Talking Margaret Thatcher with Matt Lewis
Claire Berlinski, Ed. ·
November 18, 2011 at 11:43pm
Matt Lewis interviews me here on the Daily Caller. We talk about Thatcher's feminine personae--"Diva, Matron, Housewife, Shrew." We also talk a bit about the upcoming Meryl Streep biopic.
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Comments:
May '11
Re: Talking Margaret Thatcher with Matt Lewis
Great interview, Claire! I am awaiting your review of the film before I decide whether to see it.
Mar '11
Re: Talking Margaret Thatcher with Matt Lewis
That was a good interview, and I'll definitely be looking for the book.
I think to some degree every leader is aware of, if not actively cultivating, a persona. This isn't dishonest, or even necessarily all that calculating, though the really effective leaders can and do trade on it when the need arises. When Caesar crossed the Rubicon, he became an enemy of the state. So did everyone who followed him, and even the rawest legionnaire knew it too. Washington obliterated the Newburgh Conspiracy with a pair of glasses and a quip. Napoleon may or may not have said "Here I am. Kill your Emperor, if you wish," but he did march into Paris at the head of the men sent to stop him.
This takes nothing away from Thatcher's skill. She was playing in the Major Leagues, and she played as well as any of them, and far better than most.
Sep '10
Re: Talking Margaret Thatcher with Matt Lewis
I am reading the book now.
Mar '11
Re: Talking Margaret Thatcher with Matt Lewis
Claire, your book about Lady Thatcher is a great read. It's fascinating that so many powerful men allowed that she had 'sex appeal', but that they themselves were not affected by it!
Re: Talking Margaret Thatcher with Matt Lewis
I think for some men that's just too much--not only did she have more power over them in the traditional sense than any other person in the nation, she had that power, too? It's healthy (in my view) to not want another human being to have that much power. It's kind of an internal, psychological system of checks and balances: okay, you can be primus inter pares, but you can't also be sexy--then you'd be a dictator.