by Conrad Black (April 2016)
The moment of truth is at hand for the Republicans. Much of the last 35 years of American political history was determined when James A. Baker, George H. W. Bush’s campaign manager when he sought the presidential nomination in 1980, persuaded Bush to retire from the race before the Pennsylvania primary, as Bush was likely to win it, but Reagan had already secured the nomination. This brought Bush the vice-presidential nomination, and he coasted all the way into the White House eight years later. Bush allowed his party to be split by the semi-delusional mountebank billionaire Ross Perot, which enabled Bill Clinton to be elected president. Clinton had squeaked through to the Democratic nomination after giving the country a foretaste of his later peccadilloes. more>>>
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3 Responses
Conrad writes so beautifully, and what he writes is substantive. Hopefully. if Trump will refine his presentation and spend time getting ready to lead America, he’s a shoe in. Trump should know that Mrs. Clinton hasn’t had a press conference in some 3 months.
So, take brief sabbaticals, Donald, surround yourself with pros, start to look presidential and WIN! We need you.
Dear Mr. Black: You are a national treasure, please keep writing.
First a personal comment not to be published: I once worked in a company headed by your nemesis (on whose name I shall not waste valuable characters) and he almost destroyed the company. He was a petty and irresponsible man.
My publishable comments are: 1) Someone who knows Mr. Trump needs to help him realize that the so-called mainstream media is not his friend and that its denizens are out to make him look silly. He should stop talking to them, tell the country he is now preparing his administration, and give periodic, planned speeches from his metaphorical front porch. His enemies will Palinize him. McCain should have sent her to every small town in America during that campaign, and not forced her to talk to idiots who hated her. 2) I believe you give Bill Clinton too much credit. He was gifted with an extraordinary situation: a massive generation entering its best working years, a 150 IQ, peace and prosperity, a once in generation technology breakthrough, a Congress willing and able to give him political cover — and he threw it all away, failing to address a host of solvable or addressable problems from entitlements to Russia to public pensions to subprime mortgages (which I am intimately involved in trying to clean up) to Islamic radicalism, to the rise of China, and (most tellingly and well within his responsibility), the absolute impending catastrophe of entitlements (which, had he followed Paul Keating’s lead in Australia, would have put him on Mount Rushmore). His reduction of the White House to a K-Mart Blue Light Special and his public reduction of the culture are merely footnotes to his squandering personality. Clinton was a significant failure not because the country was suffering but because it was not and he failed to take advantage of the situation. His was a failure related to opportunity and I believe an honest assessment will eventually realize that conclusion.
Please keep writing. You have many fans out here.
Best,
Bill Smith
Thank you, Mr Black, for such a wonderfully cogent article. I now feel that I understand things better than I did before. That is the hallmark of a successul piece of communication.