How The “Gotcha”Culture is Destroying American Politics

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American politics has become a minefield of “gotcha ”.

The media do it to politicians, politicians do it to each other, even the media do it to each other.

And it’s eroding our entire system, says one man who was once a participant.

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Washington DC attorney Lanny Davis was formerly special counsel to President Bill Clinton, but has also represented other politicians, billionaires, and a wide range of other clients.

In 2006 Davis wrote a book that he called Scandal: How Gotcha Politics Is Destroying America.

He and I sat down for a conversation about the book in his k Street office in August of 2006.

So here now, from 2006, Lanny Davis.

Lanny Davis is 79 now.

Calling BS on Politicians: Columnist Molly Ivins

This year’s long and divisive battle for the presidency is just about over.Tomorrow is Election Day And not a moment too soon.

And while certain elements of this campaign have been unique, even unprecedented, much of it has in fact been, for lack of a better term, business as usual.

Longtime Texas-based political columnist Molly Ivins made her living critiquing that business. And Molly was never reticent about pointing out the emperor’s lack of new clothes

She and I had several conversations over several years, including the one you’re about to hear, from 2004.

Get your copy of Molly Ivins’s book

Ivins had just published a collection of some of her columns, and the book came out in the midst of the 2004 presidential campaign.

When we spoke that summer, John Kerry had already secured the democratic presidential nomination to run against incumbent Republican George W Bush, but the Democratic convention was still about two weeks away.

But see if you don’t agree that so much of what she was talking about 20 years ago doesn’t sound just like she could have said it last week.

So here now, from 2004, Molly Ivins.

Molly Ivins died in 2007 at age 62.

The Lou Dobbs Vision For American Populism

What has happened to the idea that the American people are the ones in charge of their own country?

According to longtime cable news personality Lou Dobbs, American populism has been replaced by a network of elites in government and business.

Get your copy of Lou Dobbs’s book

Dobbs wrote about it in his 2007 book Independents Day. I met him that November, just about a year before the 2008 election – and Dobbs spared neither side his criticism.

So here now, from 2007, Lou Dobbs.

Lou Dobbs died this past July. He was 78.

John Kasich And His Plea: Stand For Something

Whatever happened to honesty, Integrity, and accountability?

And not just among our politicians, but our sports heroes, our entertainers, and all leaders.

Longtime Ohio politician John Kasich recognized years ago that the country is in a battle, of sorts, to reclaim personal responsibility.

Get your copy of John Kasich’s book

It was a message that Kasich put forward in a 2006 book he called Stand For Something.

The conversation you’re about to hear took place that spring, six years after his first run for president, and four years before he ran for governor of Ohio.

So here now, from 2006, John Kasich.

John Kasich is now 72. He lives in Ohio.

An Extraordinary Couple: William Cohen & Janet Langhart Cohen

We’re all familiar with the old saw that “opposites attract.” But how opposite is too opposite?

At first glance it might have seemed that William Cohen and Janet Langhart were just too opposite to succeed as a couple

Cohen was white, Jewish, Republican.

Langhart was black, Christian, and Democrat.

But when journalist Langhart interviewed Senator Cohen, something sparked. And in 1996, they were married. The following year President Bill Clinton appointed Cohen his Defense Secretary.

Get your copy of William Cohen & Janet Langhart’s book

The Cohens’ marriage has been sustained by a mutual empathy, as both have
faced racial or religious discrimination each has experienced since childhood.

In 2007 William Cohen and Janet Langhart Cohen co-wrote a book called Love in Black And White. That’s when I had the chance to sit down for a few minutes with both of them to talk about it.

So here now from 2007, William Cohen and Janet Langhart Cohen.

William Cohen is now 82. Janet Langhart is also 82. They celebrated their 28th anniversary last February.

How ‘Term Limits’ Launched Vince Flynn’s Thrilling Career

Fed up with business as usual in Washington, DC?

This election cycle may feel like a new phenomenon, but that voter frustration has been around for decades.

Get your copy of Vince Flynn’s book

Back in 1997 a young dyslexic sales and marketing executive, temporarily employed as a bartender, turned his own frustration into his first book, a self-published political thriller called Term Limits

It got only lukewarm reviews – some even hated it. But readers ate it up. and Vince Flynn’s professional writing career was launched.

His second book introduced us to a counterterrorism specialist named Mitch Rapp, who was then featured in a bestselling series of Flynn thrillers.

Vince was a popular speaker on book tours, so I had the chance to interview him several times over the years. But today let’s go back to where it all started, our conversation about Term Limits.

So here now, from 1998, Vince Flynn.

Vince Flynn died from cancer in 2013. He was 47.

How Ann Coulter’s Demonic Theory Explains America’s Political Divide

It is no secret that America has become more politically divided than ever. And that in turn has raised so many questions about why we are so split.

Why do conservatives think the way they do? And why do liberals think the way they do?

A few years ago conservative commentator Ann Coulter thought she had the answer. She put her theory in a book called Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America. The essence of her theory: Democrats and liberals are simply following a mob mentality.

As you listen to this interview, keep in mind this was years before Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.

So here now from 2011 Ann Coulter.

Ann Coulter will be celebrating her birthday this Friday. She’ll be 62.


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Andrew Cuomo

New York governor, or more precisely, soon-to-be ex governor, Andrew Cuomo has certainly had a rough few weeks.

In the face of a scathing report accusing him of sexual misconduct, Cuomo last week announced his resignation. It was a breathtaking fall from his Emmy award-winning performance during the pandemic in 2020.

And now the political future looks very murky for a man once considered the future of the Democratic Party.

I met Andrew Cuomo in 2003, when he was promoting a book, an anthology of essays by Democrats and Republicans on politics in America.

And Cuomo’s comments from 18 years ago still sounds very current.

So here now, from 2003, Andrew Cuomo.

Andrew Cuomo is 63. He’ll leave office nexxt week.

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Bob Dole

Tomorrow is the presidential election. It’s been a tough campaign, with not a lot of humor.

But politicians, and their constituents, need a good sense of humor. In 1998, Bob Dole, the unsuccessful GOP nominee in 1996, compiled a book of presidential and political humor.

Now, Dole himself was hardly known for his comic genius. But when I interviewed him in 1998, I found out how funny even conservative Republicans can be.

So here now, from 1998, Bob Dole.

Bob Dole is 97.

He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal iun 2017.

Art Buchwald

Art Buchwald may be the first modern-day American journalist to be accused of producing “fake news.” After he wrote a satirical piece about President Dwight Eisenhower’s breakfast habits, Ike’s press secretary actually held a news conference to denounce Buchwald’s column and offer the real facts about the President’s breakfasts.

For decades to follow, Art Buchwald wrote about Washington politics, but also daily life in America, but always with a sharp satirical wit.

I interviewed him several times, including the interview you’re about to hear, from 1991, when

America was still in the recession that started in 1987, when Anita Hill and Iran-Contra were still fresh in everyone’s mind, and the “George Bush” he’s talking about is George H.W. Bush.

Here now, Art Buchwald, from 1991:

The last time I talked with Art Buchwald was in 2005 — he died a little over a year later, at age 81.