February 2012
Anonymous asked: How different do you think the country would be (if at all) if Washington had refused the presidency or stepped down after one term? And I'm sorry if you've answered a question like this before.
Anonymous asked: Could you kindly link me to some posts regarding your opinion of Ron Paul. I just saw him on Piers Morgan and... don't think he's so bad!
Anonymous asked: Hi. I was wondering besides Reagans 89'th Birthday Pic in February 2000 or him kissing Nancy, is there a picture of Ronald Reagan with George W. Bush? Is there a pic of Reagan through 2002-2003?
Anonymous asked: I would like to know what an original copy of the letter sent to hooker by honest abe on Jan 26, 1863 would be valued at?
I like how Drudge is reporting today on how JFK...
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Anonymous asked: James K. Polk is the only President that has also held the position of Speaker of the House. I was wondering what other high-level positions presidents have held (excluding simple congressional and gubernatorial positions). I'm mainly interested in cabinet-level and other succession-level positions.
tindallism asked: I figured you'd be hoping that he lands the nomination, and drives moderates and independents to Obama.
bearpope asked: I thought the current Missouri primary was essentially a beauty contest and that the actual Missouri caucus was being held in March?
By the way, that piece of garbage is probably...
emmgtv asked: Dude reports are in that S*NTORUM WON MISSOURI! D: eew aren't you feeling dirty right now living there? :O
You have GOT to be fucking kidding me.
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The American Scholar: His Hour Upon The Stage →
Douglas L. Wilson is one of the foremost Lincoln scholars in the nation. This article from The American Scholar looks at Lincoln’s appreciation of Shakespeare and the theater, and it is fantastic.
Anonymous asked: I'm genre savy and I know that any group who demands for civil rights always wins and I don't want to be on the wrong side of history. Is that a bad reason to support LGBT rights?
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Anonymous asked: Could you post the picture from Reagan's 90th that you mentioned? I tried searching for it but couldn't find it. I'd be interested in seeing it. Thanks.
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Since it’s President Reagan’s...
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Bob Greene: "The President who saved football"... →
See you after the Super Bowl!
Anonymous asked: There's a lot more poetry on your "essentials" list than I imagined.
I added about 30 or 40 books to the Essential... →
Anonymous asked: Why does Ron Paul dye his eyebrows?
real-b-easy asked: Which President do you think doesn't get the credit he deserves?
Anonymous asked: I've read several of your posts lambasting Harding for being a corrupt scoundrel, however, we just got to his presidency in our APUSH class and my textbook runs counter to what you say. My book says that while his cabinet was incredibly corrupt, and he did a shitty job of picking friends instead of accomplished workers, he himself was a good guy who just didn't pay enough attention to...
Anonymous asked: i asked a question a while ago but you haven't answered it. if you're not gonna answer everyone's questions why do you have an ask page?
godinezzz asked: Why didn't the Democrats go with Wesley Clark in '04?
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(I forgot to make this an audio post...
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Rutherford B. Hayes Rates His Professor
For you college students, I found something while doing research that will probably make you happy. Even Presidents have opinions about their professors, as demonstrated in this diary entry from Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th President, while he was a student at Ohio’s Kenyon College:
October 17, 1841
Three hours each week we are required to attend Dr. Thrall’s recitations or lectures in...
Anonymous asked: Do you have a list of all the books you've recommended so far?
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Anonymous asked: Did you finally figure out what book you want to read next?
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Overrated Radio, Episode VI →
It’s Episode VI of Overrated Radio with Keith Davis and Anthony Bergen. The guys talk about the new film, “Black and Blue: The Story of Gerald Ford, Willis Ward, and the 1934 Michigan-Georgia Tech Football Game”, which they viewed before the podcast and is a rare instance where Keith’s obsession (University of Michigan athletics) and Anthony’s obsession...
gregbrown asked: Unfortunately (or fortunately?), Caro is splitting up the remaining part of LBJ's life into two more books: The Passage of Power goes to 1964, and his second term will be another book in a few years. As someone tearing through the first volume right now, are there any other excellent books you'd recommend on the era for a different perspective? I've already read Rick...
swag-gr asked: If I'm not mistaken, LBJ's legislative success was the result of his firmness in dealing with the Congress, yes? Why doesn't that tactic work today i.e. Obama's first term?
Anonymous asked: LBJ had the best relationship with Congress of any (American) president ever, right?
nhaler asked: So what you're really saying is, at this rate, we'll be looking at another great president ~80 years after FDR's death, right?
emotionally-stable asked: Hey! I was wondering, but I know you don't like to go down those trails...: If Obama does not win re-election, how would you *assess* his term? Would he be considered an average/above average/below average President up to now?
bbkld asked: You and I are both Lincoln and FDR fans, and I feel a little defensive even asking this question: During the Civil War and WWII, do you feel the two of them were the closest to absolute dictators this country has ever had?
realpolitiks asked: If Henry Kissinger was able to run for president, would he be a good substitute for Ford or Carter?
Anonymous asked: Was Clinton ideologically closer to LBJ or Reagan?
real-b-easy asked: So someone asked you, "Obama or Romney," but I have a tougher question for you. Obama or Gingrich?
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If you don't mind... →
As always, I need to pad my numbers on my latest AND Magazine review. My most recent review is for Joseph Wheelan’s Mr. Adams’s Last Crusade: John Quincy Adams’s Extraordinary Post-Presidential Life In Congress. If you have a few seconds, please go to the page and click the “like” button for Facebook. I have an OCD thing where I need to have double-figures in...
Anonymous asked: A friend of mine attends Whittier College an mentioned that they never say, "President Nixon attended school here." They simply say, "a former president attended school here." Thoughts? Thank you
tulowowsky asked: Do you know if anyone ever criticized Kennedy's hiring of his cabinet officials? I mean, most of them just seemed to be privileged business playboys who were somehow found fit for jobs in the cabinet.
Anonymous asked: Lincoln broke out of Washington's Shadow. FDR broke out of Lincoln's Shadow. Which president since him comes the closest to breaking out of FDR's Shadow?
sleepswithangels asked: Your thoughts on a Dennis Kucinich presidency?
the-progressive-opinion asked: Obama or Romney?
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REVIEW: "Then Everything Changed" by Jeff...
Then Everything Changed: Stunning Alternate Histories of American Politics: JFK, RFK, Carter, Ford, Reagan Jeff Greenfield Trade Paperback. 434 pp. February 2012. Berkley Books.
Alternative history is not really my thing. Don’t get me wrong: I think that imagining “what if” can be done really well, and I think that it can be an important and helpful exercise in understanding...
ohgodwhydoihaveatumblr asked: Would Dennis Reynolds be a good president?
I have the greatest gig in the world because I receive free books from publishers almost every day, but it’s so damn hard to figure out which book to read after I finish one. I’ve been pacing around for an hour, opening different books, and I’m no closer to choosing which book is next. There has to be a better system.
Anonymous asked: Would you concider yourself a hawk or a dove?