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BORE-ING
On Sundays in mid-February, people gather around their television sets, sometimes with family and friends, to watch the Super Bowl. An exclusively American spectacle, it’s a huge event with great absenteeism the next day. Musical stars perform at half-time. Often, the game is exceedingly exciting. People cheer, post things, and talk about the game the…
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Bill Clinton’s Rapid Response Team
When Michael Dukakis ran for president in 1988, he pledged to a decent campaign- above the fray. He did and became a punching bag for his opponent. He as attacked brutally and relentlessly- and lost. In 1992, Democrats had lost five of the last six elections. Only Jimmy Carter’s 1976 close call broke…
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Gary and Bill
In 1972, two men worked for George McGovern’s presidential campaign. One was the national campaign director. The other worked in Texas with his girlfriend. The first would be elected to the United States Senate from Colorado in 1974, and the latter would be elected Governor of Arkansas in 1978. Both men were highly intelligent, captivating…
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Politics is a Blood Sport
After his heroic service as the youngest Naval combat pilot in the Second World War, George Herbert Walker Bush left the aristocracy of the Northeastern United States for Texas to make his mark on his own. His father, Prescott Bush had served as a United States senator from Connecticut. He tried his luck in the…
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Courage
In 1956 Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy published a Pulitzer Prize-winning book called Profiles in Courage. Speechwriter Ted Sorenson was with his aide, collaborator, ghostwriter, or all of the above. The book increased Kennedy’s name recognition ahead of his 1960 run for the presidency. In 1984, former Vice President Walter Mondale was the Democratic nominee…
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I’m Paying for This Microphone Mr. Green!
For decades, ‘Likeability:” has been a big factor in the electability of political candidates, particularly at the highest levels. In 2008, the usually articulate Barack Obama commented to one of his opponents “You’re likable enough Hillary” which may have cost him the New Hampshire primary. Ronald Reagan was certainly a likable, amiable man. After…
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Jimmy Who?
Congratulations to former President Jimmy Carter, our longest-lived chief Executive, who turns one hundred on October 1, 2024. When he was nominated and elected in 1976, he was the unlikeliest public official to be chosen in the 20th century, perhaps ever. In the Nineteenth century, unknown political, particularly presidential, candidates were deemed a ‘Dark Horse.’…
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Ronald Reagan and the Eleventh Commandment
California Governor Ronald Reagan was fond of invoking the Republican ‘Eleventh Commandment’ which was “Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.” This epistle was credited to California Republican State Chairman Gaylord Parkinson during the 1960’s. In 1976, Reagan broke that commandment to advance his own political career. Reagan grew up in central…
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Why Watergate?
Ah, Richard Milhous Nixon. The man who appeared on every presidential ballot from 1952-1972 except 1964. A complex man who was at the center of American politics for much of the Cold War era. Congressman, Senator, Vice-President, and the only President of the United States to resign. Why? Richard Nixon was born in 1913 in…
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Hubert and Kamala???
Since Joe Biden left the 2024 presidential race on July 21st, Donald Trump has frequently mentioned his name and noted that Vice President (and Democratic nominee) Kamala Harris shouldn’t have the party’s nomination because she received no votes. One could argue that she did as the presumptive running mate (no sitting VP has been…
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