Talk:Hendrik Hertzberg

Biography assessment rating comment

The article may be improved by following the WikiProject Biography 11 easy steps to producing at least a B article. -- Edofedinburgh 02:04, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

Why is there nothing in here about his fabrication of articles??? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 140.180.41.213 (talk) 01:27, 18 December 2009 (UTC)

Malaise Speech and NPOV

Before I get slapped with NPOV, please consider this. Botendaddy is about as apolitical as you can get. The Malaise speech is one of the most studied pieces of political rhetoric in the last 30 years. The Malaise speech is the speech for which Hertzberg is most remembered. To omit it is to absolutely re-write history. Even Hertzberg acknowledges the Speech and how it was interpreted or in his view how it was misinterpreted. It is memorialized in the movie "Miracle" The reaction to the speech by the American Public was absolutely disastrous. It may have been seized upon by conservatives later on, but it stunned the average American on July 15, 1979. Walter Mondale, President Carter's own Vice-President warned Carter pollster Patrick Caddell, that the speech would not be viewed for the purpose intended, but would be viewed as blaming the people for the government's failures. Please see the citation in the article. Many analyses believe that the writers were out of touch with what was really bothering Americans. Commentators have noted that Americans were out of work, losing their homes and afraid and not really worried about energy conservation-which was Mondale's point. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Botendaddy (talk • contribs) 05:40, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

I don't think the speech ought to be omitted, but to characterize it (without sources) as "one of the most disastrous pieces of presidential rhetoric in history" (as the prior revision did) is way in violation of NPOV. (In fact, the speech itself boosted Carter's numbers; it was his subsequent decision to fire his Cabinet that was unpopular. But nevermind that.) Isamuel (talk) 06:01, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

Saying the speech "is regarded" (without stating by whom) "as one of the most disastrous pieces of Presidential Rhetoric in American history" is POV and is also a violation of WP:WEASEL. If there is a specific illustrative quote that someone feels is not WP:UNDUE then it may be OK to include, but stating something that is by definition is an opinion as fact is not workable. ^Bongo_matic 16:34, 24 March 2010 (UTC)

I will get the multitude of citations that state this rather clearly. The speech is taught in rhetoric class as the epitome of failed presidential rhetoric. I will post one of the many quotes in this regard. Even Hertzberg comes close to acknowledging this. You can re-write history if you choose. But it is the Hindenburg disaster of 20th century political rhetoric. Sorry I can't get a tilde. Botendaddy.

Bongo, I have toned down the statement, because I did not have a verbatim cite, but I have added objective cites to the effect of how ineffective it was. Please read these articles and even read Hertzberg's own words in the New Yorker. I actually wrote to Hertzberg about this speech and his response to me was honest and thoughtful. I actually have much more respect for the man now. The speech (in my POV) when I heard it again in the movie "Miracle" was actually quite thoughtful and well-written, but the timing was brutal. I don't hate the man or the speech actually, but the timing.... I am the Botendaddy 23:11, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

'matic, my bro', one more change. Your edits, while in an effort to be more objective, miss two points: one is that the economy was in severe recession and it got catastrophically worse after the unrest in Iran which occurred in 1978. I did not revert the word "implosion" as that could be too POV but I recommend you research the era a bit more closely and see the economic indicators from 1977-1980, it was pretty dramatic. Secondly, the entire basis of the negative reaction to Carter's speech was that he was seen to be blaming the American people for his own failings. There are literally hundreds of citations to this effect and books have been written about it. I'm not a Carter-hater, but if you really want to understand the era, Carter's rise and fall was spectacular. In 1977, life was good, people were confident, we were on the Rocky Mountain High, in 1980 life was not good, people were afraid. The same guy who brought America the feel-good era of 77-78, was now telling us that everything was our fault for not being happy. Blame is the operative word. If you would like cites from commentators on every range of the political spectrum using the word "blame", I can find them for you. Also, the more I listen to the speech the more lyrical and poignant it is. So I don't hate the speech or the writer. Hertzberg himself is a humble and thoughtful man. I am the Botendaddy 14:43, 1 May 2010 (UTC)

There was an edit which said something to the effect of "even though he never used the term, it was widely dubbed the malaise speech". I believe it was the LA Times, almost the next day that gave it its infamous name. Hertzberg himself recently wrote an essay in the New Yorker where he referred to it as the malaise speech, so he has in fact referred to it by that name. As I've mentioned before, the speech itself is a brilliant piece of writing, just delivered two years too late. I am the Botendaddy 18:35, 22 August 2010 (UTC)

Political donation to John Kerry

I believe that that information is relevant to this article, as it is unusual and questionable ethically for a journalist to contribute to a political campaign. What kind of contextualizing were you referring to? Drrll (talk) 22:32, 25 October 2010 (UTC)

Quality of Article

Hertzberg is an important journalist with a place in American history. We could improve this article a great deal. The article picks out a few seminal speeches, but doesn't tell the story very well of how he rose from his first journalism job to his position in the Carter Administration and then to his role with the New Yorker. We are missing a good story here. Botendaddy 14:33, 9 January 2011 (UTC)