What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?
Bill McGurn ·
Feb 7, 2011 at 3:23pm
From Powerline blog today. Check out the photo of a much younger Mr. Robinson, discussing what would be the "Tear Down This Wall" speech with the Gipper. Naturally Peter is to Reagan's right.
Lots of facial hair on your fellow speechwriters, Peter. Love to hear from Mrs. Robinson on this photo. Wasn't she at the White House then too?
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Jul '10
Re: What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?
That's a whole lotta speech-writers. History might have been very different if another of those had been assigned to the Brandenburg speech, instead of Peter.
Dec '10
Re: What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?
The story about the Berlin residents and their reaction to the "senior American diplomat's" assertion that they must have gotten used to the Wall after two decades was amazing. It's what I call the "Waldorf Salad Effect," from the episode of Fawlty Towers in which the hotel's residents find their voice and tell Basil the truth about what a rotten establishment he runs.
Re: What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?
Shameless plug: Want to hear more inside stories about presidential speechwriting? Don't miss the special podcast we recorded a few weeks ago with Peter Robinson, Bill McGurn, and Troy Senik.
Edited on Feb 7, 2011 at 5:01pmRe: What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?
On the sofa to my right, Tony Dolan, who drafted the "evil empire" address, and, to my left, Dana Rohrabacher, now in his twelfth term as a member of Congress. On the opposite sofa: nearest the president, Josh Gilder, and, to his left, Clark Judge. (Dana, Josh, Clark and I were all at the Reagan Library over the weekend. What a joy--a real joy--it was to see them again.) With his back to the viewer, farthest from the president--that is, at Clark's left--sits Tom Griscom, White House Director of Communications and our boss. I drafted the darned speech, but Tony and Tommy made it possible, Tony fighting off the National Security Council, Tommy defending the draft against the State Department and his own boss, chief of staff Howard Baker. In the end, of course, the President made the final decision. But Tony and Tommy performed heroic work--and, in this case, I think it's right to call bureaucratic maneuvers heroic--to keep the draft alive for the President to do so.
Re: What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?
P.S. This photo was taken in spring 1987--after the president, if his son Ron's latest suggestions are to be believed, had begun to show signs of mental incapacity. Just look for yourself. I mean, really, just use your own eyes. Who's unmistakably and indisputably in charge here?
I've always liked and admired Ron--he has a real sweetness and decency, whatever his political views--and his new book is deeply felt and beautifully written. But the charge that his dad had begun to suffer from Alzheimer's while still in office? Nope. I saw a lot of him, and I reported to people who were in and out of the Oval Office constantly. That charge strikes me as simply mistaken.
May '10
Re: What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?
Perhaps it was Ron Jr that changed in 1987. I often give my own children that "Do I know you?" look of confusion.
Re: What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?
I never met Reagan, but I met Peter Robinson, and he's one of my heroes! Miss him when he's not on the podcasts.
Nov '10
Re: What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?
I've been missing his infectious laugh in the background!
Dec '10
Re: What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?
I just watched the speech again. Salted my chicken pot pie with tears. Thanks Peter.
Oct '10
Re: What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?
They're all white men. where's the diversity?
Jan '11
Re: What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?
An interesting comment. However, I would state that I have more in common with a co-worker of mine from Singapore who is more melanin-rich than I, than with an imaginary Balkan fellow with whom I'm chromatically similar. It gets back to VDH's comments about cultural traditions - my Singaporean colleague comes from the British tradition, whereas the Balkan fellow does not.
I think one thing us 40+ers don't realize is that we are cognisant of the battles of those ten years before us. What do I mean by that? I met a woman physician, young, who described to me her hippie mother-in-law, who was working on an art exhibit about "The Glass Ceiling". This young physician had no idea what a glass ceiling was!! Similarly with race - things change, the current generation has a different attitude, and as Morgan Freeman says, the best thing to do about race is to ignore it. Terrible things happened in the past, blah blah blah, but let's move on. Cheers.
May '10
Re: What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?
John, I assume you're joking, but what would a picture of Pres. B. Aquino meeting with his speech writers look like?
Dec '10
Re: What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?
Who get's credit for the "Evil Empire" speech? The libs wet themselves over it also.
Re: What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?
MRS. ROBINSON SPEAKS
Because your wish is my command, Bill, I just called the missus over to look at the picture. "I married a handsome guy," she said--she really did. But then she left the room muttering about the male ego.
Sep '10
Re: What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?
Peter,
She used the past tense. Mrs Pseudo does the same with me. I'll save you a tin of tuna.
Re: What's That You Say, Mrs. Robinson?
As a proud constituent of the aforementioned Congressman Rohrabacher, all I have to say is ... bring back the beard! A lot of my support for Joe Miller in 2010 was predicated on restoring just a modicum of the hirsute Congresses of the turn of the last century. Dana should do his bit.
Also, one thing we didn't touch on in the podcast -- it's impossible to feel completely comfortable on that couch in that room for one of those meetings.