Familiarity Breeds Comedy

In today’s Telegraph (London), Tim Shipman reports from Washington about the sea change of coverage involving Senator Obama. In the wake of his perhaps-a-shade-too-triumphal world tour, reporters have become more skeptical and comedians have become more enabled....

So Right — And Yet So Wrong. Or Am I Wrong?

The President is very much a man at ease in his own skin. And that’s a good thing. But then, he is the President. The President is in Beijing to cheer on our Olympic athletes. And that’s a good thing. But then, he is the first POTUS to attend an Olympics...

Nixonland Nitpick 6

Nixonland credits Nixon’s 1968 TV campaign to Gene Jones, who had made a fine war documentary without narration.  “Nixon’s commercials would run without narration as well” (p. 333).  No, an important ad did have narration. ...

Not Forgotten

We have recently lost three outstanding members of our Nixon family — Anne Armstrong, Clay Whitehead, and Peter Rodman. In 1971 RN named Anne Armstrong co-chairman of the RNC. In 1972 he appointed her Counselor to the President with Cabinet rank. During the Ford...

RIP Bernie Brillstein

The way we live now is largely influenced by people of whom we know little and of whom we hear less. The entertainment —and particularly the comedy— of the last third of the last century was, in no small way, the creation of Bernie Brillstein. He died last...