I read your WaPo piece. It was terrific. One doesn't often get the chance to learn about one of these forgotten Presidents. Learning that WHH had a point of view at once so relevant and so naive for our times was a pleasure.
A fascinating piece Gabe. I think that if Trump knew this about Harrison, he would remove his portrait and burn it. And thank you for the book recommendation. It is now high on my reading list.
Thank you very much spending time to investigate President Harrison and to share his important words with us that only remember him for serving such a short time. I hope you are right that the next president after Trump, if there is one, will look to give more power to Congress as Harrison suggests. Due to all of the lobbyists and their access and money, I don't hold out much hope for that system either.
We've been having these fights a long time, and if we're lucky, we always will. That's the secret sauce to American governance -- it's a process, always open to changes within reasonable bounds. Sometimes it needs more pepper, sometimes more coconut milk, sometimes a pinch of this or a dash of that, sometimes a full pint of emetic if the need should arise.
Gabe, please note that I am subscribing to WUTP because I want to get book reviews AND information I can't get from other sources. Keep up the great work!
Enjoyed your Hegelian take on the political cycle.
First became aware of bias in the news back in 1968. Would have been old enough to have voted today, but not then. We had three networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, period, a few years later PBS emerged. Decided to see if the networks did the news any different and found out it was definitely so. One was very harsh on Robert Kennedy, one sort of grumbled about him, but did give him fair coverage, and one definitely went out of the their way to show him shine.
That was very much a surprise to me, living in a bedroom community just north of San Francisco. Not much has changed, just each opinion now has their own cable channel.
Love this, thank you! I've also turned to reading about history as a way of coping with 2025-26 and found it very helpful. American Dreamer: A Life of Henry A. Wallace by John Culver and John Hyde is a fantastic look at the politics and Progressivism of the 1920s-1950s and more than a couple of times it showed that we've been fighting these fights for a long time.
I keep thinking of the saying, "Those who forget the past are bound to repeat it."
Two books I am in the process of reading and are fairly recent history, "JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters" by James Douglas and he Burglary: 'The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI" by Betty Medsger
Love reading your comments and appreciate your references to books you've read and found interesting. Would you please comment on the opinion article by Rahm Emanuel in the Wall Street Journal regarding the approach he proposes for the Democratic Party in the likely event they have a majority in Congress in the coming midterms? Your knowledge and opinion is always welcomed.
I knew some of it - I'm an avid reader of history.
What difference does that make? If Gabe wrote about a recipe for a dish I'd never tried, it would be new to me. But it wouldn't be the reason I subscribe to this substack; I'm looking for current topics in politics and government.
I, on the other hand, am subscribing to get Gabe’s take on political matters. If that takes the form of a book review, or a dive into history (or even a recipe!) then I’ll very willingly follow along.
The Bushes were more open to working with Democrats because they were seen as just a bunch of harmless weirdos who had little chance of winning executive power in Washington. Then Obama came along and everything changed.
I read your WaPo piece. It was terrific. One doesn't often get the chance to learn about one of these forgotten Presidents. Learning that WHH had a point of view at once so relevant and so naive for our times was a pleasure.
A fascinating piece Gabe. I think that if Trump knew this about Harrison, he would remove his portrait and burn it. And thank you for the book recommendation. It is now high on my reading list.
Thank you very much spending time to investigate President Harrison and to share his important words with us that only remember him for serving such a short time. I hope you are right that the next president after Trump, if there is one, will look to give more power to Congress as Harrison suggests. Due to all of the lobbyists and their access and money, I don't hold out much hope for that system either.
Gabe, Please do a deep dive on the tariff refund scenario I'm sure it would be appreciated
We've been having these fights a long time, and if we're lucky, we always will. That's the secret sauce to American governance -- it's a process, always open to changes within reasonable bounds. Sometimes it needs more pepper, sometimes more coconut milk, sometimes a pinch of this or a dash of that, sometimes a full pint of emetic if the need should arise.
Gabe, please note that I am subscribing to WUTP because I want to get book reviews AND information I can't get from other sources. Keep up the great work!
Enjoyed your Hegelian take on the political cycle.
First became aware of bias in the news back in 1968. Would have been old enough to have voted today, but not then. We had three networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, period, a few years later PBS emerged. Decided to see if the networks did the news any different and found out it was definitely so. One was very harsh on Robert Kennedy, one sort of grumbled about him, but did give him fair coverage, and one definitely went out of the their way to show him shine.
That was very much a surprise to me, living in a bedroom community just north of San Francisco. Not much has changed, just each opinion now has their own cable channel.
Love this, thank you! I've also turned to reading about history as a way of coping with 2025-26 and found it very helpful. American Dreamer: A Life of Henry A. Wallace by John Culver and John Hyde is a fantastic look at the politics and Progressivism of the 1920s-1950s and more than a couple of times it showed that we've been fighting these fights for a long time.
I keep thinking of the saying, "Those who forget the past are bound to repeat it."
Two books I am in the process of reading and are fairly recent history, "JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters" by James Douglas and he Burglary: 'The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI" by Betty Medsger
Gabe - You hit a Moon Shot with your Washington Post Op. ⭐️🎉⭐️
Love reading your comments and appreciate your references to books you've read and found interesting. Would you please comment on the opinion article by Rahm Emanuel in the Wall Street Journal regarding the approach he proposes for the Democratic Party in the likely event they have a majority in Congress in the coming midterms? Your knowledge and opinion is always welcomed.
I wish William Henry Harrison had lived 😭
I'm subscribing to your substack to get information I can't get from other sources, not book reviews.
Bill, did you know this before Gabe wrote about it?
I knew some of it - I'm an avid reader of history.
What difference does that make? If Gabe wrote about a recipe for a dish I'd never tried, it would be new to me. But it wouldn't be the reason I subscribe to this substack; I'm looking for current topics in politics and government.
I, on the other hand, am subscribing to get Gabe’s take on political matters. If that takes the form of a book review, or a dive into history (or even a recipe!) then I’ll very willingly follow along.
Bill, I am also an avid historical reader and I had never read it. You might try those two books I suggested by the way.
Sometimes it helps to be reminded
The Bushes were more open to working with Democrats because they were seen as just a bunch of harmless weirdos who had little chance of winning executive power in Washington. Then Obama came along and everything changed.