Sublime
An inspiration engine for ideas
Perkins spent the twelve years of Roosevelt’s presidency doing more than anyone other than FDR himself to make the New Deal a reality. Everything on her list became law, most notably social security, changing the basic relation of Americans to their government. She also desegregated the Labor Department cafeteria, tried (and failed) to bring large
... See moreGeorge Packer • Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal
the Scaife Family Charitable Trust donated $195,000 to a new conservative think tank in Washington, the Heritage Foundation.
Jane Mayer • Dark Money
Running the White House was exclusively Eleanor’s domain, part of the balance of power she and FDR had achieved. And given her extensive public commitments, she was determined to have someone assist her who was loyal and trustworthy. Social awareness, an ability to cook, even a knowledge of food and wine were secondary. The assistant she chose was
... See moreJean Edward Smith • FDR
Lester Hunt, who later became the inspiration for one of the main characters in Allen Drury’s classic political novel Advise and Consent.
Susan Glasser • The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III
Alice Glass had been Lyndon Johnson’s mistress for more than three years, in a passionate love affair of which Marsh, patronizing and paternalistic toward the young Congressman, was unaware. (In 1939, the publisher had helped Johnson financially by selling him land in Austin at a giveaway price. In 1940, he offered Johnson an oil deal that would
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