Vidal complained that we Americans are ‘too stupid by half’

Well, one of our greatest Americans… Ronald Reagan, when faced with the real possibility that age and illness would dull his wit and loosen his tongue… HE QUIT TALKING!

A lesson for you Mr Vidal…

“no intellectual class” as the article quotes him to have said. And Obama is “overeducated”? Then why’s the guy such a short-bus POTUS?

It is actually attributed to Abraham Hussein Jefferson. The full quote reads like this:

“Dissent is the highest form of patriotism, but I won, and I am the President of the United States. I have full overall power and never forget it, because I will exercise it.”

of military folks are conservative-leaning people who respect the Constitution. If the One tries the Zelaya move, he would most likely end up trying to give speeches from the protection of an foreign embassy or a jail cell.

I just called an actual Lincoln scholar to get one (voicemail, for the curious). Gore Vidal wrote a historical novel on the President; so I’d expect that he’s got a handle on the subject – so I’m a little surprised that this quote isn’t jumping out at me.

[just kidding]

Lincoln probably didn’t say this directly. But he did famously extend executive power to a degree unmatched before or since (suspending habeas corpus, etc.). And he said stuff with the same tenor more than once.
From a letter to Joseph Hooker:
“I have heard, in such way as to believe it, of your recently saying that both the Army and the Government needed a Dictator…. Only those generals who gain successes, can set up dictators. What I now ask of you is military success, and I will risk the dictatorship.”
He was a diplomatic guy, so he probably didn’t say any blustering cowboy crap like the Vidal quote, which I’d guess Vidal didn’t intend as a direct quote, since it isn’t one and he’s not an idiot. But Vidal’s point is correct: Lincoln was a strong executive and didn’t hesitate to let his generals know that the ultimate military authority rested with him.

of your inference. Lincoln is telling his Hooker that he has it backward. Lincoln was saying that dictators always require strong military support, but strong military support does not always result in dictatorship. He was telling Hooker to focus on the tactical job at hand, and not the theoretical power requirements of the Executive.

The phrase, “…and I will risk the dictatorship.” seems to be humorous chiding of Hooker for thinking that Lincoln would ever consider assuming dictatorial authority. That is more in lline with my idea of Linclon’s personality and wit, but I could be wrong.

And “full overall authority” is not the same thing as “ultimate military authority”. Nothing wrong with a president letting his generals know that he is Commander-in-Chief. Plenty wrong with a president who assumes he has “full overall authority”.

BTW, doesn’t the the phrase “full overall authority” have a sort of modern ring to it? Kind of like “maximum leader” or something, and it doesn’t sound very Lincolnish.

accuses conservatives of being “anti-intellectuals”.

>You too, John Perry.
*********
Anyone know what the editorial policy of NewsMax.com is? I’ve poked around their web site for a bit and couldn’t find it.

If John Perry simply uploaded it without prior review then there’s no problem with NewsMax pulling it.

However, if it was reviewed by the site admins then Perry’s most recent column should still be there. If NewsMax decided after the fact they disagreed with it they could simply add a few lines explaining their view of the column. Otherwise it appears kind of cowardly.

And it’s not like the column has disappeared. The Google cache of the page is still up.