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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN IDEA." IRVING KRISTOL, AUTHOR OF "NEOCONSERVATISM: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN... |
| 00:00:22 |
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IRVING KRISTOL, AUTHOR OF "NEOCONSERVATISM: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN IDEA", WHEN WAS THE FIRST TIME... |
| 00:00:30 |
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IT MUST HAVE BEEN SOMETIME IN THE MID 1970'S. IT WAS NOT MY TERM, I DID NOT INVENT IT. I BELIEVE... |
| 00:00:53 |
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WHAT DOES IT MEAN? |
| 00:00:56 |
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WHAT IT MEANS IS THAT IT REFERS TO OUR CON STELATION OF OPINIONS AND VIEWS THAT IS NOT TRADITIONALLY... |
| 00:01:27 |
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I DID SOME CALCULATIONS ON THE 41 DIFFERENT ESSAYS YOU HAVE IN THE BOOK AS TOO WHAT YEAR THEY WERE... |
| 00:01:35 |
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NO. |
| 00:01:38 |
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41 PIECES AND THEY WERE WRITTEN FROM THE 1940'S TO THE 1990'S. THE MOST WERE WRITTEN IN THE 70'S,... |
| 00:01:53 |
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I THINK IT'S BECAUSE THINGS, PARTICULARLY INTELLECTUAL INTELLECTUAL-POLITICAL THINGS, INTELLECTUAL... |
| 00:02:27 |
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A COUPLE OF OTHER NUMBERS HERE. ONLY TWO COME FROM THE 1980'S, AND THEN 12 COME FROM THE 1990'S. WHY... |
| 00:02:36 |
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I'M SURE THAT'S JUST AN ACCIDENT. I MEAN, THERE WERE MANY ESSAYS I'VE WRITTEN THAT WERE NOT IN THIS... |
| 00:03:19 |
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AT ONE POINT YOU ADMIT |
| 00:03:21 |
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YEAH. |
| 00:03:22 |
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WHAT'S THAT ABOUT? |
| 00:03:25 |
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OH, BACK IN THE 1950'S, I WAS IN LONDON CO-EDITING A MAGAZINE WITH STEPHEN SPENDER, AND I LEFT THE... |
| 00:03:58 |
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HOW DID YOU FIND OUT? |
| 00:03:59 |
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IT WAS MADE PUBLIC IN THE PRESS. I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY FOUND OUT. SOMEBODY LEAKED OBVIOUSLY. BUT I... |
| 00:04:08 |
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WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION AT THE TIME? |
| 00:04:09 |
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I WAS AND "ED. I DIDN'T WANT TO WORK FOR THE C.I.A.. IF I HAD KNOWN IT WAS C.I.A. MONEY INVOLVED,... |
| 00:04:21 |
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WHY WOULD THEY WANT TO FUND THE "ENCOUNTER" MAGAZINE? |
| 00:04:25 |
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NOW, THAT'S WHY... THERE WERE RUMORS THAT THERE WAS SOME GOVERNMENT MONEY BEHIND IT, BUT THE QUESTION... |
| 00:05:19 |
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THE FIRST 39 PAGES OF THIS BOOK ARE, YOU SAY, ARE FRESH, BRAND-NEW, NO ONE'S EVER READ THEM BEFORE.... |
| 00:05:29 |
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IT'S AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR ABOUT MY OWN PERSONAL INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT, AND I DIDN'T WANT... |
| 00:06:03 |
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YOU START OFF IN THE VERY BEGINNING, AND YOU SAY THAT... LET ME GET PAST THE PREFACE HERE TO THAT.... |
| 00:06:21 |
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THAT PRETTY MUCH TRACES THE TRAJECTORY OF MY POLITICAL BELIEFS. I'VE NEVER BEEN COMFORTABLE WITH ... |
| 00:07:11 |
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WHAT'S A NEOMARXIST? |
| 00:07:14 |
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IT WAS A MARXIST WHO NEVER ACCEPTED THE FULL DOCTRINE OF MARXISM AND WHO HAD SOME SEVERE DOUBTS ABOUT... |
| 00:07:26 |
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WHAT IS A NEO... IS IT "TROTSKYITE" OR "TROTSKYIST"? |
| 00:07:29 |
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WELL, IT'S THE SAME THING AS A NEOMARXIST EXCEPT THAT I DID NOT WANT EVER TO BE A STALINIST. I WAS... |
| 00:07:50 |
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WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? |
| 00:07:52 |
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IN BROOKLYN. |
| 00:07:53 |
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WHAT KIND OF FAMILY DID YOU HAVE? |
| 00:07:55 |
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A VERY STABLE, TRADITIONAL FAMILY. |
| 00:07:59 |
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BROTHERS AND SISTERS? |
| 00:08:00 |
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I HAVE... I HAD ONE OLDER SISTER, SHE'S GONE NOW; AND MY MOTHER DIED WHEN I WAS 16, AND WE FORMED... |
| 00:08:11 |
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WHAT DID YOUR DAD DO? |
| 00:08:14 |
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HE WAS IN THE GARMENT TRADE, BOYS CLOTHING, AND SOMETIMES BUSINESS WAS OKAY AND SOMETIMES, INSTEAD... |
| 00:08:23 |
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WHERE DID YOU GO TO COLLEGE? |
| 00:08:24 |
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CITY COLLEGE. |
| 00:08:26 |
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WHAT WAS CITY COLLEGE LIKE IN THOSE DAYS? |
| 00:08:28 |
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WELL, IT WAS A WONDERFUL PLACE. IT HAD A LOT OF VERY BRIGHT STUDENTS VERY MUCH INTERESTED IN POLITICS... |
| 00:09:02 |
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YOU TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT |
| 00:09:04 |
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YES. |
| 00:09:06 |
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WHICH ONE WERE YOU IN? |
| 00:09:08 |
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ALCOVE 1, WHICH WAS THE ANTI-COMMUNIST OR ANTI-STALINIST ALCOVE, WHERE SOCIALISTS OF VARIOUS KINDS... |
| 00:09:25 |
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WAS THAT IN THE CAFETERIA? |
| 00:09:29 |
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YES, ALL THE ALCOVES WERE IN AN ARC AROUND THE CAFETERIA. |
| 00:09:34 |
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ANYBODY IN THAT ALCOVE THAT WE WOULD KNOW, ANY NAMES THAT WE'D RECOGNIZE? |
| 00:09:39 |
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OH, YES, SOME OF THEM ANYHOW: DANIEL BELL; MELVIN LASKY; PHILIP SELZNICK, NOW PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF... |
| 00:10:11 |
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WHO WAS IN ALCOVE 2? |
| 00:10:14 |
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THE COMMUNISTS; THAT IS TO SAY, THE STALINISTS, THE PEOPLE WHO WERE APOLOGETIC FOR THE SOVIET UNION,... |
| 00:10:29 |
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WHO WERE SOME OF THE PEOPLE THAT WERE IN ALCOVE 2? |
| 00:10:33 |
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HONESTLY DON'T RECALL. THEY MEANT NOTHING TO ME. |
| 00:10:36 |
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DID ALCOVE 1 OR ALCOVE 2 EVER MEET? |
| 00:10:41 |
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ALCOVE 2 WAS FORBIDDEN TO EVEN ARGUE WITH US. I MEAN, THAT WAS THE WAY THE COMMUNIST ORGANIZATION... |
| 00:11:05 |
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WHO IS SIDNEY HOOK? |
| 00:11:08 |
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SIDNEY HOOK WAS A PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, AND A VERY DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR... |
| 00:11:40 |
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LIONEL TRILLING. |
| 00:11:42 |
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WELL, LIONEL TRILLING WAS A PROFESSOR OF LITERATURE AT COLUMBIA AND A MAN WHOSE WRITINGS I MUCH ADMIRED... |
| 00:12:12 |
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WHAT WAS "COMMENTARY"? |
| 00:12:13 |
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"COMMENTARY" WAS FOUNDED IN 1945. IT WAS PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMUNITY... AMERICAN JEWISH... |
| 00:12:41 |
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I WANT TO MAKE A CONNECTION FOR THE AUDIENCE THAT MAY NOT FOLLOW THESE THINGS IN DETAIL FROM A "BOOKNOTES"... |
| 00:12:52 |
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HOW DID YOU AND IRVING KRISTOL ORIGINALLY HOOK UP? |
| 00:12:55 |
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(CHUCKLES) THAT'S A RATHER PECULIAR STORY. IT GOES BACK TO OUR YOUTH. I WAS VERY YOUNG. I THINK I... |
| 00:13:20 |
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WHERE? |
| 00:13:24 |
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IN, IN NEW YORK, IN BROOKLYN. THE WEDDING WAS ACTUALLY IN BROOKLYN. |
| 00:13:26 |
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NOW, WHAT WERE THOSE MEETINGS ALL ABOUT? |
| 00:13:29 |
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WELL, THEY WERE RATHER... THEY WERE RATHER LUDICROUS FROM ANY POINT OF VIEW, AND EVEN AT THE TIME... |
| 00:14:15 |
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YOUR WIFE. |
| 00:14:16 |
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YES. WELL, ONE OF THE REASONS I HAVE ALWAYS LOOKED BACK WITH SOME GOOD FEELINGS TOWARD MY RATHER ... |
| 00:15:02 |
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WHO IS LEO STRAUSS? |
| 00:15:04 |
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NOW, LEO STRAUSS WAS A PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AT UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO. I GOT TO KNOW HIM... |
| 00:16:17 |
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BACK IN THOSE DAYS, DID YOU SEEK OUT THIS KIND OF TRAINING OR DID YOU HAPPEN ON IT? |
| 00:16:23 |
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BOTH. YOU KNOW, I WAS A YOUNG INTELLECTUAL. I MEAN, IT WAS IN THE PRE-TV ERA. I WAS A BOOKWORM,... |
| 00:17:26 |
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OF THOSE EARLY WRITERS, WHO WOULD BE YOUR FAVORITE? WHO WOULD, WHO'S... WHAT'S THE ONE BOOK YOU WOULD... |
| 00:17:34 |
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I THINK IT WOULD BE ARISTOTLE'S "POLITICS" OR HIS "ETHICS." HARD CHOICE. IT WOULD BE ARISTOTLE, NOT... |
| 00:17:44 |
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DID HE PREACH IN HIS WRITING? |
| 00:17:45 |
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NO, NO. WELL, HE DIDN'T EVEN WRITE, SO FAR AS I KNOW. HE'D TALK, AND PEOPLE WROTE IT DOWN. HE MAY... |
| 00:18:03 |
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WHAT WAS HIS THEME? |
| 00:18:06 |
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WELL, HIS THEME WAS, "WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LIFE?" NOTHING LESS, AND THE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS TO LEAD... |
| 00:18:44 |
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YOU SAY IN THE INTRODUCTION THAT "READING THEOLOGY IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE RELAXATIONS." |
| 00:18:53 |
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YES, WELL, IT IS A WAY OF BEING INTRODUCED TO AND GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH VERY DEEP AND LARGE IDEAS,... |
| 00:19:31 |
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JUMPING FROM YOUR ALCOVE 1 AND THAT GROUP WAY BEYOND TO JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, YOU WRITE ABOUT AT AMERICAN... |
| 00:19:51 |
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WELL, I HAD TAKEN A LEAVE OF ABSENCE FROM MY TEACHING AT N.Y.U., A SABBATICAL, TO LEARN ECONOMICS.... |
| 00:21:39 |
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DID YOU EVER TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS WE'VE JUST TALKED ABOUT IN THIS, LIKE ARISTOTLE AND PLATO... |
| 00:21:54 |
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I THINK SOME OF THEM WERE MOVED TO, YES. YEAH, SOME OF THEM PROBABLY HAD ALREADY, I DON'T KNOW, BUT... |
| 00:22:27 |
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DO YOU HAVE TO BE-- I DON'T KNOW HOW TO ASK THIS-- DO YOU HAVE YOU TO BE SMART TO BE AN INTELLECTUAL?... |
| 00:22:31 |
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IT HELPS. |
| 00:22:33 |
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AND WHEN I SAY "SMART," DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS? IS THERE A CUTOFF POINT AT THAT I.Q. LEVEL? |
| 00:22:38 |
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NO, NO. IT MEANS YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO COPE WITH ABSTRACT IDEAS COMFORTABLY, OR UNCOMFORTABLY SOMETIMES,... |
| 00:23:06 |
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YOU MENTIONED READING ABOUT THEOLOGY. WHERE DO YOU COME OUT IN YOUR... I THINK YOU WROTE IN HERE YOU'RE... |
| 00:23:11 |
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YEAH. |
| 00:23:14 |
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IN YOUR 75th YEAR ABOUT GOD? |
| 00:23:15 |
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OH, I'VE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH GOD, NEVER. EVEN WHEN I WAS A YOUNG TROTSKYIST, I NEVER HAD A PROBLEM... |
| 00:24:00 |
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THE LAST SEVERAL ESSAYS IN YOUR BOOK OF THE 41 IS ABOUT |
| 00:24:04 |
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MM-HMM. |
| 00:24:05 |
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WHERE ARE YOU? ARE YOU A PRACTICING JEW? |
| 00:24:09 |
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SORT OF; THAT IS, I'M A MEMBER OF A JEWISH CONGREGATION, AND I GO TO SYNAGOGUE ON THE HIGH HOLIDAYS,... |
| 00:24:38 |
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WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? |
| 00:24:40 |
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WELL, I... YOU KNOW... |
| 00:24:41 |
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WHAT IS BEING JEWISH? I MEAN, WHAT'S THE CULTURE? |
| 00:24:44 |
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WELL, IT'S NOT A QUESTION OF CULTURE; IT'S A QUESTION OF IDENTITY. I ALWAYS KNEW I WAS JEWISH. I... |
| 00:25:17 |
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ANOTHER THING THAT I'D COUNTED UP IN THE BOOK WAS MENTIONS IN THE BOOK ABOUT DIFFERENT PEOPLE. THIS... |
| 00:25:37 |
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NO. |
| 00:25:39 |
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THE PRESIDENT MENTIONED THE MOST WAS RONALD REAGAN. HE'S MENTIONED ON 11 DIFFERENT PAGES. BY THE... |
| 00:25:54 |
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I ADMIRED JOHN F. KENNEDY AND VOTED FOR HIM, BUT THE IMPORTANCE OF RONALD REAGAN FOR SOMEONE LIKE... |
| 00:27:17 |
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ANY IDEA WHY YOU WOULDN'T WRITE MUCH ABOUT JOHN F. KENNEDY OR JIMMY CARTER OR... |
| 00:27:23 |
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WELL, JIMMY CARTER DIDN'T EXIST FOR ME. IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT. JOHN F. KENNEDY I ADMIRED. AS I SAY,... |
| 00:28:00 |
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TODAY DO YOU STILL HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE "WALL STREET JOURNAL"? |
| 00:28:03 |
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YES, I STILL WRITE OCCASIONALLY ON THEIR OP-ED PAGE, A SHORT ESSAY. I USED TO WRITE MUCH MORE FREQUENTLY.... |
| 00:28:25 |
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GO BACK AND TRACE, AS YOU DO IN THE BOOK, ALL THE CONNECTING POINTS WITH THE "NATIONAL REVIEW" AND... |
| 00:28:36 |
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A LOT OF CONNECTIONS. I NEVER HAD MUCH OF A CONNECTION WITH "NATIONAL REVIEW." I THINK I'VE WRITTEN... |
| 00:28:48 |
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WHERE WERE YOU IN THE LATE 1960'S? WHERE DID YOU LIVE? |
| 00:28:53 |
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I WAS, BEFORE GETTING A TEACHING POSITION AT N.Y.U., I WAS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE PUBLISHING... |
| 00:29:22 |
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WELL, WE WANTED TO GO FROM THERE, WE WERE TALKING THROUGH THE "NATIONAL REVIEW." AS A MATTER OF FACT,... |
| 00:29:28 |
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YES, I WROTE ABOUT THE "NATIONAL REVIEW" IN RATHER CRITICAL TERMS. IT WAS NOT MY KIND OF CONSERVATIVE... |
| 00:30:17 |
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AND BOB BARTLEY IS TODAY THE EDITORIAL PAGE BOSS. |
| 00:30:21 |
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YEAH, BOB BARTLEY WAS THEN IN THE WASHINGTON OFFICE, A REPORTER FOR THE "JOURNAL." HE THEN BECAME... |
| 00:30:48 |
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WELL, I COULD JUMP TO THE FACT THAT YOUR SON NOW HAS A NEW PUBLICATION, AND WANT TO ASK YOU... |
| 00:30:52 |
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RIGHT. |
| 00:30:56 |
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CALLED THE "WEEKLY STANDARD." |
| 00:30:57 |
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I'M SURE IT'S GOING TO BE AN EXCELLENT PUBLICATION. |
| 00:31:00 |
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BUT IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL THIS, YOU'VE MORE THAN ONCE REFER TO THAT "IDEAS MATTER," AND I GUESS THAT'S... |
| 00:31:23 |
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WELL, MY SON'S MAGAZINE IS GOING TO BE A CONSERVATIVE MAGAZINE, INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE, AND WHETHER... |
| 00:32:43 |
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WHERE IS THE, IN THE SOCIETY TODAY, WHERE'S THE INFLUENCE? WHERE DO YOU SEE THE POWER OF IDEAS COMING... |
| 00:32:50 |
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WELL, THEY CLEARLY ARE NOT COMING FROM LIBERALISM, WHICH IS IN TERRIBLE TROUBLE INTELLECTUALLY. I... |
| 00:34:14 |
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YOU SAY IN THE BOOK THAT YOUR WIFE, GERTRUDE HIMMELFARB, IS AN ANGLOPHILE AND YOU'RE A FRANCOPHILE.... |
| 00:34:20 |
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I'VE BECOME SOMETHING OF AN ANGLOPHILE SINCE THEN. |
| 00:34:24 |
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WHAT DO EITHER ONE OF THOSE MEAN? |
| 00:34:26 |
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WELL, AN ANGLOPHILE IS SOMEONE WHO THINKS BRITAIN IS AN ESPECIALLY ADMIRABLE COUNTRY TO BE STUDIED... |
| 00:35:09 |
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YOU WRITE ABOUT HISTORIANS. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF HISTORIANS TODAY? |
| 00:35:12 |
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HISTORIANS TODAY? WELL, THERE ARE SOME VERY GOOD HISTORIANS TODAY, BUT OF COURSE HISTORIANS TODAY... |
| 00:35:47 |
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YOU SAY THAT NO ONE'S EVER WRITTEN A BOOK ABOUT THE FEDERALIST PAPERS? |
| 00:35:51 |
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THAT... AT THE TIME THAT I WROTE... |
| 00:35:54 |
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IT WAS 1970 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? |
| 00:35:55 |
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YEAH, NO ONE HAD EVER WRITTEN A BOOK ABOUT THE FEDERALIST PAPERS. |
| 00:35:58 |
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HAS THAT CHANGED? |
| 00:35:59 |
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YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SURE. ONE SWISS SCHOLAR WROTE A BOOK ABOUT THE FEDERALIST PAPERS. I THINK... I HAVEN'T... |
| 00:36:42 |
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WHY DO YOU THINK... WHAT'S... HOW IMPORTANT WERE THE FEDERALIST PAPERS? |
| 00:36:45 |
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WELL, I THINK IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF THE FOUNDERS, THEY'RE VERY IMPORTANT.... |
| 00:37:40 |
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IN A LOT OF THESE BOOKS THAT WE DO, THERE'S A THREAD THAT COMES THROUGH THEM. YOU MAY HAVE STARTED... |
| 00:38:02 |
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I READ HIM. I CAN ACTUALLY TALK... WELL, I DIDN'T KNOW TOQUEVILLE UNTIL AROUND, I GUESS IT WAS THE... |
| 00:39:05 |
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YOU SAY THAT NO ONE EVER CALLS THEMSELVES A TOQUEVILLIAN. |
| 00:39:10 |
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NO, BUT OF COURSE, LOOK, I MEAN, HE DID NOT FOUND A SCHOOL, AND FOR MANY DECADES IN THE UNITED STATES,... |
| 00:39:26 |
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I DON'T KNOW WHETHER YOU CAN DO THIS, BUT WHEN YOU READ A BOOK LIKE YOURS-- AND IT'S, AS I... AGAIN... |
| 00:39:58 |
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IT WILL INFLUENCE THEM OBLIQUELY AND INDIRECTLY. LOOK, THOSE PEOPLE ARE MY FAMILY. GOODNESS, I MEAN,... |
| 00:41:28 |
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SO YOU'RE SAYING THAT SOMEBODY WATCHING THIS OUT THERE WHO MIGHT CONSIDER THEMSELVES A BENEFACTOR... |
| 00:41:37 |
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WITH ME, NO. |
| 00:41:39 |
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AND IF YOU GO BACK BEYOND... |
| 00:41:40 |
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WELL, IT STARRED WITH JUDE WANNISKI AND A FEW OTHER PEOPLE. |
| 00:41:45 |
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BUT WHERE DO THEY GET OR WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR BASE FOR |
| 00:41:48 |
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OH, I GOT IT FROM JUDE WANNISKI. |
| 00:41:50 |
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AND WHERE DID HE GET IT? |
| 00:41:52 |
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HE GOT IT FROM A COUPLE OF ECONOMISTS, ONE OUT IN CALIFORNIA, ONE AT, THEN AT COLUMBIA, WHO WERE RATHER... |
| 00:42:01 |
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WHERE DID THEY GET IT? |
| 00:42:02 |
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THEY INVENTED IT. |
| 00:42:03 |
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JUST DREAMED IT UP. |
| 00:42:05 |
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YEAH, THEY INVENTED IT. I MEAN, IT WAS AN ORIGINAL IDEA WITH THEM IN SOME VERSION OR ANOTHER. |
| 00:42:09 |
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YOU CAN'T GO BACK TO ARISTOTLE AND PLATO OR MONTESQUIEU OR SOMEBODY FOR THIS? |
| 00:42:13 |
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NO, NO. NO, NO, THERE IS ORIGINAL INVENTION IN THE HISTORY OF IDEAS. PEOPLE DO HAVE ORIGINAL IDEAS... |
| 00:42:23 |
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YOU DEFEND THE CRITICS, THE PEOPLE THAT... YOU DEFEND YOURSELF BASICALLY HERE ON SUPPLY-SIDE ECONOMICS,... |
| 00:42:39 |
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WELL, IT REALLY IS NOT FAIR. HE PROPOSED A CUT IN TAX RATES. THE DEMOCRATS IN CONGRESS PANICKED AND... |
| 00:44:05 |
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SO YOU JUST WASH YOUR HANDS OF ANY OF THE PROBLEMS TODAY THAT WERE BROUGHT ABOUT BY SUPPLY-SIDE ECONOMICS?... |
| 00:44:10 |
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WELL, THE PROBLEMS, THEY WEREN'T BROUGHT ABOUT BY SUPPLY- SIDE ECONOMICS. THEY WERE BROUGHT ABOUT,... |
| 00:44:56 |
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YOU'VE GOT 493 TOTAL PAGES IN YOUR BOOK. OUT OF THIS, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY THAT YOU FEEL THE STRONGEST... |
| 00:45:12 |
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I THINK WHAT I FEEL STRONGEST ABOUT ARE THOSE PAGES-- AND THERE AREN'T THAT MANY-- WHICH DEAL WITH... |
| 00:45:45 |
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WHERE DO YOU WRITE? WHERE? |
| 00:45:47 |
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ON MY LAP. I WRITE BY HAND ON MY LAP AT HOME. |
| 00:45:51 |
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HAVE YOU ALWAYS DONE IT THAT WAY? |
| 00:45:55 |
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YEARS AGO I USED TO TYPE, BUT MY HANDS GOT TIRED, AND I WAS NEVER A GOOD TYPIST, AND I FOUND THAT... |
| 00:46:05 |
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IS THERE A CERTAIN TIME OF |
| 00:46:07 |
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ONLY IN THE MORNING. I WRITE ONLY EARLY IN THE MORNING. MY MIND IS FRESH THEN. |
| 00:46:16 |
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AND IS THERE A WAY THAT YOU PREPARE TO WRITE? I MEAN, DO YOU SPEND DAYS BEFORE YOU'RE READY TO SIT... |
| 00:46:23 |
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I THINK, I BROOD, I MEDITATE. YES, BUT SOMETIMES I ACTUALLY TAKE NOTES IF I'M GOING TO WRITE SOMETHING... |
| 00:46:41 |
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YOU SUGGEST THAT YOU WROTE A PIECE ONCE ON JOSEPH McCARTHY THAT REALLY MADE PEOPLE REACT STRONGLY.... |
| 00:46:46 |
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YES. WELL, IT WAS DURING THE McCARTHY GOINGS ON, AND OF COURSE, I WAS ANTI-McCARTHY, AS WE ALL WERE... |
| 00:48:40 |
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AGAIN, THERE'S ONE INDIVIDUAL THAT LEADS THE WAY IN YOUR BOOK, WHO IS MENTIONED THE MOST OFTEN. DO... |
| 00:48:48 |
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NO. |
| 00:48:51 |
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KARL MARX. WHY WOULD YOU SO OFTEN MENTION KARL MARX? WHAT WOULD BE THE REASON? WHAT ROLE HAS HE PLAYED... |
| 00:49:00 |
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HUH. WELL, OF COURSE, KARL MARX FOUNDED THE DOCTRINE THAT ESTABLISHED THE SOVIET REGIME, AND IN A... |
| 00:50:16 |
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WHAT DO YOU THINK, THOUGH, HIS... IF PEOPLE 100 YEARS FROM NOW WERE THINKING ABOUT IRVING KRISTOL... |
| 00:50:41 |
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I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE WOULD BE THAT MUCH DIFFERENCE, YOU KNOW. I MEAN, THERE IS NOT MUCH HIGHER ... |
| 00:51:48 |
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WOULD THIS BOOK THAT YOU'VE WRITTEN HERE, WOULD YOU WANT PEOPLE TO PICK THIS UP IN 100 YEARS AND SAY,... |
| 00:51:55 |
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SURE. I DON'T WANT THEM TO CONFUSE ME WITH ANYONE ELSE. |
| 00:52:00 |
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NO, BUT IS THIS THE WORK THAT |
| 00:52:01 |
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YES. YES. FOR BETTER OR WORSE, I'M COMMITTED TO THAT BOOK. |
| 00:52:07 |
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SINCE THIS PROGRAM STARTED, WE'VE HAD OVER 325 AUTHORS, AND I'VE ALWAYS WONDERED, I'VE ALWAYS ASKED... |
| 00:52:23 |
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OAKESHOTT, YES. |
| 00:52:24 |
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WHO YOU PUBLISHED A BOOK OF HIS, AND IT ONLY SOLD 600 COPIES. |
| 00:52:26 |
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EXACTLY. |
| 00:52:27 |
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WAS THAT A FAILURE? |
| 00:52:28 |
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VERY DISAPPOINTING. OH, WAS IT A FAILURE? YES. |
| 00:52:32 |
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WHO WAS HE? |
| 00:52:34 |
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HE WAS A PROFESSOR OF POLITICS AT THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS. HE SUCCEEDED HAROLD LASKY IN THAT... |
| 00:53:10 |
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HOW MANY YEARS DID YOU TEACH TOTAL? |
| 00:53:12 |
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17. |
| 00:53:14 |
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YOU WRITE A LOT ABOUT YOUR EARLY TEACHERS IN HERE AND PEOPLE YOU ADMIRE. WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES A... |
| 00:53:24 |
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OH, THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT MAKE A GOOD TEACHER. ONE IS, YOU HAVE TO RESPECT YOUR STUDENTS; THAT... |
| 00:54:31 |
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WHAT MADE LEO STRAUSS SUCH A FAVORITE OF EVERYONE? |
| 00:54:33 |
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BECAUSE HE CARED PASSIONATELY ABOUT HIS IDEAS, AND HE CONVEYED THAT PASSION TO HIS STUDENTS. HE DIDN'T... |
| 00:55:04 |
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OF ALL THE 41 ESSAYS AND THE 39-PAGE INTRODUCTION THAT YOU SAID IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS,... |
| 00:55:19 |
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YOU WANT ME TO LOOK IN THE TABLE OF CONTENTS? |
| 00:55:22 |
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WELL, WE'RE ABOUT RUNNING OUT OF TIME. YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THE SECTION ON HISTORY AND CAPITALISM, "THE... |
| 00:55:38 |
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ASIDE FROM THE... I THINK THE MEMOIR IS THE NICEST PART OF THE BOOK, BUT I MEAN, THERE'S ONE LITTLE... |
| 00:56:17 |
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WHAT'S YOUR PREDICTION FOR THE FUTURE IN THIS COUNTRY? |
| 00:56:21 |
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I THINK THE COUNTRY WILL SURVIVE. I'M AN OPTIMIST, OR PERHAPS I SHOULD SAY I'M A CHEERFUL PESSIMIST.... |
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HERE'S THE COVER OF THE BOOK, "THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN IDEA: NEOCONSERVATISM," SELECTED ESSAYS 1949-1995,... |
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THANK YOU. [Captioning sponsored by THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION] [Captioned by The Caption Center... |
NOTE: The transcript for this program was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.
