[LC]

which I agree I do not read eagerly, and some magazines with which I
disagree I do read eagerly. *COMMENTARY* is distinctive.

It is also very, very important to the life of the United States, to the West,
and, I am convinced, to freedom. I believe that Norman's own "no" to the
terrible temptations and permissions of the counterculture, to the narcissism
that can only end finally in nihilism, has been important to the very survival
of our society. And so it is a very special pleasure tonight to toast Norman,
whose sensibility has been blended with strength, whose intelligence is
matched by his courage, and who, like Sidney Hook, is a brilliant and brave
and, in the most ultimate sense, a serious man. [*Applause*]

IRVING KRISTOL

How does one introduce Henry Kissinger? It is ridiculous to say he is a
former this or a former that, since he's not a former anything. He's a
presence, an enduring presence, a presence who tonight is present. Henry,
would you come up and say a few words? [*Applause*]

TOAST

HENRY A. KISSINGER

Had General Custer survived the battle of Little Big Horn and been
invited to a reunion of the Indians [laughter], he would have felt as I do [laughter],
greeting this distinguished company [applause]. Never in one room have so
many been assembled who were after my scalp only a few years ago. Indeed, I
have not seen so many neoconservatives assembled in one place since the
Vietnam protests at the White House [laughter] in 1970.

It is a special privilege to pay tribute to Norman Podhoretz who, I understand, objected to moving the Inauguration indoors as an unnecessary

14

TOAST

JEANE J. KIRKPATRICK

Thank you very much [applause]. I think I have known Norman Podhoretz all my adult life, although Norman hasn't known me all his adult life. I started reading Norman when he was appearing mainly in the *New Leader*, and I read his "Letter" to Diana Trilling about his generation. I read *Making It*, and I liked it [*laughter*]. And I read *COMMENTARY*. I did not meet Norman until 1972, when an odd thing occurred, as it were, on the way to an election.

There was a group of us—since the memory might be sensitive to some
here, they shall go nameless. We were contacting one another like so many
furtive Russian anarchists. We were agreed about the nature of the illness,
and we thought that if only we could get together to discuss it we might even
come up with an appropriate and effective remedy. And so there came a day,
as the lawyers say, or a night, that we agreed to meet at a particular bar
in a particular hotel. No one knew who else would be there until we
arrived.

There are a good many in this room who met at that bar in that hotel on
that night, and among them were my husband Kirk and I, and Norman and
Midge. And we have been doing a variety of things in common cause—and
outside common cause [laughter] — ever since.

I believe that in a curious way Norman has been an archetype—not only for a generation but for a civilization, our civilization, at a particular and very critical period of our national evolution. And I believe that his analyses and his agonies and his visions and revisions have coincided with reality itself. *COMMENTARY* has been not only an expression or a reflection of a point of view, but a catalyst for a great deal of serious thinking. Certainly we here in this room, at least, have had our own imaginations lighted by the spark of the pages of *COMMENTARY*.

I, too, wait eagerly for my *COMMENTARY* every month, even after all these
years, and *read* it eagerly. I think that's a remarkable fact about a magazine. It's
not a question of agreeing and disagreeing: a good many magazines with

13

[LC]

appeasement of the weather [laughter]. When I was working on the Central America commission, Norman fixed me with a beady eye and said, "I know exactly what you're going to do, you're going to propose some deal with the Russians." He didn't know that I had come up with a much better solution, which I will submit to the Secretary of State this evening. I suggest that they drop the unused copies of the report over Nicaragua [laughter], unless Norman's son-in-law thinks that this would be too inhuman [laughter].

As you all know, the most frequent contributor to *COMMENTARY* is called Podhoretz. I asked him if it was not embarrassing to publish himself so frequently, but he said he did not think so at all. He was very easy to edit [laughter], took instruction well, and didn't ask for much money. When I pointed out that this might apply to many authors, Norman agreed but said, "Unfortunately, they're all wrong" [laughter].

But let me turn to my experiences with Norman. I met Norman only in 1978, when he had already left his mark on America and, I may say, many marks on me [laughter]. We met in the house of Winston Lord, who told me that he had exacted a nonaggression pledge from Norman and made me give a similar undertaking. These pledges went the way of all nonaggression treaties [laughter].

I would like to say a few serious things. My capacity to admire people is not my most highly developed trait [laughter], and yet over the years that I've known Norman and that I have read his magazine I have grown to admire and, indeed, to love him. What is an intellectual to do in a society which thinks that "peace" is a subject to be studied, which thinks stability is the normal condition, which has no experience with evil, which has never known irremediable disaster? What is a magazine to do that, while not Jewish, bears the imprint of a Jewish organization, in a world where, unless the defense of justice is universal, there will be no security for anyone? In an environment in which all of these problems are treated as merely tactical in nature, it is hard to convince people that parties or nations may disagree, occasionally or frequently, not because they misunderstand each other but because they understand each other only too well.

For all these reasons, it is right and proper and crucial for all of us that Norman is an implacable nag, that he will not make any compromises. I, myself, substantially agree with his analysis of international affairs. At the same time, he and I have argued forever, because he looks at policy from the perspective of a prophet and I look at policy from the perspective of a

15

[L.C.]

policy-maker. He insists the truth is absolute. He is right. I believe that it has to be reached in imperfect stages. I do not want to settle my private argument with Norman here except to say that without prophets, policy-makers would be administering the status quo, and that without ideals we would have no road map.

I do not know whether everything that Norman has proposed is attainable. I fear that if the Secretary of State has not passed the oral examination to which I see he has been subjected at the dinner table this evening, we may soon see another book called *The Real Present Danger* [laughter]. But I want to say that Norman and *COMMENTARY* have ennobled this society. They have asked the right questions; they have usually given the right answers. They've done so in a human, profound, and, in a relativistic time, absolute manner. For all of this, we owe Norman and *COMMENTARY* a debt of gratitude, and we hope that it will go on for many decades to come. [Applause]

IRVING KRISTOL

Ladies and gentlemen, the serious business of the evening continues. I give you that well-known New York writer, Mayor Edward Koch. [Laughter]

TOAST

EDWARD I. KOCH

Thank you very much, Irving. I am here in my capacity as one author saluting another author.

Howard Friedman mentioned Father Drinan, who was a member of Congress when I was there. For Father Drinan to complain about *COMMENTARY*, when he is in disagreement with the chairman of his own board, is *chutzpah* [*applause and laughter*].

16

which I agree I do not read eagerly, and some magazines with which I
disagree I do read eagerly. COMMENTARY is distinctive.

It is also very, very important to the life of the United States, to the West,
and, I am convinced, to freedom. I believe that Norman's own "no" to the
terrible temptations and permissions of the counterculture, to the narcissism
that can only end finally in nihilism, has been important to the very survival
of our society. And so it is a very special pleasure tonight to toast Norman,
whose sensibility has been blended with strength, whose intelligence is
matched by his courage, and who, like Sidney Hook, is a brilliant and brave
and, in the most ultimate sense, a serious man. [Applause]

IRVING KRISTOL

How does one introduce Henry Kissinger? It is ridiculous to say he is a
former this or a former that, since he's not a former anything. He's a
presence, an enduring presence, a presence who tonight is present. Henry,
would you come up and say a few words? [Applause]

TOAST

HENRY A. KISSINGER

14

[L]

As you all know, the most frequent contributor to COMMENTARY is called Podhoretz. I asked him if it was not embarrassing to publish himself so frequently, but he said he did not think so at all. He was very easy to edit [laughter], took instruction well, and didn't ask for much money. When I pointed out that this might apply to many authors, Norman agreed but said, "Unfortunately, they're all wrong" [laughter].

15

which I
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's a
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y

[C]

I do not know whether everything that Norman has proposed is attainable. I fear that if the Secretary of State has not passed the oral examination to which I see he has been subjected at the dinner table this evening, we may soon see another book called *The Real Present Danger* [laughter]. But I want to say that Norman and *COMMENTARY* have ennobled this society. They have asked the right questions; they have usually given the right answers. They've done so in a human, profound, and, in a relativistic time, absolute manner. For all of this, we owe Norman and *COMMENTARY* a debt of gratitude, and we hope that it will go on for many decades to come. [*Applause*]

IRVING KRISTOL

Ladies and gentlemen, the serious business of the evening continues. I give you that well-known New York writer, Mayor Edward Koch. [*Laughter*]

TOAST

EDWARD I. KOCH

16

Page 15.

HENRY KISSINGER:

Had General Custer survived the battle of Little Big Horn and been invited to a reunion of the Indians /Taughtert, he would have felt as I do /Taughtert, greeting this distinguished company! /āpplause/. Never in one room have so many been assembled who were after my scalp only a few years ago. Indeed, I have not seen so many neo-conservatives assembled in one place since the Vietnam protests at the White House /Taughtert in 1970.

It is a special privilege to pay tribute to Norman Podhoretz who, I understand, objected to moving the Inauguration indoors as an unnecessary appeasement of the weather /Taughtert. When I was working on the Central America commission, Norman fixed me with a beady eye and said, "I know exactly what you're going to do, you're going to propose some deal with the Russians." He didn't know that I had come up with a much better solution, which I will submit to the Secretary of State this evening. I suggest that they drop the unused copies of the report over Nicaragua /Taughtert, unless Norman's son-in-law thinks that this would be too inhuman /Taughtert.

As you all know, the most frequent contributor to *Commentary* is called Podhoretz. I asked him if it was not embarrassing to publish himself so frequently, but he said he did not think so at all. He was very easy to edit /Taughtert, took instruction well, and didn't ask for much money. When I pointed out that this might apply to many authors, Norman agreed but said, "Unfortunately, they're all wrong" /Taughtert.

[L]

Page 16.

I must say one word about the President's letter. What the
President doesn't realize is that there are sequels being written
to the article "Dictatorships and Double Standards" by Jeane
Kirkpatrick, and they will deal with the White House staff
/Taughter/.

But let me turn to my experiences with Norman. I met Norman
only in 1978, when he had already left his mark on America and,
I may say, many marks on me /Taughter/. We met in the house of
Winston Lord, who told me that he had exacted a non-aggression
pledge from Norman and made me give a similar undertaking. These
pledges went the way of all non-aggression treaties /Taughter/.

I would like to say a few serious things. My capacity to
admire people is not my most highly developed trait /Taughter/, and yet over the years that I've known Norman and that I have read
his magazine I have grown to admire and, indeed, to love him.
What is an intellectual to do in a society which believes that
"peace" is a subject to be studied, which thinks stability is the
normal condition, which has no experience with evil, which has
never known irremediable disaster? What is a magazine to do that,
while not Jewish, bears the imprint of a Jewish organization, in
a world where, unless the defense of justice is universal, there
will be no security for anyone? In an environment in which all
of these problems are treated as merely tactical in nature, it is
hard to convince people that parties or nations may disagree,
occasionally or frequently, not because they misunderstand each
other but because they understand each other only too well.

NOV 12 1985

For all these reasons, it is right and proper and crucial
for all of us that Norman is an implacable nag, that he will
not make any compromises. I, myself, substantially agree with
his analysis of international affairs. At the same time, he
and I have argued forever, because he looks at policy from the
perspective of a prophet and I look at policy from the perspective
of a policy-maker. He insists the truth is absolute. He is right.
I believe that it has to be reached in imperfect stages. I do
not want to settle my private argument with Norman here except
to say that without prophets, policy-makers would be administering
the status quo, and that without ideals we would have no road map.

I do not know whether everything that Norman has proposed is
attainable. I fear that if the Secretary of State has not passed
the oral examination to which I see he has been subjected at the
dinner table this evening, we may soon see another book called
<u>The Real Present Danger /Taughter/</u>. But I want to say that Norman
and <u>Commentary</u> have ennobled this society. They have asked the
right questions; they have usually given the right answers.
They've done so in a human, profound, and, in a relativistic time,
absolute manner. For all of this, we owe Norman and <u>Commentary</u>
a debt of gratitude, and we hope that it will go on for many
decades to come. <u>/Applause/</u>

IRVING KRISTOL: