James Thurber Quotes
From now on, I think it is safe to predict, neither the Democratic nor the Republican Party will ever nominate for President a candidate without good looks, stage presence, theatrical delivery, and a sense of timing.
James Thurber, 1894-1961, Humorist and Cartoonist, Said after the Kennedy-Nixon TV debates of 1960
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
the CBS makeup woman assigned to the debate Nixon’s reply was: “And I’d be dead now,” reflecting the belief that Lee Harvey Oswald just wanted to kill a President. See Russell Baker {593945} and Richard Joseph Daley {599089} on Nixon’s appearance.
Adlai Stevenson had just finished a particularly good speech at the University of Texas.
This is a wonderful historical picture of FDR on his campaign train. Note that the President liked to listen to ideas of many people. Unlike most Presidents he did not have any particular political programs that he advocated in his campaigning. He had no immediate answers to the Great Depression that he had inherited from the Hoover administration. But unlike Hoover, and most Presidents, he was willing to try ideas for which there was no advance evidence of success. If that did not help, he would try something else. He sought ideas from anyone and everyone. His enemies called him a weak leader who had no ideology—no principles but just trying unproven solutions to solve the nation’s critical problems. But it worked and he was elected 4 times—the only President who had served even 3 terms.
He was a speechwriter for Adlai Stevenson who wrote many of his own speeches but so many are required a modern president and candidate must have speechwriters.
He had spent a great deal of time traveling and observing President Barack Obama. While he and many others appreciated the contemplation that Obama gave to serious issues, there were many people who saw it as a lack of courage to act swiftly or an elite intellectual proactice.
In reality, Donald Trump won despite the opoposition of the leaderships of both political parties. In the Republican Primary elections he defeated the condidates preferred by the Republican leaders and elected officials accross the country. However, once he won the promaries, most--many reluctantly--supported him rather than the Democrat. Then Tump, to almsot everyone's surprise, bested Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Candidate and became President.
Welsh met with the President on several occasions at the White House since he served on one of the major Presidential Advisory Committees.
James Grover Thurber was an American cartoonist, author, humorist, journalist, playwright, and celebrated wit. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in The New Yorker and collected in his numerous books.
