Robert Dallek Quotes & Sayings (Page 4)

“Flattery was one of Kissinger's principal tools in winning over Nixon, and a tool he employed shamelessly.”

“For style and for creating a mood of optimism and hope - Kennedy on that count is as effective as any president the country has had in its history.”

“I see a direct line between Kennedy and Richard Nixon and the opening to China and the detente with the Soviet Union.”

“If nobody trusts you as president, then you can't get anything done.”

“Kennedy is remembered as a success mainly because of what came after: Johnson and Vietnam. Nixon and Watergate.”

“The Bay of Pigs is one of America's most infamous Cold War blunders, and it has been studied, debated, and dramatized endlessly ever since.”

“The institution of the presidency was profoundly affected by Watergate.”

“There's a certain clubbiness to the idea that you're an ex-president. You're no longer a politician. You're a statesman.”

“Theodore Roosevelt had drawn public attention to his attractive family in order to create a bond with ordinary Americans. Eleanor Roosevelt had successfully broached the idea that a First Lady could be nearly as much a public figure as her husband.”

“When President Obama first unveiled his gun control proposals recommending a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and better background checks, there seemed to be momentum behind the effort. But then the proposals ran into a wall.”