Influential NY Times Editor Tanenhaus: Nixon, Reagan, and Bush 'Committed Impeachable Offenses Probably'

By Clay Waters (Bio | Archive)
October 29, 2009 - 15:32 ET
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Did Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush "probably" commit "impeachable offenses"? That's what influential New York Times editor Sam Tanenhaus thinks.

On Wednesday night, the influential editor of both the "New York Times Book Review" and the "Weekend Review" sections again appeared on Charlie Rose's late night PBS chat show to discuss his no-longer-new book "The Death of Conservatism."

Times Watch found Tanenhaus's slim essay of a book intellectually dishonest, not so much declaring the movement dead as trying to define it out of existence by blurring the meaning of "conservatism" to mean the preserving of liberal government interventions.

Tanenhaus made his assertion three minutes into the interview while discussing limits on presidential power:

Another great conservative philosopher I write about is James Burnham, another mentor to Buckley. And he was one of the first strong critics of what he saw as, called it "Caesarism," the presidency that grows so overweening in its power that it violates the strength of the other branches. It was conservatives who first made that criticism. But then once their own politicians got in office, they reversed course. With Nixon, with Reagan, and with George W. Bush -- decided there should be no constraints on the presidency at all. And we had three presidents in those three instances -- Nixon, Reagan, and Bush -- who committed impeachable offenses probably. And we had Democratic presidents who seemed to understand the limitations of power, and we had moderate Republicans who understood that -- Gerald Ford, Dwight Eisenhower, the elder Bush. 

Tanenhaus skipped a Democratic president who actually was impeached: Bill Clinton.

—Clay Waters is the director of Times Watch, an MRC project tracking the New York Times.


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What can you say about "The

October 29, 2009 - 15:47 ET by HockeyKid

What can you say about "The Death of Conservatism"?

NY-23, baby!! 

"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me

probably

October 29, 2009 - 15:50 ET by jacktheripper

maybe, could be, I think they did, yada yada yada

 

 

"The American Republic will endure, until politicians realize they can
bribe the people with their own money." – Alexis de Tocqueville

Jack

October 29, 2009 - 22:09 ET by DoktorFranken

You forgot the favorite of the Left - Nanner, nanner, Boo Boo. 

 

JMHO, you understand.

If Saul Alinsky owned a news channel it would be MSNBC.  ----  Me

A liberal saying that

October 29, 2009 - 15:51 ET by ForeverOnTheRight

A liberal saying that conservatism is dead is bound to be intellectually dishonest. It’s the same as an atheist saying that God is dead. Now if a conservative said that conservatism is dead then my curiosity would be aroused.  I’d say that liberalism is not dead but it’s in a downward spiral, becoming more corrupt every day.

So What?

October 29, 2009 - 15:52 ET by JustAl

In our convoluted and often subjective legal system, every president is likely to have committed impeachable offenses.  Lincoln's illegal war of conquest on the Confederacy and suspension of habeas corpus, TR "stealing" Panama, FDR's blackmail and resulting castration of the supreme court, Carter giving nuclear reactors to North Korea, Reagan subverting the immigration laws with a general amnesty, Clinton giving (selling) missile and super computer technology to the PRC, Bush 43 subverting the immigration laws on behalf of Obama's aunt.

Aside from the possibility of his foreign birth, His "O"lliness's ineffectiveness may be have actually kept him from committing any. . . yet.

Impeachabel Offenses?

October 29, 2009 - 16:02 ET by allanf
  1. Lincoln -- imprisoning 10 of thousands of northerners as potential combatants without trial.  Later ruled habeus corpus suspension was illegal.
  2. Roosevelt -- imprisoned 40,000 Japanese Americans. Oversaw the bombing of civilian targets.  Provided military support to Britain before the war without authorization from Congress.
  3. Kennedy -- Wiretaps without court order.
  4. Johnson  -- Wiretaps without court order

Who Did?

October 29, 2009 - 16:05 ET by ptson

Maybe JFK committed crimes (spying on Rev. King?) Maybe LBJ committed crimes? (Can you say Billy Sol Estes and WHO was behind the plot of the century?, hum?) Maybe Carter committed crimes? (mostly of stupidity, bad judgement on Iran, resulting in non re-election)  Maybe, Bill (blue dress) Clinton who actually was impeached? What about the Constitution destroying Obama? Is that not an impeachable offense?

And I wonder what they

October 29, 2009 - 16:06 ET by 10ksnooker

And I wonder what they think about our so-called president. The one who refuses to produce documents that say he was even qualified to run in the election?

I doubt the Constitutionality of a lot of things Obamao is now doing, like taking over private comapanies ... And how about the government rationed healthcare, turn your medical records over to the feds-- But snooping on your library card was unconstitutional.

Liberlas are seriously screwed up people.

Is it any wonder that the NY

October 29, 2009 - 16:16 ET by bse5150

Is it any wonder that the NY Times is on the way out? With tools like this one running the paper, it should be totally gone in a 2-3 years.

Yeah, pretty soon we will

October 30, 2009 - 08:14 ET by BD

Yeah, pretty soon we will see trucks hauling the Times possessions such as their Pulitzers and GLAAD Journalism Awards away to the recycling center along with the excess staplers as they frantically attempt to find operating capital.

And those idiots who stick with Pinch Sulzburger to the end deserve to lose their money.

So the word "probably"

October 29, 2009 - 16:22 ET by rockyracoon

So the word "probably" passes for the truth or the facts? It's all how this putz feels that matters? Now wonder as I read on these threads, why NYT is losing subscribers.  These libs are getting more and more pathetic.  

Facts are like kryptonite to the liberal.

This guy should be in

October 29, 2009 - 16:33 ET by mattm

This guy should be in prison, probably.

Are liberals getting dumber?

October 29, 2009 - 16:41 ET by BO STINKS

It just seems that the more power they take and the more they talk, the dumber they get. Really weird, must be getting close to All Hallow's Eve - the loons have been released all over the place.

"How strangely will the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning of Words!"  Sam Adams 

Leaving the impeachment of Clinton aside..

October 29, 2009 - 18:13 ET by Gary Hall

September, 2000
Belgrade sentences Nato leaders

A court in Belgrade has sentenced 14 Nato leaders to 20 years in prison each for war crimes allegedly committed during last year's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia.

The presiding judge said an arrest warrant had been issued for the convicted leaders, who include US President Bill Clinton, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac.

Let's be clear here: NATO's war in Kosovo was Clinton's war in Kosovo. Clinton never got the UN resolutions supporting the action he sought.

Therefore, Nelson Mandela and former President Jimmy Carter condemned the action as well.

-- Jimmy Carter – On Kosovo, New York Times, May 27, 1999..."[Our attack] has been counterproductive, and our destruction of civilian life has now become senseless and excessively brutal... The American-led force has expanded targets to inhabited areas and resorted to the use of anti-personnel cluster bombs. The result has been damage to hospitals, offices and residences of a half-dozen ambassadors, and the killing of innocent civilians... [Our] insistence on the use of cluster bombs, designed to kill or maim humans, is condemned almost universally and brings discredit to our nation."

Nelson Mandela...."I also condemn NATO for taking action outside of the United Nations and doing precisely what Milosevic is doing. Killing civilians, destroying the infrastructures of the country. Destroying bridges and all of the structures, which are important for the development of the country. I pointed out to President Boris Yeltsin that we must strongly condemn any country or group of countries that take action of this nature outside of the United Nations." President Nelson Mandela, at a press conference in Budapest on May 3, 1999

And of course, Clinton was accused of promoting genocide in Africa by many. And Clinton established a beefed program of extaordinary rendition for captured terrorists during the mid 1990's.

How in the world could Tanenhaus skip on Clinton. Clinton's name should be top of his list.

Might it be that the MSM is so effective in censoring the news of what is done and said when Democrats are at the helm, that the literay elite actually are not aware of what is going on?

(;~/ gary

You don't suppose. . .

October 29, 2009 - 18:16 ET by Rhymes With Right

that he could actually go so far as to name an actual impeachable offense on the part of Reagan and Bush, are both paragons of American patriotism, do you?

 

Blogging at rhymeswithright.mu.nu

dono Is it me or does

October 29, 2009 - 18:58 ET by dostrow57

dono

Is it me or does this guy resemble 1 of the characters from South Park 

 

Yes, but I just cannot place him.

October 29, 2009 - 19:06 ET by pahuber

Which character do you think he looks like?

 

tanenhaus, you are an obvious dem goon and willing moron.

October 29, 2009 - 19:03 ET by pahuber

"And we had Democratic presidents who seemed to understand the limitations of power..." 

No laugh track needed for this whopper, but only maximum incredulity of the willingness tanenhaus is saying this w/o breaking out in laughter or a lightning bolt coming in from above.

You "probably" don't qualify for a journalist...

 

he is just another commie

October 29, 2009 - 19:25 ET by jkwtrading

he is just another commie scumbag

Tanenhaus is a dope

October 29, 2009 - 19:37 ET by Captain Kirock

And his book is garbage.

"Impeachable Offenses" are essentially whatever the House of Representatives determines them to be.  "High crimes and misdemeanors" can be defined as almost anything.

Libs and Impeachment

October 29, 2009 - 19:43 ET by Smartypants

Liberals always believe Republicans have somehow broken the law.  This is the childish way they deal with reality: they just make up their own rules.  Any transgressions of their own heroes are completely acceptable.  Meanwhile, they have a difference in policy decisions with a Republican and it is an impeachable offense.  I'm sure this bozo thinks "tax cuts for the rich" is an impeachable offense; he needs to buzz off.

 

 

The most successful war America has ever waged is quickly becoming President Obama's war on capitalism.

From the newspaper that has made journalist maleficence

October 29, 2009 - 20:35 ET by wnaegele

...its hallmark.

Morally and financially...

October 30, 2009 - 00:08 ET by Scrapiron

When will this slime get his pink slip from the morally and financially bankrupt NYSlimes? Judging by the papers performance the copy boys/janitors are now the editors.

 

Old, Retired and glad of it.

Sam Troll

October 30, 2009 - 02:38 ET by Big Momma

Looks like he needs to come out of the basement once in a while......

"Look Ma.......I'm King of the World."  B. H. Obama

Oxymoron???

October 30, 2009 - 06:17 ET by VT Con Man

"Influential NYTimes Editor"

What do "Influential" and "NY Times Editor" have in common?

nada...

THE NYSLIMES...

October 30, 2009 - 06:58 ET by danybhoy

 VT Con Man,

I was thinking the same thing. The NYSlimes & their ilk are losing their grip over the content of what the news of the day will be, & THEY KNOW IT. The gov't is talking about a bailout of the failed newspaper industry for a reason, because it's going out of buisiness.

Influential? Not anymore...Under the Influence? Good question.

 

"...How blind can you be, don't you see...

...that the gambler lost all he does not have..."  

Nightwish

          There

October 30, 2009 - 09:09 ET by jessieH

          There will be another "president" impeached, soon.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Jayk Quinn Your book

October 30, 2009 - 10:43 ET by Quinnrasta

Jayk Quinn

Your book "probably" did not sell 10,000 copies...wait a minute, it didn't!!!