At the end of the Second World War, some political analysts began to detect cracks in the coalition that gave FDR his four-term lease on the White House. Although Roosevelt handily carried the Electoral College in 1944—432 votes to Dewey’s 99—he received only 53 percent of the popular vote. Even in his home state, New … Read more
I knew John L. Swan for thirty-two years. When I was a kid he was my tutor in Christian philosophy and in practical politics, and when I was a young man he taught me about good Scotch. He loved a good argument, a good fight, and good whiskey. When Jack died on February 2, I … Read more
[WARNING: Much of the language reported here will offend mature adults. The New York Board of Education intended it for children.] After the 1993 populist revolt that led to the rejection of the Rainbow Curriculum and the demise of Chancellor Joseph A. Fernandez and Mayor David Dinkins, one would think New York City’s social engineers … Read more
In the late 1960s, New York City’s cultural elites faced a grave dilemma on the issue of school decentralization. There was, on the one hand, the lingering spirit of the “Great Society” calling for “maximum feasible participation” of minorities and local communities in their schools; on the other hand, there was the liberals’ historic distrust … Read more
During the 1988 presidential election, candidate Bush made only one New York City campaign stop — it was in my neighborhood, Ridgewood, Queens. He appeared at our Catholic High School before blue-collar locals and hundreds of “New York’s Finest,” who conferred on him the endorsement of their union, the Policeman’s Benevolent Association. George Bush’s advisors … Read more