“Abuse Of Power” Questioned

The New York Times site has just posted a very thought-provoking article (to appear in tomorrow’s edition) about recent charges by several historians that Abuse Of Power, the 1997 volume of transcripts of White House tape conversations transcribed and edited by...

President Langella: Alone In The Dressing Room

The most recent issue of Newsweek featured its annual Oscar Roundtable, moderated by the magazine’s David Ansen and Ramin Setoodeh. The participants this year included Anne Hathaway, Sally Hawkins, Robert Downey Jr., Brad Pitt, Mickey Rourke, and Frank Langella,...

Taking the Heat

During the 1973 energy crisis, RN took criticism for his habit of running the fireplace and the air conditioning at the same time.    And so it is worth noting this item from today’s New York Times: The capital flew into a bit of a tizzy when, on his first full...

One Man’s Humor Is Another Man’s Humidor

The former presidents traveling road show of George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton pulled into New Orleans yesterday for a gig with the National Automobile Dealers Association. Everybody knows that you’re supposed to open a speech with a joke, but who knew that Mr....

The Rise & Fall Of The White House Intellectual

Ben Alpers of Oklahoma University put up a quite interesting blogpost this week tracing the roughly fifteen-year heyday of the “White House intellectual.” President Kennedy began the tradition by bringing in acclaimed historian (and walking definition of...