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Presidency

Podcast with Steve Hayward

I did a podcast yesterday with Steve Hayward on his latest book--I think he has a new book every three months!--The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Presidents: From Wilson to Obama.  After having taught at AU this past fall, Steve appears to have gotten carried away with assigning grades, as he uses this book to give each president from Wilson to Obama a letter grade based on their support of the Constitution during their term in office.  It's an interesting exercise, though, and he explains in the podcast what criteria he used.

Steve and I had a great conversation on his book and other things.  Take a listen if you have some time -- it's only a little over 15 minutes long.

Categories > Presidency

Discussions - 7 Comments

I saw Steve's presentation via The Heritage Foundation on CSPAN-2 over the weekend on his book. Very good talk and discussion afterwords.

Peter, you did to Steve's book what movie previews sometimes do to the movie you came to watch: you made me want to read a book that isn't out yet (or even written!). Of course, I still want to read the one that is available. But I really like the idea of examining the educations of presidents as a way to coming to understand how they approach the office. Seems like the natural "part two" to this one examining their various approaches to understanding (or ignoring) the Constitution.

Oh heavens to betsy he's being "politically incorrect" !! He will surely be ostracized and alienated - if not victimized - for such a thing. It's so dangerous!

But I'm guessing it will sell like hotcakes at The Conservative Book Club and at the few sad leftover tea party meetings. And of course there will be appearances on FoxNews.

Perhaps this could be a future Ashbrook required textbook, along with Prof. Limbaugh's "See, I Told You So" and Prof. Beck's "Arguing With Idiots"? Might as well toss Beck's "The Christmas Sweater" into the curriculum, too.

Scoring Jonah Goldberg's endorsement as a "favorite historian" - yikes...

https://hnn.us/articles/122247.html

Geez Pumpkin, your "Most Intelligent President Ever" who craves for civil discourse and "stopping the hate" took a $1 millon campaign contribution from whackjob Bill Maher. Yes, the same one who called Sarah Palin a c$unt & t$at. Where is your outrage and dump truck load of links and long-winded posts on that one Pumpkin?

Hippocrite?????

By the gods, why do you invoke my name, woman, when you clearly mean "hypocrite"? It's enough to make me want to revise my oath.

Apparently the book's being put into the right hands; thus far there's only one unfavorable review. If the reviewer's got his/her facts straight, then I have to say that it sounds even a bit worse than what I would have expected:

From a conservative reviewer in Colorado Springs, who gave it 2 stars:

"This is going to be my first stab at writing a review for this kind of book. I love the politically incorrect guides, and have read about 10 or so of them. I believe myself to be of the kindred spirit and advocate of interpreting the constitution in a Jeffersonian kind of way with few enumerated powers delegated to the executive branch. Few if any presidents since Wilson, IMHO, have remotely adhered to the concept of "supporting and defending the constitution". The 20th century has been the age of progressives, and power has sadly been more and more centralized in the executive branch.

The positive in this book: The author seems to believe this and argues for this fact. He appropriately gives Wilson, FDR, LBJ, and Obama failing grades. OK, he's earned four stars.

So how does the author grade George W. Bush, according to those enumerated powers found in the Constitution? If you can believe it.....Mr. Preemptive undeclared war, Patriot Act, and Federally no child left behind, Medicare Part D. TARP bailout, destroy capitalism in order to save capitalism-legislating-compassionate conservative gets a B+. B+? I guess I have to re-read the Constitution."

Gosh, take it easy. It is called a play on names

HIPPO CRITE!!!

Get some prozac please!

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