As things fade in the distance of time, specifics become forgotten, replaced by a generalized image or aura. Bill Clinton’s presidency, which in so many ways was troubled by issues of questionable ethics — or outright appalling ethical lapses, in the sordid case of his Monica Lewinsky affair and his dissembling about it — had come in my mind to be recalled as a pretty positive and effective time of executive branch leadership. My, how memory can play tricks on you.
Why? I suspect it’s largely in contrast to the ineffective, short-sighted and fatally misguided presidency we’ve suffered through so disastrously with George W. Bush. This president makes it easy to long fondly for anyone else.
So my initial reaction to Hillary’s ascendant presidential campaign was positive. Read the rest of this entry »
Although I confess to considerable fascination with words and language, I have always resisted the stereotypical “English teacher” mentality of correcting people who misuse words (I was especially careful about this when I actually was an English teacher, years ago in my first career). Over the years, I have read William Safire’s columns about language and frequently found I did not identify with the often pedantic points he chose to harp on.
I haven’t read this book, and I probably won’t, but the book review in the NYT is pretty compelling in and of itself: “
