I read a quote from Ike sometime in the last few years and it went something like "the thing I regret most is nominating that sonofabitch Earl Warren to be Chief Justice." Ike was one of those "gradual change" guys, whatever that meant in practical terms...I've never been able to figure out how gradual that "gradual" is. at around the same time Ike said that, the greatest of all American novelists was interviewed from his Mississippi perch and said that integration was ok, but "go slow," by which he meant something like two hundred years.
the thing about a lot of history is, as Tom says above (and which I say at least four or five times a week) that you can't make this shit up.
and since his name came up, I'm also a huge fan of General Marshall, who just might be the greatest public servant of his era. when you look at the things he did, it's (at the very least) kind of mind-blowing.
Marshall desperately wanted to command the army he had created for the invasion of Europe. When FDR told him "I can't let you go from where you are," he set aside that disappointment and made certain the "best man for the job" was assigned: Eisenhower.
When Eisenhower was finally pushed by events he did take the right position, however reluctantly he got there.
Isn’t it true that his reluctance was not a secret?
Yes. It was obvious, which is why when he finally moved it had an effect.
I read a quote from Ike sometime in the last few years and it went something like "the thing I regret most is nominating that sonofabitch Earl Warren to be Chief Justice." Ike was one of those "gradual change" guys, whatever that meant in practical terms...I've never been able to figure out how gradual that "gradual" is. at around the same time Ike said that, the greatest of all American novelists was interviewed from his Mississippi perch and said that integration was ok, but "go slow," by which he meant something like two hundred years.
the thing about a lot of history is, as Tom says above (and which I say at least four or five times a week) that you can't make this shit up.
and since his name came up, I'm also a huge fan of General Marshall, who just might be the greatest public servant of his era. when you look at the things he did, it's (at the very least) kind of mind-blowing.
Marshall desperately wanted to command the army he had created for the invasion of Europe. When FDR told him "I can't let you go from where you are," he set aside that disappointment and made certain the "best man for the job" was assigned: Eisenhower.
I think you're right.