All eyes have been on Washington in the past year as the parties debated President Barack Obama’s shifting versions of national health care. On Tuesday, after a highly questionable series of parliamentary maneuvers, President Obama signed into “law” his health care plan. With some considerable reason, he noted that health care for all is an…
Running Against Hooverville–The Presidential Blame Game
In the immediate aftermath of the Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961, President John F. Kennedy stood before the nation accepting the total blame for what had happened. He referred to an old saying about victory having a thousand fathers, but defeat being an orphan, and identified himself as the responsible officer in the government….
About refcards.com
I first came across quick reference cards in the early 1980s – I think the first one may have been a Digital Equipment Corporation MACRO-11 quick reference card. I found that they suited me in that I could generally remember what each command did, but I could often not remember the arguments – or I…
37’s Resolutions for ‘69 and ‘70
RN 1970: A photograph by portraitist Merrett Smith. On the night of 6 February 1969 RN was preparing for an interview with TIME and LIFE columnist Hugh Sidey. He wrote three pages of thoughts and resolutions regarding the responsibilities and opportunities of a President. Compassionate, Bold, Courageous,… Zest for the job (not lonely but awesome)….
Taps For An American Hero
On Wednesday, Colonel Robert L. Howard, the most decorated American soldier living, passed away at the age of 70. He served five tours of duty in Vietnam and the extraordinary list of honors and unit citations he received in those years is itemized in his Wikipedia entry. But one honor stands out among them, and…
The Little Church In The East Room
As the first streaks of dawn quietly announced the arrival of morning on Sunday, November 16, 1969, a 35-year old preacher from Ohio named Harold Rawlings had already been awake for a while after a fitful night of what-could-barely-be-called sleep in a room at Washington, D.C.’s storied Mayflower Hotel. He would in a few hours…
President Obama’s Vocal Minority Speech
1 December 2009 and 3 November 1969: the desire to contain a vocal minority and the determination to mobilize a silent majority. I’ve looked at a lot of the coverage of the President’s speech at West Point last night, and, so far at least, no one seems to have noticed the precedent and example that…
The Pink Lady Revisited
The Beauty in the Beast: The Daily Beast‘s choice of illustrations hints at the hatchet job that follows in the excerpt from Sally Denton’s new book about the 1950 California Senate Race between Richard Nixon and Helen Gahagan Douglas. The Daily Beast is offering an exclusive excerpt from The Pink Lady: The Many Lives of…
A Joke Too Far
A tasteless joke – one that saw earlier popularity during the administrations of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush – has resurfaced across America. It is being told in whispers, emails, and even bumper stickers. During Mr. Clinton’s administration it even found its way into some Sunday church bulletins. And it is really beneath contempt…
What does “Nixonian” mean?
It seems to me that we are hearing the term “Nixonian” used more often these days. Most recently when TV pundits were talking about the Obama Administrations criticism of Fox News. They talked a great deal about the Obama folks having an enemies list and how they were acting very “Nixonian.” I know they weren’t…