The Politics of Presidential Appointment
Subtitle: A Memoir of the Culture War
Publisher: NewSouth Books
Published: September 2002
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 256
ISBN-13: 9781588380685
Subjects: Politics / Current Events; Political Science; Politics/International Relations; General; Political Process - General
Description: Historian and former university president Sheldon Hackney recounts how he became an unwitting combatant in the culture wars when his nomination to become President Bill Clinton's chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities came under fire from right-wing conservatives. Hackney meticulously describes the background of ideological maneuvering that was behind not only the attacks on him but also the fierce campaign to bring down Clinton. He says, "I believe my story illustrates how the Culture War and the current media environment combine to polarize discussion until the public has no chance to understand complex issues. Not only are moderates trampled underfoot, but the great gray areas where life is actually lived, the areas of ambiguity and tradeoffs between competing values, are rendered toxic to human habitation. This is not healthy for a democracy."