-
School Uniform Option Anyone?
January 20, 2010 | 18 comments
-
Brooks Again
November 14, 2009 | 13 comments
-
There Is No Right To Strike Against The Public Safety By Anybody, Anywhere, Any Time.
September 9, 2009 | 3 comments
-
Town Halls For Me, But Not For Thee
September 7, 2009 | 7 comments
-
There Is No Right To Strike Against The Public Safety By Anybody, Anywhere, Any Time.
September 7, 2009 | 0 comments
The Spectacle Blog
Robert Dallek, one of the most hyper-partisan liberal historians around (I’m sure Spectator Readers can name a few more) postulated on NPR yesterday that all important and consequential presidencies can be summed up by a bumper sticker.
From the January 7 edition of Morning Edition:
“The most memorable presidents without question are those who had some kind of catch phrase - a bumper sticker, if you will,” Dallek says. “Franklin Roosevelt - the New Deal; John Kennedy - the New Frontier; Lyndon Johnson - the Great Society, Reagan remembered for saying, ‘It’s morning in America.’ What is there with George W. Bush? What’s the bumper sticker? I don’t know.”
Dallek also says that because he has no bumper sticker, Bush will eventually be forgotten. No bumper sticker for George W. Bush???? This revelation comes as a surprise to those of us who had to drive behind cars plastered with vitriolic anti-bush bumper stickers the past eight years.
The truth is, for better or worse, the modern president runs a government staffed by thousands of political appointees spread out across hundreds of agencies, divisions and offices, all engaged in multitudes of occasionally worthwhile initiatives and programs. Though the scope and size of this enterprise pains some of us, consigning a presidency to a simple bumper sticker shows a stunningly simplistic view of something Dallek professes to be an expert on. Either that or he is just participating in the “dumbing down” of history and politics our elites lament and prosper from at the same time.
View all comments (18) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Ryan L. Cole
http://spectator.org/blog/2009/01/08/no-bush-bumper-sticker
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
Current Issue
- Sweet Home, Alabama
- His Reach Exceeded His Grasp
- A World Turned Right Side Up
The Spectacle Blog
Democrat Dan Maffei Blames Budget Cuts for Girl’s Rape, Mother’s Murder
Robert Stacy McCain | 6.18.13
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
Forest P. Gill| 1.8.09 @ 6:54PM
I don't see one for William Jefferson Clinton. How about "My President slept with your honor student." or "Read my lips, no new interns!" Credit to rushonline.
Real American| 1.8.09 @ 7:43PM
Clinton's legacy: a stain on a blue dress. There's your bumper sticker.
Alan Brooks| 1.8.09 @ 8:19PM
Bush's bumper sticker:
"Let's Roll"
Laura| 1.8.09 @ 8:26PM
YES!!! I totally agree with Alan Brooks. Way to go, Alan.
Alan Brooks| 1.8.09 @ 9:49PM
also
if Bush's presidency is mediocre, then what what do you term Jimmuh Carter's? dire?
And LBJ was perhaps our worst president.
Spicy Joker| 1.8.09 @ 9:52PM
Here's a bumper sticker for Dallek: official propagandist for "Camelot."
Alan Brooks| 1.8.09 @ 10:48PM
at least Bush can keep his trousers on in mixed company.
Lloyd| 1.9.09 @ 12:23AM
Of course it's not-not- nonsense and ignorance for anyone to speak of a president's 'bumper sticker' imagery. AKA 'sound bite'
This country was founded on sound bites [Give me Liberty or give me death!] and has run on them ever since. Some are better than other, some worked and others didn't [54" 40' or Fight] and some were handed to the administration by its opponents ["Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago?"]
So for Mr. Cole to disparage an effort to find a theme for a Bush presidency, it is Mr. Cole who is clueless. Dallek is wrong to think Bush will be forgotten, but Bush himself won't mind if in future someone has to remember who liberated Iraq. In his Christian modesty he is only concerned that Iraq has been liberated and remains free.
Jim | 1.9.09 @ 1:53AM
If you want bumper stickers we got 'em.
How about "Those who make war against the United States have chosen their own destruction"
Checkout the site : RightWingStuff.com
Pablo| 1.10.09 @ 1:42PM
Bush's sticker should be: "The Media Lied: Millions of Arabs Freed"
sidnee| 12.11.09 @ 12:49PM
jack wills
ugg mayfaire boots on sale
sidnee| 12.11.09 @ 12:55PM
jack wills
ugg mayfaire boots on sale