Guided-missile cruisers inherited a destroyer-leader problem

Were Leahy and Belknap good Cold War cruisers?

They were effective destroyer leaders and escorts, but weaker as independent cruisers because the label promised a different kind of ship.

Leahy and Belknap were highly capable escort command ships rather than independent cruisers. They work well when leading task-group escorts because that mission matches their destroyer-leader heritage. The comparison also criticizes a fleet in which Arleigh Burkes must perform routine presence missions and exceptional political signaling alike. A larger cruiser or presence ship can send a clearer signal without committing the heaviest force.