Dr. John, you know I'm a lefty with many Republican friends and this didn't used to be an unusual condition in America. Heck, you and I met through Steve Forbes who has always treated me warmly and respectfully and even chosen me as a debating partner. I hear now about what an extremist Reagan supposedly was and I remember from childhood that ideological debates in the 70s and 80s were quite intense, but Tip O'Neil and Reagan did work together. Presidents on both sides used to believe in restraint not "what you can get away with." I think what changed isn't so much that extremists were elected to Congress but that Congress critters realized they could offload responsibility for unpopular decisions by abdicating power to the White House, giving up on oversight in favor of cover and giving presidents W. Bush, Obama. Trump, Biden and now Trump again, freedom to reign through decree and executive order. The system the founders hoped would be ruled by honest ideas in competition became a club sport.
So good to hear from you Mike and I enjoy your writing very much. I enjoyed our time together on Forbes on Fox. Some of the time it felt like we were overplaying our roles a bit for the audience/show. Of the people on the show I have fond memories of David Andelman, of Quentin Hardy and yourself for speaking from the heart.
I have similar feelings about politics. I recently had dinner with Dick Gephardt who felt that the ability of political leaders to work together took a turn in the early 90s when candidates were selected on TV rather than within the parties.
John, I am delighted you enjoyed the book and very much look forward to our conversation on Tuesday!
Same here Scott
So, what happened between then and now? Loaded question, I know.
Dr. John, you know I'm a lefty with many Republican friends and this didn't used to be an unusual condition in America. Heck, you and I met through Steve Forbes who has always treated me warmly and respectfully and even chosen me as a debating partner. I hear now about what an extremist Reagan supposedly was and I remember from childhood that ideological debates in the 70s and 80s were quite intense, but Tip O'Neil and Reagan did work together. Presidents on both sides used to believe in restraint not "what you can get away with." I think what changed isn't so much that extremists were elected to Congress but that Congress critters realized they could offload responsibility for unpopular decisions by abdicating power to the White House, giving up on oversight in favor of cover and giving presidents W. Bush, Obama. Trump, Biden and now Trump again, freedom to reign through decree and executive order. The system the founders hoped would be ruled by honest ideas in competition became a club sport.
So good to hear from you Mike and I enjoy your writing very much. I enjoyed our time together on Forbes on Fox. Some of the time it felt like we were overplaying our roles a bit for the audience/show. Of the people on the show I have fond memories of David Andelman, of Quentin Hardy and yourself for speaking from the heart.
I have similar feelings about politics. I recently had dinner with Dick Gephardt who felt that the ability of political leaders to work together took a turn in the early 90s when candidates were selected on TV rather than within the parties.
Stay well my friend.