{"id":1245,"date":"2016-04-04T22:55:03","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T22:55:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=1245"},"modified":"2018-04-10T03:06:11","modified_gmt":"2018-04-10T03:06:11","slug":"on-reagan-kennedy-and-dick-the-butcher-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=1245","title":{"rendered":"On Reagan, Kennedy – and “Dick the Butcher”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Two political rivals – back in the\u00a0old days<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>when such people could “sup with their enemies…”<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

Back on June 12, 2015, I posted\u00a0\u201cGreat politicians sell hope<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

\"ChrisThe title<\/em> of that post was a quote from the 2007\u00a0Chris Matthews<\/a>\u00a0book,\u00a0Life\u2019s a Campaign<\/a>. \u00a0In the post I noted my first reaction.\u00a0(To the idea of politicians “selling hope.”)<\/em>\u00a0 That first reaction was – and I quote –\u00a0\u201cWhat rock have you\u00a0 been living under<\/a>?<\/em>\u201c<\/strong>\u00a0 Then I noted this, from page “xv:”<\/p>\n

Political traits are in essence the ability to deal with people<\/strong>. \u00a0 I\u2019m talking about basic likability, the readiness to listen, to project optimism, to ask for help, to display good cheer in the face of opposition.\u00a0 To learn the traits of the best [political] practitioners is to acquire a treasure chest of ways to persuade and influence people.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In other words, Matthews suggested that – far from being inherently objectionable – today’s politicians are people that we “civilians” could actually learn<\/em> something from.<\/p>\n

I then noted that Matthews was – after all – talking about the best practitioners<\/em>. \u00a0(The best “political” practitioners that is.)<\/em> \u00a0Then I added this: \u00a0“Maybe the problem today is that too many politicians are trying only<\/em><\/strong> to be ‘basically likeable’ to their core base.*”<\/p>\n

\"DonnieWhich is I suppose another way of saying that not too many people these days see the current crop of politicians\u00a0as\u00a0displaying “basic likability.”<\/p>\n

Or for that matter “the readiness to listen,” the ability to project optimism, or display “good cheer in the face of opposition.” \u00a0(As to asking for help<\/strong> from your political enemies, “Fuhgeddaboudit!!<\/b><\/a>“)<\/em><\/p>\n

Matthews then added another\u00a0zinger<\/a>: \u00a0That our current state of political\u00a0gridlock<\/a>\u00a0may well be more of a “situation normal,” and not an aberration.<\/p>\n

Then he said something that really<\/em> <\/strong>surprised me. \u00a0Matthews said that most politicians today are both smart\u00a0and<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0they know exactly what they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

As an example – and set the tone for the book – he started his Introduction with this\u00a0Dale Carnegie<\/a>\u00a0quote:\u00a0 \u201cMy popularity, my happiness and sense of worth depend to no small extent upon my skill in dealing with people.\u201d \u00a0(As applying to politicians.)<\/em> \u00a0Then came the kicker:<\/p>\n

The premise of this book is straightforward:\u00a0 To get ahead in life you can learn a lot from those who get along<\/em><\/strong> for a living[. \u00a0Again, politicians. \u00a0That is: \u00a0T]he people who make the biggest impression on me and who\u2019ve actually taught me the tricks of getting ahead in life are the politicians.\u00a0 I know that goes against the grain<\/strong>\u2026 \u00a0(Emphasis added.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(Page xiii, emphasis in original. \u00a0But see also Counterintuitive \u2013 Wikipedia<\/a>.) \u00a0<\/em>The point of all this being that Matthews’ thoughts gave me just the inkling<\/a><\/em>\u00a0of a shocking idea.<\/p>\n

\"DonaldThat “inkling” was that maybe \u2013 just maybe \u2013 many of our seemingly-dysfunctional politicians today actually do<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0know what they\u2019re doing. \u00a0But Matthews had even more to say:<\/p>\n

You can say what you want about these masters of power.\u00a0 They get people to vote for them, give money to their campaigns, trust them with their country.\u00a0 They possess this wondrous ability, I\u2019ve discovered, to get other people to do just what they want them to do\u2026\u00a0 The best of these politicians have a sure grip on human nature.\u00a0 They leave it to the amateurs to believe how people are supposed<\/strong> to behave; they know the secrets of how people actually do<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here’s another counterintuitive<\/em> point: \u00a0That politicians are good listeners. \u00a0As Matthews put it, “They know the deep human need to be paid attention to.\u201d \u00a0(On Ronald Reagan’s ability to listen, see<\/em>\u00a0The Economist<\/a><\/em>.) \u00a0And<\/em> <\/strong>the best politicians – like Reagan – “can project a sense of hope.”<\/p>\n

\"\"Of course you could respond that – by their very nature – politicians are devious and Machiavellian<\/a>. (Like the guy at left.)<\/em> \u00a0And<\/em><\/strong> shameless about asking for things. \u00a0But – Matthews added –\u00a0the best politicians are also \u201cupbeat.\u201d\u00a0 The best politicians – so rare these days – \u201cknow the magic of optimism<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, Matthews added that equally-shocking idea – the one I noted above – that maybe we<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>– we “civilians” –\u00a0<\/strong>can actually learn<\/em><\/strong> from today’s politicians:<\/p>\n

I realize that the notion of learning anything of value from politicians cuts against the current mood.\u00a0 But what these people can teach us about human nature is priceless\u2026\u00a0 The ability to get along with people \u2026 is an art<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 Getting people to do what you want them to, I have further learned, is a fine<\/em><\/strong> art.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(Page xiv-xv, emphasis in original.)<\/em>\u00a0 That In turn led to another shocking thought on my part.<\/p>\n

I thought that maybe – just maybe – we citizens despise<\/em><\/strong> “all those negative politicians\u201d precisely because<\/em><\/strong> they are such an accurate mirror of our own dark side<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That in turn reminded me\u00a0of a popular quote about lawyers, another <\/em>despised group:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing we do<\/b>, let\u2019s kill all the lawyers\u2026<\/b>\u201c<\/a><\/em><\/h3>\n

\"MarshallThat\u2019s from Henry The Sixth, Part 2 Act 4, scene 2, 71\u201378<\/a><\/cite>, by\u00a0William Shakespeare<\/a>.\u00a0 See Shakespeare Quotes \u2013 eNotes.com<\/a>. \u00a0It\u2019s also one of the most misinterpreted quotes of all time, but there\u2019s no doubt the saying is popular. \u00a0See\u00a0Let\u2019s Not<\/strong><\/em> \u2026 (Above the Law<\/a>):<\/p>\n

Dick the Butcher was a minor character in the middle work of a trilogy of plays the Bard<\/a>\u00a0wrote about Henry VI \u2026 \u00a0and if it weren\u2019t for 10 little words, Dick the Butcher would be largely forgotten. \u00a0But those 10 words live on and on, in t-shirts and bumper stickers and coffee mugs and anything else you can slap a quote on.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So here’s my point: \u00a0In today’s America we have two<\/em> <\/strong>despised groups, lawyers and<\/em> politicians.<\/p>\n

And according to people who love to quote Dick the Butcher, the best thing to do would be to kill \u2018em all off!<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0But that probably wouldn\u2019t solve the problem.<\/p>\n

The problem with lawyers is \u2013 after all \u2013 that they\u2019re only doing what their clients want <\/em>them to do. \u00a0(How many clients would tell their lawyer: “Don’t<\/strong> use that dishonorable legal trick. \u00a0I’d much rather keep<\/strong> my honor, even if it means spending the rest of my life in prison – and<\/strong> making sure I don’t drop the soap in the shower!”)<\/em> \u00a0Which seems pretty much true of politicians as well.<\/p>\n

So the popular view of both lawyers and politicians seems to go like this: \u00a0“It’s not my<\/em> <\/strong>lawyer – or local political representative – who’s bad. \u00a0It’s all those other<\/em><\/strong> lawyers, politicians and political representatives who are corrupting the system!”<\/p>\n

(And a\u00a0BTW<\/a>: \u00a0That last was either\u00a0irony<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0sarcasm<\/a>. \u00a0Or possibly both…<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Which brings up the fact that – as a former lawyer myself – I came up with what I thought was a much better idea. \u00a0That idea was that –\u00a0when it comes to lawyers – maybe the rule should be this: \u00a0“The first thing we do is<\/em> kill all the clients!<\/em><\/strong>”<\/p>\n

But of course, that wouldn’t solve anything either. \u00a0We’re not going to kill all the lawyers, or the clients who pay them to be nasty on their behalf. \u00a0(As long as they keep the client happy, as in keeping him from losing his “shirt,” or his “virtue,” as in prison…) \u00a0<\/em>And we’re also not going to kill off all the politicians, or the people who vote<\/em> <\/strong>for them to be “nasty on their behalf.”<\/p>\n

\"\"Which brings up again the likely reason so many people don’t like either<\/em> <\/strong>lawyers or politicians today: \u00a0They accurately reflect our own dark side<\/a>. \u00a0(Think “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: I Am My Mother After All<\/a><\/em>.”) \u00a0But – apparently – it wasn’t always that way.<\/p>\n

There was a time – in the not-too-distant past – that politicians could actually “sup with their enemies.”<\/p>\n

Take for example,\u00a0Ronald Reagan<\/a>. \u00a0His political\u00a0arch-enemies<\/a>\u00a0included\u00a0Tip O’Neill<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Ted Kennedy<\/a>. \u00a0Yet Reagan could – and did –\u00a0sup<\/a>\u00a0with either or both men. \u00a0For one example, even though the two men were<\/em> politic arch-enemies, Ted Kennedy<\/a>\u00a0admired Reagan.<\/p>\n

Specifically, Ted Kennedy he admired\u00a0the fact that Ronald Reagan \u201cknew how to manipulate symbols for his causes yet could sup with his enemies<\/em><\/strong>:\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s absolutely professional.\u00a0 When the sun goes down, the battles of the day are really gone.\u00a0 He gave the Robert Kennedy Medal, which President Carter refused to do\u2026\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019s very sure of himself, and I think that people sense that he\u2019s comfortable with himself\u2026\u00a0\u00a0 He had a philosophy and he\u2019s fought for it.\u00a0 There\u2019s a consistency and continuity at a time when many others are flopping back and forth.\u00a0 And that\u2019s an important and instructive lesson for politicians, that people admire that.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

See\u00a0\u201cGreat politicians sell hope<\/a>.” \u00a0So one theme of this post is that we “civilians” can – according to Chris Matthews – learn a lot from today’s\u00a0professional politicians.<\/p>\n

But another theme could well be that today’s politicians could learn a lot from the best politicians of the past. \u00a0And one of the most revered conservative<\/em> politicians of the past was Ronald Reagan. \u00a0See for example\u00a0Ronald Reagan: Conservative Statesman<\/a>. \u00a0(But see also\u00a0If Ronald Reagan ran today, where would he fall on the conservative spectrum<\/a><\/em>?)<\/em><\/p>\n

So in closing, we could easily say that we could use a lot more of Reagan’s\u00a0professionalism<\/a>\u00a0from today’s politicians – on\u00a0both sides of the aisle<\/a>. \u00a0(Referring to “the skill, good judgment, and polite behavior that is expected from a person who is trained to do a job well.”)<\/em><\/p>\n

Now that’s what I would call\u00a0True Conservativism<\/a>…<\/em><\/h3>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

\"1006-ronald-reagan-tip-O'neill-ftr\"<\/p>\n

Just imagine Paul Ryan putting his arm around President Obama…<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

The upper image<\/em>\u00a0is courtesy of www.boston.com\/bigpicture\/2009\/08\/senator_ted_kennedy<\/a><\/em>. \u00a0The caption: \u00a0“Senator Edward Kennedy talks with President Ronald Reagan, left, on June 24, 1985, as they look over an American Eagle that graced President John F. Kennedy’s desk during a fund raising event for the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library at McLean, Virginia. \u00a0(AP Photo\/Charles Tasnadi).” \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Re: “LIfe’s a Campaign.” \u00a0For a link to the book version, see\u00a0Life’s a Campaign: What Politics Has Taught Me About Friendship, Rivalry, Reputation, and Success<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Re: “Core base.” \u00a0I was going to write “wacko base,” but thought better of it…<\/em><\/p>\n

Re:\u00a0“Fuhgeddaboudit!!<\/a>” \u00a0That site noted, “\u2018Fuhgeddaboudit\u2019 seems to have become a pop cultural meme around the time of the 1997 film\u00a0Donnie Brasco<\/a><\/em>.” \u00a0The image to the left of the paragraph featuring the quote is\u00a0courtesy of\u00a0Donnie Brasco (1997) – IMDb<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Re: Today’s gridlock. \u00a0See for example Gridlock in Congress? It\u2019s probably even worse than you think<\/a> (Washington Post<\/strong>),\u00a0Political gridlock: Unprecedentedly dysfunctional<\/a>, (The Economist), and Political Gridlock \u2013 Huffington Post<\/a>. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Re: “Situation normal.” \u00a0See\u00a0Military slang – Wikipedia<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Donald Trump image is courtesy of\u00a0businessinsider.com\/donald-trump-has-been-fired<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Re: Ronald Reagan’s ability to listen. \u00a0The complete citation is\u00a0US presidential endorsements | The Economist<\/a><\/em>. \u00a0(Which included the illustration at right.)<\/em> \u00a0Under 1980: Ronald Reagan<\/span>: \u00a0“Many, though by no means all, of [Reagan’s] current advisers are indeed sound, and the evidence from his time governing California and from what the more impressive of them say is that his greatest quality is to be a good listener\u00a0–\u00a0though not to the legislature, which he treated with disdain.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Re: “Most misinterpreted quotes of all time.” \u00a0See A Line Misinterpreted<\/a>. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The Shakespeare image is courtesy of\u00a0PICTURES of WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

The “mirror mirror” image is courtesy of\u00a0studio773pillows.easternaccents.com\/pv-32486-Mirror-Mirror-on-the-wall<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Re:\u00a0 Ted Kennedy on Ronald Reagan.\u00a0 See\u00a0Battle for Justice: How the [Robert] Bork Nomination Shook America<\/a><\/em>, by Ethan Bronner, Anchor Book edition (1989), at page 104.\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Re: Ronald Reagan as a conservative statesmen. \u00a0According to\u00a0If Ronald Reagan ran today, where would he fall on the conservative spectrum<\/a>: <\/em>\u00a0“Conservative Republicans today don\u2019t have one Reagan-type to coalesce around… \u00a0‘There was only one Ronald Reagan and the eternal quest to try and clone him retrospectively is a failed mission.'” \u00a0For another view, see also\u00a010 Things Conservatives Don’t Want You To Know About Ronald Reagan<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

The lower image is courtesy of\u00a0parade.com\/170490\/1006-ronald-reagan-tip-oneill<\/a>, from a post titled “Making Political Frenemies,” the gist of which is as follows:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The conservative president and the liberal House speaker found themselves constantly at odds during the six years they helmed their respective institutions, yet they managed to pass landmark legislation through divided government.<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

See also\u00a0politico.com\/story\/2013\/10\/when-politics-worked-chris-matthews-colorful-memoir<\/a><\/span><\/em>. \u00a0For other views of the relationship between Reagan and O’Neill, see\u00a0Pat Buchanan: ‘There\u2019s a Lot of Myth About Tip O\u2019Neill and Reagan<\/a>, and\u00a0Sorry Chris \u2013 Tip and the Gipper didn\u2019t like each other<\/a>. \u00a0Which of course seems to be precisely the point: \u00a0That the two political enemies could work together – as “professional” politicians – even if they didn’t<\/strong> like each other…<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

Other thoughts from Life’s a Campaign<\/a>: \u00a01) \u00a0That making new friends, dealing with opponents, and getting out their message \u201ccomes with the territory” of being a politician: \u00a0“It\u2019s called campaigning<\/strong>.\u201d And \u00a02) \u00a0That\u00a0\u201cwhen it comes to pushing their own careers, I can assure you, the best politicians know exactly what they\u2019re doing.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two political rivals – back in the\u00a0old days\u00a0when such people could “sup with their enemies…” * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * Back on June 12, 2015, I posted\u00a0\u201cGreat politicians sell hope.” The title of that post was a quote from the 2007\u00a0Chris Matthews\u00a0book,\u00a0Life\u2019s a Campaign. \u00a0In the post I noted my first reaction.\u00a0(To the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1245"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1245"}],"version-history":[{"count":67,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7091,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1245\/revisions\/7091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}