Jul 12, 2008 | News, The New Nixon
A few quick takes: On page 155, Nixonland refers to the “Republican Congressional Campaign Committee.” For over a century, the name of the organization has been the National Republican Congressional Committee. On page 185, it mentions “Paul A. Fino,...
Jul 9, 2008 | News, The New Nixon
Over in the “showbiz” area of CNN’s site, Todd Leopold interviews Rick Perlstein about Nixonland, and some of the TV programming of the era is discussed in the context of the historian’s America-in-conflict thesis, such as the Smothers Brothers...
Jul 9, 2008 | News, The New Nixon
I rather suspect Sen. Barack Obama is welcoming former Gov. Jesse Ventura’s reported plans to run against Al Franken and Sen. Norm Coleman for the latter’s seat. After all, once “The Mind” starts making the rounds of CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC,...
Jul 9, 2008 | News, The New Nixon
Rick Perlstein writes (p. 137): Richard Nixon broke with his reluctance to dwell upon law and order only once, in 1966, in that U.S. News essay — and had seemed to be apologetic to be raising the matter at all, concluding, “The polls still place the war in...
Jul 8, 2008 | News, The New Nixon
As noted by John Taylor below, Marcus Brauchli, a 25-year veteran of the Wall Street Journal, who was its managing editor from April 18, 2007, until resigning just over a year later following Rupert Murdoch’s takeover, has been named the executive editor of the...
Jul 8, 2008 | News, The New Nixon
Today is the 100th anniversary of Nelson A. Rockefeller’s birth. The world was —and remains— a better place for the life-enhancing presence of that particular polymath politician, philanthropist, connoisseur, collector — and RN nemesis. The...
Jul 8, 2008 | News, The New Nixon
Describing the 1962 California GOP gubernatorial primary between Richard Nixon and Joe Shell, Rick Perlstein writes (p. 60): Nixon’s primary victory over Shell was humiliatingly close. Shell did hurt Nixon by undermining his conservative support and forcing him...
Jul 7, 2008 | News, The New Nixon
For those of us who grew up memorizing every word —indeed, every inflection— on Tom Lehrer’s LPs, the name and accomplishments of the late doctor Samuel Gall are as familiar (and as funny) today as they were the first time we heard them on An Evening...
Jul 7, 2008 | News, The New Nixon
RN’s “secret plan” to end the Vietnam war is the Dracula of canards. No matter how many wooden stakes are nailed through its nasty heart, it’s up again at first light, brushing off the dirt and walking the land ready to be cited in yet another...
Jul 7, 2008 | News, The New Nixon
Whatever its virtues, Rick Perlstein’s Nixonland contains a number of factual errors. In the weeks ahead, I shall note some of them. The first deals with the 1950 Democratic senatorial primary in Florida (p. 34): George Smathers beat Florida senator Claude...
