Reagan gave essentially the same speech from the beginning to the end of his political career, which was always, ‘The American people are great, the government always screws things up, let’s get the government out of the way.’ On the foreign policy side it was, ‘Communism is bad, and we’re going to defeat it.’ H. W. Brands Read Quote
In revering the Founders, we undervalue ourselves and sabotage our own efforts to make improvements – necessary improvements – in the republican experiment they began. H. W. Brands Read Quote
Booker Washington was essentially the head Republican boss in the South. He was a power broker. H. W. Brands Read Quote
Our love for the Founders leads us to abandon, and even to betray, the very principles they fought for. H. W. Brands Read Quote
Reagan refused to demonize his foes. Instead he charmed them, with a few exceptions, including Tip O’Neill, the Democratic Speaker of the House and the embodiment of the liberalism Reagan sought to reverse. H. W. Brands Read Quote
A president can start a war under relatively specious circumstances, and once American soldiers are under fire, Americans will support the soldiers and support the president. H. W. Brands Read Quote
I never admit to wishing I’d written something by another author, but if my name mysteriously appeared on the title page of ‘The Guns of August,’ I wouldn’t complain. H. W. Brands Read Quote
In the academic world, biographies of these great figures of the past fell out of favor in the 1960s, when there was a turn toward social history, which meant the history of the voiceless and faceless. But the public at large never embraced the idea that these dead white guys should be abandoned. H. W. Brands Read Quote
When people think of the oil industry, they think of Rockefeller, much like when people think of the software industry, they think of Bill Gates. H. W. Brands Read Quote
Theodore Roosevelt, when he was out of office, he would do things to draw attention. But when you are president, you don’t need to shout. When you are in office, you are the story. H. W. Brands Read Quote
