John Podhoretz Quotes
The United States established itself as a trustworthy new nation in its first two decades after the Revolutionary War by paying its debts, even when many in the country believed it had no obligation to do so. Alexander Hamilton, the founder of this newspaper, insisted on it.
Podhoretz, John. New York Post, NYP Holdings, 2011.
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Bates was a successful private attorney who was very frugal with his money and was a potential Republican Presidential nominee. He realized that if he were in high office, he would be expected to entertain and maintain a lifestyle that would cost more than he would earn. Public expectations pressured politicians to spend beyond their means. Lincoln, who was the nominee, was at that point in his life quite well off as a result of his successful law practice, and while he did not succumb to the tendency to overspend that Bates herein describes, Mary Todd Lincoln, his wife, did and ran up many debts.
Debts accumulated by the allies in World War I was still outstanding a decade later. When it was proposed that the United States help reduce this debt, President Coolidge remarked:
See {604501} for another of his statements. It was Alexander Hamilton who called the national debt a national blessing. See {207891}. Jackson was convinced that a moneyed class who held the national debt could dictate to any administration by threatening to not renew their bonds. The same concern was expressed at the beginning of the 21st century regarding the Chinese and the Middle Eastern countries which held do many of our bonds.
John Mordecai Podhoretz is an American writer. He is the editor of Commentary magazine, a columnist for the New York Post, the author of several books on politics, and a former speechwriter for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.
