Arthur Schlesinger, Historian of Power, Dies at 89

nytimes.com ^ | February 28, 2007 | DOUGLAS MARTIN

[Zack Nguyen]

May he rest in peace. One of the keepers of Kennedy's Camelot - which has fallen on hard times in recent years.

[montag813]

Longtime Kennedy lapdog--one of the most un-objective historians ever. I cannot count how many lies he told for that ill-fated clan over the decades.

[Brad from Tennessee]

"Some of the nation's greatest figures owned Mr. Schlesinger's books. No one actually ever attempted to read them. But they proudly displayed his books on the oak and walnut shelves of their dens and libraries and allowed visitors to assume they had read the books."

[goodnesswins]

"In his last book, “War and the American Presidency,” published in 2004, Mr. Schlesinger challenged the foundations of the foreign policy of President George W. Bush, calling the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath “a ghastly mess.” He said the president’s curbs on civil liberties would have the same result as similar actions throughout American history."

[LdSentinal]

FR has become a odd place to visit recently.

Molly Ivins (and I'm sure Schlesinger Jr) get accolades, but Rudy (aka Rooty) gets bashed.

[dayglored]

> FR has become a odd place to visit recently. Molly Ivins (and I'm sure Schlesinger Jr) get accolades, but Rudy (aka Rooty) gets bashed.

Yeah, but the first two had to die before anybody here spoke of them in other than blistering tones. I recall a lot of Molly-bashing right up until she bit the schnitzel. I'm sure when Rudy kicks the bucket he'll get lauded too.

People here have taste (for the most part) and refuse to speak ill of the dead -- we all recognize our humanity in the mortality of others.

[conservative in nyc]

FR has become a odd place to visit recently.

Molly Ivins (and I'm sure Schlesinger Jr) get accolades, but Rudy (aka Rooty) gets bashed.

It's simply not nice to speak ill of the recently departed. This is not DU.

Prayers for the Schlesinger family.

[vetvetdoug]

Wasn't Schlesinger one of the historians that stood up and protested against the impeachment of the honorable and ethical President Clinton?

[dayglored]

Shared thoughts. Bravo.

[lunarbicep]

Wasn't Schlesinger one of the historians that stood up and protested against the impeachment of the honorable and ethical President Clinton?

yes, he was

[California Patriot]

Yes, Schlesinger was an arrogant jerk, virtually the embodiment of the old liberal establishment. It's rather pleasant to think that the new, even more liberal establishment (in the form of Professor Gates, for instance) bit him in the ass for not being far left enough.

[California Patriot]

There is no reason not to speak ill of the departed, even if they've just died. This is when people (a few people) are paying attention to Arthur Schlesinger, so let's have the truth, not pious tears for a man who I doubt ever shed a tear for any (real) conservative.

[hinckley buzzard]

one of the most un-objective historians ever

To put it mildly. Literary whore. Ghostwriter of "Profiles in Courage."

[conservative in nyc]

There is no reason not to speak ill of the departed, even if they've just died. This is when people (a few people) are paying attention to Arthur Schlesinger, so let's have the truth, not pious tears for a man who I doubt ever shed a tear for any (real) conservative.

There's no need for pious tears, but there's no reason to trash a man at the time of his death just because of political disagreements. The truth is in the obituary - he was an unabashed liberal. That doesn't make him Hitler, Stalin or Castro.

[ansel12]

He was part of what I think of as the real "60s" generation, not the children and the teens that some freepers think of as the 60s generation.

I think in terms of the history and the figures of that history, that gave us post WWII America, the teachers unions, affirmative action, unlimited third world immigration, a destructive supreme court, unionized government employees,anti-American multi culturalism, feminism,the homeless creating legislation of 1963 etc.

I won't miss Schlesinger, or the mythology that he helped create.

[California Patriot]

That's certainly true. An unabashed liberal is not a Hitler or Stalin. As if anyone would disagree.

I would definitely endorse your comment that a man should not be trashed "at the time of his death just because of political disagreements." However, my beef with Schlesinger wasn't that he was a liberal, but that he was a very arrogant and dishonest liberal. And we should take EVERY opportunity to expose such people.

This is yet another example, however small, of conservatives giving the game away because they play by excessively strict rules. It's no good bringing a knife to a gun fight.

[jordan8]

That was Ted Sorensen.

[California Patriot]

Good point. Whatever his (few) beefs with contemporary liberalism, it was his generation of liberals who were largely, though not completely, responsible for all ths crap you mention. The hell with Schlesinger. Let's have the truth about him, not expressions of regret for the death (at 89) of a man most of these posters probably know almost nothing about.

[thegreatbeast]

Arthur Schlesinger, Kennedy Mythologist

God rest his soul, he has a lot to answer for.