And please remember the courage it took to break into Daniel Ellsberg’s office!
By Must-read Howler today, as Somerby recounts a grim episode of C-SPAN’s Booknotes, in which Faux bingo-caller Chris Wallace recounts his very favorite episode in Presidential courage. Which is, of course, Cleveland’s unconstitutional use of troops to help company goons suppress the Pullman strike. Really warms the cockles of your heart, doesn’t it?
But what I’d really like to have Wallace asked about is the fact that his “feel good” doorstop about Presidential courage apparently contains a chapter about…Andrew Johnson. Andrew fucking Johnson. What the hell could this be about? I mean, yes, he shouldn’t have been impeached, but still. What heart-warming courage he displayed in stopping federal enforcement of Reconstruction so that the states of the Confederacy would remain apartheid police states for another several decades! Wow, that sure gives me the warm fuzzies about American democracy!
UPDATE: Atrios provides a valuable history lesson.