Althouse: "The Reagan library is the way presidential libraries have been in the past... The Nixon library represents the new kind of museum that presents more of an historic view, warts and all."

September 13, 2011

"The Reagan library is the way presidential libraries have been in the past... The Nixon library represents the new kind of museum that presents more of an historic view, warts and all."

Said history prof Jon Wiener.

That would have been a spiffier sound bite if he'd said "The Nixon library represents the new kind of museum that presents more of an historic view, 5 o'clock shadow and all."

Or has 5 o'clock shadow lost the sinister connotation it had back in the days when Nixon lost the TV debate with JFK (but won on the radio)?

Or maybe Wiener should have said: "The Nixon library represents the new kind of museum that presents more of an historic view, shifty eyes and all."

34 comments:

Ambrose said...: But isn't the Reagan library "newer"? Why doesn't the Nixon library reprsent an "older" style of library?; 9/13/11, 9:52 AM
Roger von Oech said...: What would happen if you went a month without using stories from the New York Times as a source of inspiration for blog posts?

Not being snarky, just curious. What other places would you look?; 9/13/11, 9:55 AM
SomeoneHasToSayIt said...: Got anything to add besides ad hominem?

Or is Nixon a safe target for that?; 9/13/11, 10:01 AM
sakredkow said...: "more of an historic view, nondenial denials and all."; 9/13/11, 10:07 AM
traditionalguy said...: The slander of Nixon is eternal in liberal land.

If a made up story is run in the media, then that becomes a part of the political truth about that President.

There is no such thing as the Verona Papers that discloses the fraud that the media inserted when setting up its attack narratives.; 9/13/11, 10:07 AM
Carol_Herman said...: Imagine the blood pressure rising people will get if obama wins a second term?

Well, people felt that way about Nixon! It was only a matter of time he'd fail. And, he failed spectacularly.

The other thing to notice? After he resigned he didn't get invivted, anymore, by republicans.

Jimmy Carter also doesn't get invited by democrats, to stand with them. Bill Clinton on the other hand, still pleases crowds.

Is Algore still doing his telethon? Did he raise an audience?

We've let politics turn into an attack machine. Maybe, it's to keep politicians as far out of our lives as possible?; 9/13/11, 10:08 AM
Wince said...: "The Nixon library represents the new kind of museum that presents more of an historic view, warts and all.”

Maybe that explains Rick Perry's support for the HPV vaccine?; 9/13/11, 10:10 AM
Shanna said...: And the Clinton library has tons of stuff about everything he did wrong...except not.

It's a Presidential library, not a history class. People don't go there for a list of all the things that President did wrong.; 9/13/11, 10:11 AM
Carol_Herman said...: Reagan knew the visuals!

The Library has his Oval Office (I think.) (As does Bill Clinton's.)

And, Reagan's Library has his Air Force One plane on display.

It probably gets more visitors than any of the others.

And, now that we know Mark Felt, the #2 guy at the FBI was behind all the leaks that made it to the Washington Post, his library should do the definitive stories about how the press interfered with politics. How the CIA still does. And, what really was unclean about politics since JFK got shot!

THAT WOULD BE A WORTHY MUSEUM!; 9/13/11, 10:12 AM
William said...: Towards the end of his life, Alger Hiss was re-instated to the Mass. bar and was awarded a federal pension. He commanded large fees from college appearances, where he recceived standing ovations. There was no new evidence that became available to exculpate him. The sole reason for the restoration of his reputation was the fall of Nixon. The reasoning was that anyone persecuted by Nixon must be innocent.....There should be an Alger Hiss exhibit at the Nixon Library. It can be used to demonstrate the bad judgement of liberals obsessed by their unreasoning hatred of Nixon......Is there a Marilyn Monroe exhibit at the Kennedy Library?; 9/13/11, 10:21 AM
gerry said...: "The Clinton library represents the new kind of museum that presents more of an historic view, semen stains and all.”; 9/13/11, 10:22 AM
Jim Gust said...: "Larry Hackman, the former director of the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, said directors of presidential libraries had to deal with pressures from family members and close supporters of the president. Mr. Hackman, who encountered such pressures as he pushed that museum to deal with questions about Truman’s decision to use nuclear weapons, says that the process got easier with the passage of time, as family members and supporters began to die off."

Unfortunately, history always seems to be written by revisionist liberals. What this article really says is that the Nixons didn't have the pull to keep his museum properly focused on his achievements, warts and all.; 9/13/11, 10:27 AM
SomeoneHasToSayIt said...: I'm no fan of Nixon, but, really, Watergate is seriously overblown, relative to the 'scandals' of many politicians.

Its well-known-ness is mainly the difference of a scandal the liberal press pursues relentlessly and gleefully, and those it tries to bury.

I would bet a decent sum of money that both the Clinton's and the Obama's are 'guilty' of felony behaviors. The Clinton's having to do with their long climb to wealth via public office (Whitewater, cattle futures, etc), and the Obama's via the ways they acquired their Chicago home and property.

So lets keep perspective, please.; 9/13/11, 10:28 AM
Steven said...: I've been wondering, do people who write "an historic" not pronounce the 'h' in "historic"?; 9/13/11, 10:29 AM
Christopher in MA said...: "The Obama library represents the new kind of museum that presents more of an historic view, teleprompter and all."; 9/13/11, 10:30 AM
sakredkow said...: Watergate: It's Clinton's fault.; 9/13/11, 10:31 AM
Scott M said...: I've been wondering, do people who write "an historic" not pronounce the 'h' in "historic"?

They do, but they also say "somefink" instead of "something" and don't know their cheeses.; 9/13/11, 10:31 AM
Wince said...: I've been wondering, do people who write "an historic" not pronounce the 'h' in "historic"?

Sorry, I couldn't help myself:

Theory on Brontosauruses, by Anne Elk.; 9/13/11, 10:40 AM
edutcher said...: Anent the Jackie revelations yesterday, the world would probably be a tad safer if Richard J Daley hadn't gotten in the graveyard vote in '60.

S said...

I've been wondering, do people who write "an historic" not pronounce the 'h' in "historic"?

They pronounce it. It's upper-class English (country, not language), pre-WWI mostly.

They'd also say "an hotel".; 9/13/11, 10:44 AM
Wince said...: I didn't know Harry Truman was a Scottish computer.

Listen to the Truman quote at the "shifty eyes" Althouse link (above).; 9/13/11, 11:18 AM
Pettifogger said...: edutcher said: "S said...

I've been wondering, do people who write 'an historic' not pronounce the 'h' in "historic"?

They pronounce it. It's upper-class English (country, not language), pre-WWI mostly.

They'd also say 'an hotel'."

My 12th grade English teacher jumped on me in front of the class for writing "a historic" instead of "an historic," so I remember the incident well. But I've never been clear what the rule really is.

By the way, that was in Corpus Christi, Texas, not the U.K.; 9/13/11, 11:29 AM
virgil xenophon said...: The Nixon-Kennedy debates also showed the power of "opinion-leaders" in the print media. While, as Ann notes, those on radio who concentrated on what was actually said thought Nixon had won on the merits by an overwhelming margin, what is even LESS remembered (as witness the fact Althouse herself makes no mention of this significant fact) is that, because the disparity of views between those who watched on TV and those who only listened on radio was so great, those who had listened on radio were re-polled two weeks later. THIS time, however, the results were reversed, with a slight majority believing JFK had won. THIS strange turn about caused even further in-depth questioning of respondents, who indicated they were led to change their minds due to reading the analysis done in the major newspapers by the leading political opinion writers/analysts of that day (who had ALL viewed the debates on TV).

In political science texts this is known as the "two-step" flow of communication in which the average citizen is led to distrust his own eyes and ears in lieu of views proffered by supposedly "more qualified" observing "experts." Point being? A classic demonstration of the power of the MSM.; 9/13/11, 11:36 AM
edutcher said...: Joe said...
edutcher said: "S said...

I've been wondering, do people who write 'an historic' not pronounce the 'h' in "historic"?

They pronounce it. It's upper-class English (country, not language), pre-WWI mostly.

They'd also say 'an hotel'."

My 12th grade English teacher jumped on me in front of the class for writing "a historic" instead of "an historic," so I remember the incident well. But I've never been clear what the rule really is.

By the way, that was in Corpus Christi, Texas, not the U.K.

Guessing here, but I'll bet a lot of old-line Southerners still use a lot of English conventions in speech and grammar.

Coming from the Philadelphia Main Line (which was also very observant of conventions from across the Pond), I never heard 'an' used with words beginning with an aitch until Masterpiece Theater came along.; 9/13/11, 11:45 AM
cubanbob said...: John M Auston said...

Well put. If Watergate is the standard for forcing a president out and imprisoning some of his aids then the ATF scandal and Solyndra are enough to execute Eric Holder and impeach and remove Obama.; 9/13/11, 11:49 AM
Strelnikov said...: I'll listen to this guy when he gets a less embarrassing name.; 9/13/11, 11:55 AM
Paddy O said...: From Mark Twain's Concerning the American Language:

"You conferred your 'a' upon New England, too, and there it remains; it has not traveled out of the narrow limits of those six little states in all these two hundred and fifty years. All England uses it, New England's small population--say four millions--use it, but we have forty-five millions who do not use it. You say 'glahs of wawtah,' so does New England; at least, New England says 'glahs.' America at large flattens the 'a', and says 'glass of water.' These sounds are pleasanter than yours; you may think they are not right--well, in English they are not right, but 'American' they are. You say 'flahsk' and 'bahsket,' and 'jackahss'; we say 'flask,' 'basket,' 'jackass'--sounding the 'a' as it is in 'tallow,' 'fallow,' and so on. Up to as late as 1847 Mr. Webster's Dictionary had the impudence to still pronounce 'basket' bahsket, when he knew that outside of his little New England all America shortened the 'a' and paid no attention to his English broadening of it. However, it called itself an English Dictionary, so it was proper enough that it should stick to English forms, perhaps. It still calls itself an English Dictionary today, but it has quietly ceased to pronounce 'basket' as if it were spelt 'bahsket.' In the American language the 'h' is respected; the 'h' is not dropped or added improperly."

"The same is the case in England--I mean among the educated classes, of course."

"Yes, that is true; but a nation's language is a very large matter. It is not simply a manner of speech obtaining among the educated handful; the manner obtaining among the vast uneducated multitude must be considered also. Your uneducated masses speak English, you will not deny that; our uneducated masses speak American it won't be fair for you to deny that, for you can see, yourself, that when your stable-boy says, 'It isn't the 'unting that 'urts the 'orse, but the 'ammer, 'ammer, 'ammer on the 'ard 'ighway,' and our stable-boy makes the same remark without suffocating a single h, these two people are manifestly talking two different languages. But if the signs are to be trusted, even your educated classes used to drop the 'h.' They say humble, now, and heroic, and historic etc., but I judge that they used to drop those h's because your writers still keep up the fashion of patting an before those words instead of a. This is what Mr. Darwin might call a 'rudimentary' sign that as an was justifiable once, and useful when your educated classes used to say 'umble, and 'eroic, and 'istorical. Correct writers of the American language do not put an before three words."; 9/13/11, 12:20 PM
Known Unknown said...: By the way, that was in Corpus Christi, Texas, not the U.K.

It would help if you mentioned your teacher was Nigel Bottomley from Coventry.; 9/13/11, 12:22 PM
NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...: When I visited the Nixon library it took an act of will not to raise my arms in a "V" salute, shake my jowls and proclaim "I am not a croook."

The reason the Nixon library is "new" is because they can't deny Watergate. So they make a virtue out of a necessity.; 9/13/11, 12:22 PM
catondan said...: Is it really a valid view of history to still be talking about a poll taken of radio listeners vs tv watchers after a debate?
Who won Carter-Ford, Reagan - Mondale, Clinton -Dole?
Don't we have elections to settle these things?; 9/13/11, 12:25 PM
Cedarford said...: My feeling is that when the Boomers finally croak off, the conditioning to propaganda they got through the NY Times and other progressive Jewish media organs also croaks with them about many 60s notions they cling to.

White guilt, nurture over nature, race obsession, Nixon-hating.

Nixon and his ilk left the country in better shape than the Boomers did.

So 50 years from now, Nixon will likely be better regarded. JFK, Clinton (Started the giveaway of US wealth and jobs to China under free trade and globalism for multinationals to exploit), and Dubya, less so. And Jimmy Carter even more ill-regarded than he is now..; 9/13/11, 12:25 PM
virgil xenophon said...: catondan/

My point was to illustrate a) power of "opinion-makers" in the MSM and b) power of TV to almost TOTALLY shift the attention of the average voter from sound logic, reasoning, and accurate facts and history to "effective presentation,"(i.e., "speechifying) "body language", physical appearance, dress, and "atmospherics".; 9/13/11, 2:29 PM
Marathon Pundit said...: I've been to the Hoover museum in Iowa. There are warts...quite a lot about the Great Depression. And a pic of Hoover with Hitler.; 9/13/11, 3:20 PM
Fred4Pres said...: They should have a portrait of Nixon with eyes that follow you as you move around the library.; 9/13/11, 4:24 PM
Scott M said...: And if you stare at it too long, a recording says, "That's it, buddy. You're on the list."; 9/13/11, 4:31 PM