Peter J. Gomes, the Indispensable Man
Etched on the walls of the main sanctuary in Harvard's Memorial Church are the names of the Harvard men who lost their lives in military service during World War II. The most familiar and impressive -- and the oldest name on the wall -- is Franklin D. Roosevelt, class of 1904. For the first-time visitor, that usually takes a moment to register. Then comes the flicker of recognition. Yes, our commander-in-chief died while war still waged in the Pacific. Franklin Roosevelt was in his fourth term in office when he passed this vale, and although many Americans couldn't imagine his job being ...
Reagan's Long Shadow Over Clinton, Obama, and Both Bushes
At the outset of his presidential campaign, Barack Obama framed the setting of his candidacy as taking place at a time when Americans were eager for change. The year 2008 was a lot like 1960 when John F. Kennedy ran, Obama mused aloud. And like 1980, as well, he added, which was a more delicate point for a Democrat to make. But Obama didn't shy away from his thesis: "Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that, you know, Richard Nixon did not, and in a way that Bill Clinton did not," Obama said on Jan. 14, 2008. "He put us on a fundamentally different path, because the ...
Palin Says U.S. Not in Step With Reagan Values, but Is She in His Mold?
Sarah Palin, warning that America is on a course to economic "ruin," was received warmly Friday night in a speech in honor of the Reagan Centennial in Santa Barbara. But many conservatives continue to see her as a flawed messenger of the modern meaning of Reaganism. Those doubters don't appear to include Palin herself. Although she lauded Ronald Reagan as "one of a kind" in her keynote, she also sprinkled the 30-minute talk with hints that, if there is indeed another Republican close to the Reagan mold, that individual might be walking among us in the form of a certain ex-governor of ...
The Challenger Disaster and President Reagan's Gift to a Grieving Nation
On Jan. 28, 1986, Ronald Reagan was scheduled to give his State of the Union address. In a meeting with a bi-partisan delegation of congressional leaders, he and House Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill Jr. tangled over the issue of unemployment. After they left, Reagan prepared to have the traditional State of the Union lunch with the network anchors while receiving a last-minute briefing from acting press secretary Larry Speakes when several members of the White House staff rushed in with news that the Space Shuttle Challenger had exploded after takeoff. The State of the Union speech was ...
Is McCain Aide Mark Salter the Author of Anonymously Penned Obama Novel?
With a terse, three-word explanation -- "confirmed by sources" -- Mark Halperin at Time has identified Mark Salter as the author of "O: A Presidential Novel," the book released earlier this month by Simon & Schuster. Halperin is well-connected and an intrepid reporter. Salter is widely known in Washington as a longtime Capitol Hill aide, speechwriter, and confidant to Sen. John McCain, as well as a collaborator on McCain's acclaimed biographical books. Those works, especially "Faith of My Fathers," are evocatively written -- there is a reason they are runaway best sellers -- but they are ...
Eisenhower, Kennedy, Reagan: Three Speeches, One Nation
Inauguration Day comes only once every four years, but each January we are reminded of previous presidential arrivals -- and leave-takings. This week includes both the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's inaugural address and Dwight D. Eisenhower's farewell address to the nation three days earlier. And because his 100th birthday is just around the corner, Ronald Reagan's 1989 farewell address lingers this year in the collective American mind as well. They are speeches worth remembering. The most ambitious of the three was the least artfully delivered. Dwight Eisenhower delivered his White ...
Shadow on the Sun Bowl: Nine Questions for Notre Dame (and One for the Media)
Most college football fans, whether they root for or against Notre Dame, keep tabs on what is happening in South Bend, Ind. -- such is the shadow the Fighting Irish have long cast on the sport. And on New Year's Eve, first-year Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly will lead his team onto the field in El Paso, Texas, for a Sun Bowl matchup against another storied program, the University of Miami Hurricanes. Some of the questions surrounding Notre Dame's football program will be answered in the Sun Bowl. Unfortunately, other questions -- much more serious in nature -- will not even be ...
Michigan Hacking Prosecution Against Husband Opens U.S. to Ridicule
Is Leon Walker of Rochester Hills, Mich., a hacker or a hero? And has the criminal prosecution of Mr. Walker for reading his wife's e-mail made American jurisprudence into an international joke at the very time in history when life-and-death decisions depend on fostering respect around the globe for the U.S. legal system? The first question will apparently be put to a Michigan jury in the New Year. The second question is already before the court of world opinion -- and the verdicts being rendered are not flattering to the United States. "They can't blame Mr. Assange for this, can they?" ...
Year in Review: 13 Most Memorable Political Quotes of 2010
The year now coming to a close was a rewarding one for collectors of political quotations. This is not the same thing as saying that most memorable lines of 2010 were uplifting. Many of the utterances that entered the lexicon were unrefined, simplistic or just plain mean. Women in the political arena were insulted and put upon, often by other women -- and sometimes by themselves. And the most inspiring campaign speech was given by a cable television comedian. It was that kind of year. Typically, many of the quotes we think we remember – "don't touch my junk," for example – were ...
President Obama Praying for Richard Holbrooke
Eminent U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke, the Obama administration's point man in Afghanistan and Pakistan, remained in critical Sunday after undergoing some 21 hours of surgery to fix a tear in his aorta. "Ambassador Holbrooke underwent an additional procedure to improve circulation following yesterday's surgery," a State Department spokesman, Philip J. Crowley, said in a statement. The seriousness of the situation was conveyed by the concern expressed publicly by President Barack Obama, who said in a statement released by the White House, that he and first lady Michelle Obama were praying ...
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