Robert Dallek
Robert Dallek
Robert Dallek is an American historian specializing in the Presidents of the United States. He retired as a history professor at Boston University in 2004 and previously taught at Columbia University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and Oxford University. As of November 2013 he teaches at Stanford University's Stanford in Washington program in Washington, D.C. He won the Bancroft Prize for his 1979 book Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy, 1932–1945 as well as other awards for scholarship...
affection government left preached reagan rekindled restored uplift white
Reagan restored a sense of hope, a sense of uplift about the presidency. Now it's ironic, because he preached the idea that government was not the solution, government was the problem. And yet, when he left the White House, he had kind of rekindled affection for the presidency.
eyes
When I read about the hospitalizations, my eyes widened,
across careful court crises except heavy seen self touch tries
These crises are such a heavy burden, and they are so self-inflicted, except for the court vacancies, that if he is not very careful and tries to put across someone who is seen as an ultraconservative, he is going to touch off a conflagration in the Senate.
images impact people question reactions respects shape sorts television white
There's no question that these sorts of television images have a big impact on people and in many respects shape reactions to the White House,
across careful court crises except heavy johnson nixon problems seen touch tries
I think he's really undermined his credibility at this point, and it really saddles him with the kind of problems that Johnson and Nixon faced. These crises are such a heavy burden, and they are so self-inflicted, except for the court vacancies, that if he is not very careful and tries to put across someone who is seen as an ultraconservative, he is going to touch off a conflagration in the Senate.
work
It didn't work for Johnson, and it's not working for Bush.
against coming country dividing limits
What they are coming up against now is the limits of partisanship, the limits of dividing the country so decisively.
dramatic events
It's a dramatic turnabout. Events have overtaken him.
central changing effective ingredient responsive
That's why pragmatism is such a central ingredient of an effective presidency. If you're not pragmatic, not responsive to changing realities, then you don't succeed.
comeback country receptive turn
as he put it. Still, he added: ''Bush did make a comeback then. But the country was more receptive to his kind of leadership. I can't see how they're going to turn this around.
crisis effective establish exert forward opportunity oval president step
A crisis is an opportunity for a president to step forward and exert effective leadership, and establish his credentials as a significant occupant of the Oval Office.
kennedy nuclear question sensitive using
Kennedy was very sensitive to this question of ever using nuclear weapons,
exactly trail truth
He was able to put them on the trail of the truth to find out just exactly what was going on in this scandal.
war fighting giving
What makes war interesting for Americans is that we don't fight war on our soil, we don't have direct experience of it, so there's an openness about the meanings we give it.