8The Daily Tar Heel Thursday, January 22, 1987
Observations on theipendulum of Ame
Most of the works the eminent,
historian Arthur Schlesinger has
produced have been in the form of
lengthy, thorough examinations, most
notably "The Imperial Presidency,"
"The Age of Jackson" and "A Thou
sand Days: JFK in the White House."
So it is somewhat of a surprise that
Schlesinger's latest attempt in docu
menting history. The Cycles of Amer
ican History, is a book consisting of
14 essays. The gracefully written pieces
deal with a diversified set of subjects,
such as the curious feature of American
foreign diplomacy that mixes imperial
ism with occasional humanitarian
good works. Or the awkward give-and-take
of affirmative government with
the survival-of-the-fittest nature of our
capitalist system.
Schlesinger's background, that of a
man of letters and a public servant,
uniquely qualifies him to discuss such
delicate and complex topics in length
and scope. And "The Cycles of Amer
ican History" will undoubtedly con
tribute to his deserved stature as a
historian.
For in "Cycles," Schlesinger displays
a nimbleness of mind that enables him
to weave the past's philosophies,
observations and analyses, and use
thepfto help probe, define and forecast -the
current American political, eco
nomic and social world.
As a historian, Schlesinger is mind
ful of the role historians play in
interpreting history. "The aim of
history," Schlesinger writes, "is to
reconstruct the past to its own pattern,
not according to ours. All epochs, said
Ranke, are equally close to God. But
historians, try as they will to escape,
remain prisoners of their epoch."
Books
And, appropriately, Schlesinger is
aware of his prejudices. Schlesinger is,
of course, a political liberal, having
served in the Kennedy administration.
So it isn't surprising that Schlesinger
forecasts another swing of the periodic
political pendulum from right to left.
"We may conclude that public purpose
will have at least one more chance. At
some point, shortly before or after the
year 1990, there should come a sharp
change in the national mood and
direction a change comparable to
those bursts of innovation and reform
that followed the ascensions to office
of Theodore Roosevelt in 1901, of
Franklin Roosevelt in 1933 and of
John Kennedy in 1961. The 1990s
should be the return in the generational
succession for the young men and
women who came of political age in
the Kennedy years." The swing he sees
is one between public and private
interests.
Characteristic of Schlesinger's book
is his ability to tersely smash received
wisdom like fine, porcelain. "Ronald
Reagan is cited as the inevitable
product of the television age. But
Reagan, one surmises, would have
been equally successful in the age of
radio, like Franklin D. Roosevelt, or
in the age of newsreels, like Warren
G. Harding, or in the age of steel
engravings and the penny press, like
Franklin Pierce. Presidential candi
dates in the television era Johnson,
Nixon, Humphrey, McGovern, Ford,
Carter, Mondale hardly constitute
a parade of bathing beauties calculated
to excite Atlantic City."
Perhaps the most challenging and
maverick essay in the book is the one
in which Schlesinger proposes the
abolition of the office of the Vice
Presidency of the United States. The
office, he argues, has been one of
historical insignificance because it
allows the office holder to languish
from presidential neglect and lack of
responsibility. In modern times, the
vice president, Schlesinger argues
cogently, is nothing more than a lackey
for the president, expected to be
faithful to the end. Is that true
preparation for the presidency?
He backs up his argument with the
evidence of discontented comments
from former office holders. As Theo
dore Roosevelt commented on the
office, the vice presidency is "an utterly
anomalous office (one which I think
ought to be abolished.)" John Adams
once called the vice presidency "the
most insignificant office ever the
invention of man contrived or his
imagination received."
Consequently, "There is no escape,"
Schlesinger writes, "it seems to me,
from the . conclusion that the Vice
Presidency is not only pointless but
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The office is dangerous, Schlesinger
contends, because of the undemocratic
possibility of an unelected vice pres
ident becoming president and appoint
ing his would-be successor, as hap
pened when Nixon resigned.
"In 1974 the Twenty-fifth Amend
ment gave us a President appointed
. by a man shortly thereafter forced to
resign to escape impeachment for high
crimes and misdemeanors; the new
President, had he died in office, would
have been succeeded by a man he alone
had appointed. So long as Section 2
of the Twenty-fifth Amendment sur
vives, this, result, so antipathetic to
democracy, can happen again."
In. case of presidential vacancy, he
proposes that the Secretary of State
serve as Acting President for 90 days
while special elections are being held.
If the secretary is found unsuitable for
the office because of his nationality or
age, next in line would be secretary
of the treasury. And then on down the
line of the 1886 list of presidential
succession.
The approved secretary would serve
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out the term if the election was within
120 days of the quadrennial election.
Two elections would take place if the
vacancy occurred 120 days before a
midterrri election. Schlesinger says that
the system is modeled after the French
method of replacing presidents.
The French, for example, held
elections after the death of George
Pompidou, and in less than 2 months
had a president "freely chosen by the
people." "Which' government was the
more legitimate the elected govern
ment of France after the death of
Pompidou or the appointed govern
ment of the United States after the
resignation of Nixon?"
from page 3
me out of a dressing room, threw my
notebook out of a tenth story
window, tried to run me down with
the Ramones' tour bus, and spanked
a small child who accidentally col
lided with him in a hotel lobby. Of
course, as lord of the Ramones,
Melnik doesn't have it easy. The
world's greatest punk rock band isn't
exactly academus plurus brainicuses.
Elliot Saltzman, road manager for
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, almost
-matches- Melnik's carnivormisness, -At
a club in Raleigh, Elliot and I
engaged in throat-ripping, ear
smashing verbal slugfest. Soon, the
entire audience was staring, wond
ering if perhaps we were feuding
Greek gods of obnoxiousness. Elliot
and I both felt refreshed and parted
amicably: The argument concerned
shoes.
Later, at a wild, post-concert
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party, Joan Jett autographed my
pants and scrawled a sultry message
across the T-shirt of my official
photographer, Chip Cheek. Joan is
real cool. What do I mean by cool?
To me, a cool perosn is one who,
if you were laying in a gutter dying
of Nigerian Flu, would blow smoke
in your face and kiss your nose.
There is only one thing in the world
as fun as rock 'n roll (and all its fringe
benefits) . . . professional wrestling.
Wrestlers are ridiculously nice. There
must be a law somewhere w?uch7
sternly states: "When outside the
ring, pro-wrestlers must be pleasant
and polite as Saint Francis of Assisi."
In "realjife" Ric Flair comes across
with the venom of a smurf. J.J..
Dillon could fill in for Mr. Hooper
on Sesame Street. The only scary
experience I endured while interview
ing a pack of pro-wrestlers occurred
when I stumbled into a dressing
room. Before me stood a 400-pound
wrestling legend named Dusty
Rhodes. He was naked. Panicking,
I hurled my pen at Dusty's torso and
fled. After two months of intense
psycho-therapy, I have yet to fully
recover my peace of mind.
Heck, who needs peace of mind?
Without turmoil and confusion life
becomes a soggy sausage. I love to
creep around back stage trying to
infuriate rock stars 1 don't like. Once
I told the guitarist for Glass Tiger
that the band wasnt raunchy enough.
The guitarist told the singer, and soon
the whole group was breathing fire
down my neck. Now, that's fun!
The girls, the road managers, the
music ... rock 'n roll is a wonderful
creation. Sometimes I dream that I
am being chased by criss-crossing
rainbows and pulverizing E chords
through a sorority house full of bikini
clad Kiss fans. Then again, maybe
it's not a dream at all.
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