Tuesday, December 09, 2003
Divine History
While the rest of the blogosphere's been freaking out over the Gore endorsement of Dean, I have been freaking out over...Presidential Biographies!
During a search to find out whether Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN) is old enough to be a VP nominee (he isn't--he doesn't turn 35 till May 11, 2005, making him about 3+ months too young) I ended up at the White House's official "The Presidents of the United States" page. It probably won't surprise you that there are some odd patches in this tapestry of "historical information." For instance, this is the complete passage on FDR's New Deal:
So then, here is the first paragraph of the biographical entry for our current "president":
Go see for yourself, if you can stomach it. Oh, and by the way:
posted by Blicero : 12/09/2003 03:13:00 AM
During a search to find out whether Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN) is old enough to be a VP nominee (he isn't--he doesn't turn 35 till May 11, 2005, making him about 3+ months too young) I ended up at the White House's official "The Presidents of the United States" page. It probably won't surprise you that there are some odd patches in this tapestry of "historical information." For instance, this is the complete passage on FDR's New Deal:
By 1935 the Nation had achieved some measure of recovery, but businessmen and bankers were turning more and more against Roosevelt's New Deal program. They feared his experiments, were appalled because he had taken the Nation off the gold standard and allowed deficits in the budget, and disliked the concessions to labor. Roosevelt responded with a new program of reform: Social Security, heavier taxes on the wealthy, new controls over banks and public utilities, and an enormous work relief program for the unemployed.There you have it, folks: the "fair and balanced" view of the New Deal: "some measure of recovery," but "appalled" businessmen and bankers!
So then, here is the first paragraph of the biographical entry for our current "president":
He was sworn into office January 20, 2001, after a campaign in which he outlined sweeping proposals to reform America's public schools, transform our national defense, provide tax relief, modernize Social Security and Medicare, and encourage faith-based and community organizations to work with government to help Americans in need. President Bush served for six years as the 46th Governor of the State of Texas, where he earned a reputation as a compassionate conservative who shaped public policy based on the principles of limited government, personal responsibility, strong families, and local control.Why mention anything at all about the loss of the popular vote, the historically unprecedented recount fiasco and 5-4 Supreme Court decision...what's important for our children to know about are the "sweeping proposals" that swept him into office, and the "reputation as a compassionate conservative" which he apparently "earned."
Go see for yourself, if you can stomach it. Oh, and by the way:
The President biographies presented here are from the book The Presidents of the United States of America written by Frank Freidel and Hugh S. Sidey (contributing author), published by the White House Historical Association with the cooperation of the National Geographic Society.I wonder if the NGS is aware of the interesting, creative ways its "cooperation" has been used. Anyway, go enjoy "The President biographies"!
posted by Blicero : 12/09/2003 03:13:00 AM
