Tidal Basin from the Mall, looking directly at the Washington Monument and the White House, is the magnificent Jefferson Memorial.

Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln. Guess who's missing from the pantheon of our greatest presidents? Where's the monument to John Adams?

There is none, and that's a national disgrace. But help may soon be on the way. Riding a wave of renewed attention to the feisty founder from Braintree, Massachusetts, Congressman Tim Roemer, D-Indiana, has introduced legislation to create a monument to Adams in the nation's capitol. It's about time.

After Washington, no one deserves more credit for winning independence. Indeed, even Jefferson admitted at the time, without the persistent prodding of Adams in the Congress, the colonies would never have dared made the break with England. Even though largely ignored by the general public -- (maybe he should have hired a better p.r. firm -- our second president has been a secret favorite of historians.

Back in the 60's, University of Santa Cruz professor Page Smith wrote a monumental two-volume biography. Joseph Ellis perfectly captured Adams's prickly but lovable character in an early book, "The Passionate Sage" - and includes a moving account of the relationship between Adams and Jefferson in his latest book, "The Founding Brothers."

C. Bradley Thompson outlines his political thought in his 1998 study, "John Adams & The Spirit of Liberty." But it's historian David McCullough who has suddenly put John Adams on the map. His new biography of Adams is on the New York Times bestseller list. Read it. I guarantee, it will make you want to hurry to Washington and lobby for the John Adams Memorial.

In case we forget, McCullough reminds us that independence from England didn't just happen. When the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, most colonists still remained loyal to the king, despite the new burdens of excessive taxation. Most members of Congress wanted to mend the relationship with England, not break it. In fact, delegates from several colonies were sent to Philadelphia with specific instructions not to vote for independence.

Who turned them around? John Adams. It was Adams who personally led the colonies every step of the way from nowhere to nationhood. He was the first to outline what a new government should look like. He nominated George Washington to lead the Continental Army. He took charge of supplying Washington's troops with arms, food and clothing.

He persuaded the Congress to vote for independence. He asked Jefferson to write the Declaration. He helped convince France to join the war. He raised necessary funds in the Netherlands to fight the war. He negotiated the end of the war with England, and then served as first ambassador to the Court of St. James. He served as Washington's vice-president and our second president.

Of all the Adams stories, my favorite is the debate for independence. After months of doubt and delay, the Congress finally adopted a motion that the colonies would declare themselves free and independent states. Final arguments were set for July 1, 1776.

First, Pennsylvania's John Dickinson pleaded with delegates against "premature" separation from England. Then Adams rose to make the case that independence was the only option. He spoke, Jefferson said, "with a power of thought and expression that moved us from our seats".

Three delegates from New Jersey arrived an hour later, just as Adams was concluding.

They asked that he repeat his remarks. Adams demurred, but the delegates insisted. So Adams stood up and made the same speech all over again. He would do whatever it took to secure the last votes needed for independence.

No doubt Adams was persuasive. There's also no doubt, with his blunt, prickly, outspoken manner, he could also be a pain in the ass. In fact, he himself once predicted that because he lacked "the gift of taciturnity" -- meaning he couldn't keep his mouth shut -- "Mausoleums, statues, monuments will never be erected to me."

It's way past time to prove him wrong. John Adams deserves his own memorial in Washington for one simple reason: No one served a greater role in winning our freedom.