The Origins of Neoconservatism

An historical aside: You know, you can trace the entire history of neoconservatism to the time when the then-still liberal Norman Podhoretz was having lunch with George McGovern about three decades ago, and they were picking a table to eat at and McGovern said something unkind about the looks of a woman at one table spoiling his appetite that I fear even included a canine reference. The woman turned out to be Decter, Podhoretz's wife, and the rest is history. The story originally appeared in Sid Blumenthal's book, "The Rise of the Counter-Establishment," and was repeated in a Washington Post's review of it. With a perfect talent for making an already ugly situation even uglier, Podhoretz wrote in a letter demanding a retraction, thereby calling attention to what must have been a horrifying situation for Decter, only to have McGovern confirm the story for everybody. And yes, this does explain a lot about John P. "Normanson" Podhoretz too, but let's leave that for another day.

From the Historty News Network