power of, 135–36
and underdog, 5
Winthrop, John, on American exceptionism, 6, 194
Wood, Michael, 68
World War II, 67
Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (film), 82
Yanks (film), 189–90
FREE PRESS
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Copyright © 2002 by Christopher Matthews
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
First Free Press trade paperback edition 2003
FREE PRESS and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
The Library of Congress has catalogued the hardcover edition as follows:
Matthews, Christopher, 1945–
American: beyond our grandest notions/Chris Matthews.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
1. National characteristics, American. 2. United States—Civilization.
I. Title.
E169.1 .M429 2002
973’.099—dc21
2002034741
ISBN 0-7432-4086-3
ISBN 0-7432-4087-1 (Pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4767-6470-2 (ebook)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Matthews is the host of MSNBC’s Hardball. His most recent bestseller is Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero, which spent three months on the New York Times bestseller list. He is also the author of Hardball; Kennedy and Nixon; Now, Let Me Tell You What I Really Think; and American: Beyond Our Grandest Notions.
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CONTENTS
Tip and the Gipper
Epigraph
Preface
Chapter One Death of a Presidency
Chapter Two Starting Out
Chapter Three Starring Ronald Reagan
Chapter Four New Kid on the Block
Chapter Five Joining the Fight
Chapter Six The Lord is My Shepherd
Chapter Seven Ronald Reagan’s Journey
Chapter Eight The Rise of Tip O’Neill
Chapter Nine Hero
Chapter Ten Fighting Season
Chapter Eleven Battlefield Promotion
Chapter Twelve Turning
Chapter Thirteen Summit
Chapter Fourteen Partners
Chapter Fifteen Tip at the Top
Chapter Sixteen Deal
Chapter Seventeen Lebanon and Grenada
Chapter Eighteen Victory and Survival
Chapter Nineteen Mikhail Gorbachev
Chapter Twenty Hurrah!
Chapter Twenty-One Common Ground
Chapter Twenty-Two Last Battle
Chapter Twenty-Three Legacy
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
Jack Kennedy
Epigraph
Preface
Chapter One Second Son
Chapter Two The Two Jacks
Chapter Three Skipper
Chapter Four War Hero
Chapter Five Cold Warrior
Chapter Six Bobby
Chapter Seven Magic
Chapter Eight Survival
Chapter Nine Debut
Chapter Ten Charm
Chapter Eleven Hardball
Chapter Twelve Charisma
Chapter Thirteen Landing
Chapter Fourteen Zenith
Chapter Fifteen Goals
Chapter Sixteen Legacy
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
Hardball
Epigraph
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I Alliances
1 It’s Not Who You Know; It’s Who You Get to Know
2 “All Politics Is Local”
3 It’s Better to Receive Than to Give
4 “Dance with the One That Brung Ya”
Part II Enemies
5 Keep Your Enemies in Front of You
6 Don’t Get Mad; Don’t Get Even; Get Ahead
7 Leave No Shot Unanswered
Part III Deals
8 “Only Talk When It Improves the Silence”
9 Always Concede on Principle
Part IV Reputations
10 Hang a Lantern on Your Problem
11 Spin!
12 “The Press Is the Enemy”
13 The Reputation of Power
14 Positioning
Perspective
Index
Kennedy & Nixon
Dramatis Personae
Introduction
Students
Chapter 1 World War II Was Their Greatest Campaign Manager
Chapter 2 Strangers on a Train
Chapter 3 While Kennedy Slept
Chapter 4 The Castle or the Outhouse!
Chapter 5 Cloth Coats and Lace Curtains
Chapter 6 Hall Mates
Chapter 7 Profiles in Ambition
Chapter 8 Two Men on Third
Chapter 9 Kennedy Versus Nixon
Chapter 10 The Great Debate
Chapter 11 Bearing Any Burden
Chapter 12 The Verdict
Chapter 13 If
Chapter 14 Bay of Pigs
Chapter 15 Coup de Grâce
Chapter 16 Diem
Chapter 17 Dallas
Chapter 18 Eternal Flame
Chapter 19 The New Nixon
Chapter 20 1968
Chapter 21 Haunting
Chapter 22 Escalation
Chapter 23 Interlude
Chapter 24 Targeting Teddy
Chapter 25 Smoking Gun
Chapter 26 Kennedy Versus Nixon—Again
Chapter 27 Death of a Presidency
Epilogue Twilight Struggle
Afterword The White House Tapes
Photographs
Picture Credits
Notes
Index
Now, Let Me Tell You What I Really Think
Acknowledgments
This Country
Introduction: Why I Interrupt
1. An American Attitude
George W. Bush
2. The Man with the Sun in His Face
Al Gore
3. God and Country
Bill Clinton
4. People Who Work Hard and Play by the Rules
John F. Kennedy
5. Freedom Is Contagious
Winston Churchill
6. Common Ground
7. “The Worst Form of Government”
Tip O’Neill
8. Truth
Ronald Reagan
9. Worldly Wisdom
10. Playing Hardball
American
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1: A Self-Made Country
Chapter 2: The Constant Rebel
Chapter 3: The Reluctant Warrior
Chapter 4: Action
Chapter 5: The Common Man
Chapter 6: Underdogs
Chapter 7: The Lone Hero
Chapter 8: Pioneers
Chapter 9: Optimism
Chapter 10: American Exceptionalism
Epilogue
Notes
Illustration Credits
Index
About Chris Matthews
Set: Tip and the Gipper, Jack Kennedy, Hardball, Kennedy & Nixon, Now, Let Me Tell You What I Really Think, and American
Chris Matthews Complete Library E-book Box Set: Tip and the Gipper, Jack Kennedy, Hardball, Kennedy & Nixon, Now, Let Me Tell You What I Really Think, and American Page 179