It strikes me as a sound, honest statement for a prospective voter to say: ‘Look, I haven’t given this election a minute’s thought, and it’s just not fair for me to cancel out the vote of someone who actually gives a damn.’ Indeed, it’s not just sound and honest – it’s the ethically responsible thing to do. Jeff Greenfield Read Quote
After immersing myself in the mysteries of the Electoral College for a novel I wrote in the ’90s, I came away believing that the case for scrapping it is less obvious than I originally thought. Jeff Greenfield Read Quote
One of the enduring myths of campaign analysis is that you can actually count the number of ‘undecided’ voters by asking voters if they are undecided or not. Sometimes, significant numbers of voters actually change their minds. Jeff Greenfield Read Quote
In the many-mansioned house of Alternate History, I occupy a small corner. The trio of what-ifs I chronicled in ‘Then Everything Changed’ all begin with tiny, highly plausible twists of fate that lead to hugely consequential shifts in history. Jeff Greenfield Read Quote
Think about one of the most powerful influences on a young child’s life – the absence of a father figure. Look back on recent presidents, and you’ll find an absent, or weak, or failed father in the lives of Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Jeff Greenfield Read Quote
By every measure, John Kennedy’s sex life was compulsive and reckless. At one level, it had clear public consequences. Knowledge of Kennedy’s behavior gave FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover absolute job security, as well as the potential power to derail Kennedy’s re-election had he survived assassination. Jeff Greenfield Read Quote
I grew up in New York City, where we played highly unorganized sports: stick ball, stoop ball, and the occasional game of baseball with no adult supervision. Jeff Greenfield Read Quote
When Ronald Reagan chose George H.W. Bush in 1980, it was a clear signal that he was running an inclusive campaign; that he welcomed the moderate and even liberal wings of the GOP – there was a liberal wing back then – into his campaign. Jeff Greenfield Read Quote
When George W. Bush picked Dick Cheney, it was a reassuring sign that the Texas governor would have an experienced, prudent voice at his side. Jeff Greenfield Read Quote
