February 27, 2008 05:29 pm
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Some thoughts on DeKay’s Clinton and Thatcher column
The Feb. 15 column by Peggy DeKay had some notable misstatements.
She wrote that Margaret Thatcher and Hillary Clinton “had law degrees from, Oxford and Yale, respectively.” Thatcher does not have a law degree from Oxford. Her only Oxford degree is in chemistry. Some years later, she became a barrister, the higher of the two types of British lawyers, by taking exams and serving two internships. Moreover, she was the first prime minister in modern history not to receive an honorary degree from Oxford when the faculty voted by a large majority not to give her that honor.
Hillary Clinton did not give up “her conservative roots” “after her marriage to Bill.” She actively worked for Democratic Senator Eugene McCarthy in the 1968 campaign, at least two years before she met her future husband.
Thatcher did not “hold many posts before becoming PM.” Her only previous Cabinet position was that of Secretary for Education and Science, where she was known as ‘Thatcher, the milk snatcher’ for cutting the milk allowance for school children.
Yes, Thatcher fought the Falklands War. Some British foreign policy experts believe there would have been no war if Thatcher had not removed British naval forces from the south Atlantic. Her predecessors as prime ministers had persistently maintained ships of the Royal Navy there to discourage any threat to the Falklands by Argentina. Her decision not to continue that policy was to save money, but the costs of the war and the costs of building and servicing a major runway there after the war, far exceeded the expense of keeping naval ships posted nearby.
DeKay criticizes Mrs. Clinton for firing her campaign manager, evidently unaware that Thatcher sacked Cabinet member after Cabinet member. That behavior eventually led to her downfall in 1990.
Then DeKay condemns Clinton for “advancing her own power base.” What does DeKay think motivates major political figures? It is not to win the local golf tournament or the church pie bake-off.
DeKay’s closing reference to a Star Trek episode reveals the depth of her understanding of political matters.
— T. P. Wolf, New Albany
DeKay defends her column
In response to Mr. Wolf’s Letter to the Editor.
Lady Thatcher did receive her one and only Oxford degree in chemistry. She did not receive an honorary doctorate. According to an article published in BBC she was ”snubbed by the dons,” in protest against the government’s cuts in funding for education.
Sir Patrick Neill, one of Mrs. Thatcher's leading supporters was disappointed at the decision and said at the time: "We have never given honorary degrees in the past because we approved or disapproved of someone's policies.” That takes away nothing from Thatcher who in history’s eye “rose to become the first (and for two decades the only) woman to lead a major Western democracy.”
Thatcher said, regarding the War of the Falklands, “We could never at any stage be sure what the outcome of the Falklands War would be. But of two things I could be sure — first that our cause was just, and second that no finer troops could be found in the world than those of our country.” Thatcher was true to her convictions, popular or not, she stuck to her guns…something that lead-by-political-poll politicians don’t understand.
As for Hillary Clinton and when she ‘gave up her conservative roots’, it is hard to tell where the transition actually took place. I believe it was not a ‘consolidated,’ clearly defined position until she met her husband. Her senior thesis entitled, “There is Only the Fight…” An Analysis of the Alinsky Model may have reflected and consolidated her leftist, some might say, radical leftist views earlier, but unfortunately, the White House requested that Wellesley College not release the thesis to anyone. Wellesley complied by instituting a new rule that closed access to the thesis of any sitting U.S. president or First Lady. This rule when applied, barred one document, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s senior thesis. (The thesis, released after the Clinton’s left office, can now be read, in person only, no photo copies, at the Wellesley archives). Rodham's former professor and thesis adviser Alan Schechter, told MSNBC.com that “There Is Only the Fight…” was a good thesis, and that its suppression by the Clinton White House "was a stupid political decision, obviously, at the time."
As for posts held by Lady Thatcher; please refer to the list from the Margaret Thatcher Foundation website:
She was elected to Parliament in 1959 as Member of Parliament for Finchley, a north London constituency, which she continued to represent until she was made a member of the House of Lords (as Baroness Thatcher) in 1992.
Within two years, she was given junior office in the administration of Harold Macmillan and during 1964-70 (when the Conservatives were again in Opposition), established her place among the senior figures of the party, serving continuously as a shadow minister.
When the Conservatives returned to office in 1970, under the premiership of Edward Heath, she achieved cabinet rank as Education Secretary.
She won three successive General Elections and served as British Prime Minister for more than 11 years (1979-90), a record unmatched in the 20th century.
As for Clinton firing her campaign manager, Lady Thatcher was Prime Minister for over 11 years. In 11 years of the rough and tumble politics of the Brits this is predictable. Cabinet members are politicians in their own right, with minds of their own, and free to resign. Campaign managers are employees, chosen by the candidate, and paid by the candidate’s election committee. My feeling is Clinton cannot run a large organization effectively, i.e.; her campaign or her national health plan.
While I concur with Mr. Wolf that most politicians, but not all, are power hungry people, my problem with Clinton is not her desire for power, but her overriding desire for power; a good example of which is using her husband’s office and her position as First Lady to suppress her senior thesis. Good grief!
As for my Star Trek quote. I received at least two e-mails. One was from an MBA in Chicago who reads my articles online every week which wrote, “loved the article and the Star Trek quote.” I am, after all, an IUS alumni, and to some extent, a product of my education.
Above all, and despite our differences, I do appreciate the read, and the careful reply. As always, for better or worse, that’s my opinion.
— Peggy DeKay, Clark County
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