Gil Troy “The First 100 Days: George Washington Set the Standard for All Future Presidents”

Gil Troy “The First 100 Days: George Washington Set the Standard for All Future Presidents”
U.S. News & World Report, 2-19-09
Adds historian Gil Troy in Leading From the Center: “Washington was a muscular moderate, far shrewder than many acknowledged. Emotionally disciplined, philosophically faithful to an enlightened, democratic ‘empire’ of reason, [...]

Read Full Post »

Gil Troy “Canada’s best Presidents Relations with the U.S. still depend on how our leaders get along”

Gil Troy “Canada’s best Presidents Relations with the U.S. still depend on how our leaders get along”:
Macleans, 2-19-09
The interaction between Pierre Trudeau and Ronald Reagan makes an intriguing case study. At first glance, they seemed bound to clash. “There’s a great picture,” says Gil Troy, a history professor at [...]

Read Full Post »

Gil Troy: It’s Time to Mobilize Obama’s Army for a Values Revolution

By Gil Troy, HNN, 2-19-09
The story of Barack Obama’s brilliant grassroots organizing as a candidate is now campaigning legend. But since Election Day, the “what do we do now” question has vexed Obama’s Army. Two million activists and an email list of thirteen million “slacktivists” constitute a potent political force. If Obama only uses these [...]

Read Full Post »

Gil Troy: Is Obamania Stopping Us From Questioning Obama’s Competence?

By Gil Troy, HNN, 2-13-09
Wow, the descent from “Yes We Can” to “I screwed up” has been rapid – and unnerving. It hurts me to write this post. Like the millions who were in Washington on Inauguration Day, and the billions who watched around the world, I want Barack Obama to succeed, America needs Obama [...]

Read Full Post »

Yes, Obama Should Press for Consensus

By Gil Troy, HNN, 2-3-09
In a recent HNN posting, Professor John Grigg urged President Obama to stop seeking consensus, characterizing bipartisanship as “often a cynical effort to silence dissenting views.” Professor Grigg’s article is worth dissecting because he captures the current – dare I say it – consensus among academics to dismiss bipartisanship and consensus-building [...]

Read Full Post »

Book review – “The Reagan I Knew” by William F. Buckley Jr.

By Gil Troy, The News & Observer, 2-3-09
“The Reagan I Knew” by William F. Buckley Jr., (Basic Books, 240 page)
William F. Buckley and Ronald Reagan were the conservative revolution’s odd couple. Buckley was the movement’s elitist prophet, scolding Americans polysyllabically. Reagan was its populist preacher, inspiring millions to join him in repudiating “big government.”
In this [...]

Read Full Post »