Administration policies seem to tacitly encourage those who live below sea level in New Orleans to relocate permanently, to leave the dangerous water’s edge for more prosperous inland cities such as Shreveport or Baton Rouge. – Douglas Brinkley
History chalks up Mr. McKinley’s War as a U.S. win, and he also polls favorably as a ‘near great’ president. – Douglas Brinkley
Walter Cronkite had a golden rule for all wartime reporters: never self-aggrandize. – Douglas Brinkley
It’s very important that we keep these special, wild places. It defines the United States. Imagine our country without our national parks and our monuments. Here in California, imagine if you didn’t have in Southern Cal the Channel Islands or the great Highway 1, Big Sur up to Point Reyes up to the Redwood country. – Douglas Brinkley
Knievel seemed braver and more brazen – and more unhinged – than any other athlete-cum-thrill-seeker of his era. – Douglas Brinkley
As a composer, Dylan now fits comfortably alongside George Gershwin or Irving Berlin, though he grumpily refuses to wear any man’s collar. – Douglas Brinkley
One thing ‘not right’ on the 50th anniversary of the Selma marches is the sad fact that the Edmund Pettus Bridge hasn’t been renamed the John Lewis Bridge. – Douglas Brinkley
John Kerry had a very vivid imagination as a young person. I mean, he actually did go and take his bicycle from Norway to go camp in Sherwood Forest to be around the ghost of Robin Hood. – Douglas Brinkley
In 1971, near the middle of Nixon’s first term, he approved a plan to install a White House taping system as a way of preserving an accurate chronicle of important discussions and decisions. Except for Nixon, three aides, and the Secret Service, no one knew about the listening devices. – Douglas Brinkley
It’s Nixon who created the Environmental Protection Agency. Clean Air and Water Acts. Endangered Species Act. Promoted affirmative action. One could go on and on with Nixon as a New Deal liberal on domestic policy and a hawk, but one with great geo-political skills. – Douglas Brinkley
The world of high-stakes international diplomacy can be rough and tumble, but it’s more often than not a procession of suits and summits, protocol sessions and photo ops. – Douglas Brinkley
February was always the cruelest month for Hunter S. Thompson. An avid NFL fan, Hunter traditionally embraced the Super Bowl in January as the high-water mark of his year. – Douglas Brinkley
When terrorists blew up the Marine barracks in Lebanon, Reagan was frustrated and furious, as Bush was after 9/11. But he didn’t stick us in a war in the Middle East with no exit. – Douglas Brinkley
One of the things I learned in editing ‘The Reagan Diaries’ is to never say what Reagan would do, because he surprised people. – Douglas Brinkley
Theodore Roosevelt had been enthralled with the idea of Texas since 1883, when he arrived in the Dakota Territory to ranch cattle. – Douglas Brinkley
Demeanor-wise, Reagan was a conservative, but a pragmatic conservative, and he found silver linings in things. He liked to be a mediator. He didn’t like to have enemies around him. – Douglas Brinkley
Politicians wanted to mine the Grand Canyon for zinc and copper, and Theodore Roosevelt said, ‘No.’ – Douglas Brinkley