[mainepatsfan]

and then pass on to the thrills of Chester Arthur.

Steyn is a riot!

[Lurker]

while bored officials wander up the line barking incomprehensible lists of prohibited fluids: that would be a state-of-the-art system for boarding the Mayflower

Nobody and I mean nobody can turn a phrase the way Mr. Steyn does.

If you haven't read "America Alone" I highly recommend you do so.

L

[Tax-chick]

bttt

[johnny7]

“ ...the slumberers decline to be roused.”

Tick... tick... tick...

[ReleaseTheHounds]

Very thoughtful piece (as expected). Learned 10-times more about Garfield than I ever knew/remembered. Good questions posed by Steyn: where is our push for energy independence? A real solid advance there, and we're no longer held hostage to threats by Islamic mullahs, stealth Commies like Putin, two-bit thugs like Chavez. We need a leader to rally us on to that Strategic Vision.

[AZRepublican]

They say Garfield is still around....

[atomic conspiracy]

"and then pass on to the thrills of Chester Arthur."

Actually, Arthur was a pretty interesting character and something of a party animal. A lifelong spoils system politician, he saw the light as President (perhaps because of the circumstances of Garfield's death) and instituted the first meaningful civil service reforms. He was also a naval enthusiast and was largely responsible for the "new Navy" a massive modernization and expansion of the US Navy that brought the service into the era of steam and steel and put the US on the road to world power.

A widower, Arthur liked flashy clothes and was reputed to be very fond of fine food, good wine, and pretty women. Pop history maven Irving Wallichensky has claimed that Arthur had a beautiful mistress living in the White House during his term. The press knew all about it but chose not to say anything, which shows how different things were in those days.

[since 1854]

The man who shpt Gardield did it to make VP Chester Arthur the President. He said so right afterward. This "deranged office-seeker" biz was just spin. See the book at http://www.repubicanbasics.com for details.

[goldstategop]

We concern oureselves with irrelevancies and can't seem to respond to the greatest challenges of our time. Where's the spirit of America? In 1881, it tried to rouse itself to save a dying President. Today, its AWOL and seemingly nowhere to be found in the world after 9/11. We need that old-fashioned Yankee ingenuity back.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[steve-b]

You're looking at it the wrong way, I was told. Technocratic solutions, new inventions, the old can-do spirit: That's the American way, and that's what will see us through.

The old fallacy of failure to distinguish between "government" and "nation" rears its ugly head again. The former is inept at solutions and innovations -- naturally, since it is inept at pretty much everything -- but this says nothing about the latter.

[B Knotts]

Steyn is right. We are going to need a visionary for our next president, instead of more of the same.

[knighthawk]

Ping

[aculeus]

He misses one factor: the overwhelming prominence of LAWYERS in our society. Lawyers don't win wars, don't invent anything, don't build infrastructure, don't run companies and don't really contribute to our well being. But they dominate our politics particularly the Democrat Party: Hillary, Edwards, Obama, etc., etc., etc.

[Tribune7]

great column and he's right.

And the Pubs are responsible for a lot of this snafuing.

[ozzymandus]

Garfield's 2 1/2 month death cycle was far more interesting than his presidency. I remembered the story about the metal detector that didn't work because of the mattress springs, because the first time I read it, I shouted at the book, "So why didn't they move him?"

[x]

Started off alright, but you could get whiplash from Steyn's sudden transition between 1881 and the present.

From what I can gather, those doctors killed Garfield with their prodding and poking under unsanitary conditions.

[GOPJ]

Measure 9/11, 2001, against 9/19, 1881, and you will recognize the outpouring of grief -- ''The Sobbing Of The Bells.'' But in our time urgency and innovation are strangely absent...

Insightful..