Nancy Gibbs
Nancy Gibbs
Nancy Reid Gibbs is an American essayist and managing editor for Time magazine, a best-selling author and commentator on politics and values in the United States. She is the co-author with Michael Duffy of The New York Times Bestsellers The Preacher and the Presidents; Billy Graham in the White Houseand The Presidents Club: Inside the World's Most Exclusive Fraternity...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionJournalist
CountryUnited States of America
powerful war character
Of all ennobling sentiments, patriotism may be the most easily manipulated. On the one hand, it gives powerful expression to what is best in a nation's character: a commitment to principle, a willingness to sacrifice, a devotion to the community by the choice of the individual. But among its toxic fruits are intolerance, belligerence and blind obedience, perhaps because it blooms most luxuriantly during times of war.
runners stride not-perfect
A runner's stride is not perfectly efficient.
jobs men president
Americas presidents tend to die young. Maybe it is in the nature of the men who reach such heights, or of the job once they attain it.
people busy valuable
Time is valuable; people are busy.
memorial president memorial-service
A president cant go to every memorial service.
heart ideas may
There may be no less original idea than the notion that our hearts hold dominion over our heads.
christian country religious
For God to be kept out of the classroom or out of America's public debate by nervous school administrators or overcautious politicians serves no one's interests. That restriction prevents people from drawing on this country's rich and diverse religious heritage for guidance, and it degrades the nation's moral discourse by placing a whole realm of theological reasoning out of bounds. The price of that sort of quarantine, at a time of moral dislocation, is - and has been - far too high.
powerful patriotic blessing
If the Presidents Club had a seal, around the ring would be three words: cooperation, competition, and consolation. On the one hand, the presidents have powerful motives—personal and patriotic—to help one another succeed and comfort one another when they fail. But at the same time they all compete for history’s blessing.
strong men views
You must get courageous men, men of strong views and let them debate and argue with each other.
hate winning white
In his final remarks to the White House staff, on the day he resigned his office, Nixon applied a version of the lesson to himself. “Always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself.
strong taken president
Eisenhower advocated a variety of strong actions which he had never taken when he was president. Maybe this was just the pattern of former presidents; maybe it reflected how much the circumstances had changed on the ground.
mean play judging
Praise of blame in the moment means little: it is how their decisions play out over time that matters, and so the redemption they're looking for is of a more lasting kind. They are one another's peers; who else can really judge them?
ukraine russia liberty
Nixon urged Clinton to maintain his relationship with Yeltsin but make contact with other democrats in Russia. He warned Clinton away from some ultranationalists and toward those interested in liberty and reform. He pressed Clinton to replace his ambassador in Kiev and concentrate future U.S. economic aid on Ukraine, where it would matter most.
ideas white giving
You know, when a president is about to leave office, most of the time most people are dying for him to go on and get out of there. But there are a few little rituals that have to be observed. One of them is that the president must host the incoming president in the White House, smile as if they love each other and give the American people the idea that democracy is peaceful and honourable and there will be a good transfer of power