The Politics of Presidential Appointment: A Memoir of the Culture War

The Politics of Presidential Appointment: A Memoir of the Culture War
ISBN-10
1603063323
ISBN-13
9781603063326
Category
Political Science
Pages
246
Language
English
Published
2002-08-01
Publisher
NewSouth Books
Author
Sheldon Hackney

Description

Historian and former university president Sheldon Hackney recounts how he became an unwitting combatant in the Culture Wars when his nomination to become President Bill Clinton’s chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities came under fire from right-wing conservatives. Hackney meticulously describes the background of ideological maneuvering that was behind not only the attacks on him but also the fierce campaign to bring down Clinton. He says, “I believe my story illustrates how the Culture War and the current media environment combine to polarize discussion until the public has no chance to understand complex issues. Not only are moderates trampled underfoot, but the great gray areas where life is actually lived, the areas of ambiguity and tradeoffs between competing values, are rendered toxic to human habitation. This is not healthy for a democracy.”

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