Word: breslin
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
WITH O'NEILL for a hero, Breslin had the opportunity to see what went on in the House, as well as within the Judiciary Committee. On the floor of the House, and in the corridors and cloakrooms, there was lot of wrangling over who should chair the Judiciary Committee. Many Congressmen who thought that the position was going to get a lot of publicity didn't want to give the place to Rodino, who was at that point an unknown from New Jersey. But O'Neill, who knew, as always, more than he showed, managed to convince the vying Congressmen...
...Breslin also gets information from O'Neill's office that has not appeared elsewhere in print. When Jeb Magruder went to prison in Allentown, Pennsylvania, he had a special chore set out for him. One of Allenwood's better-known prisoners is Cornelius Gallagher, a former New Jersey congressman with Mafia connections. Gallagher and Magruder became tennis partners (Allenwood has tennis courts) until Gallagher discovered that Magruder's task was to find out from him whether Rodino had any skeletons in his closet. Gallagher remained silent, although he realized subsequently that he was going to do maximum time unless...
...Although Breslin concentrates on the Congressional side of the impeachment summer, and on O'Neill more particularly, he never hesitates to give credit where it is due. He praises John Doar for his efficient and methodical work as counsel to the Judiciary Committee, even though he doesn't find Doar personally as attractive as O'Neill, and even Doar is a lawyer. Rodino, along with the rest of the Judiciary Committee, is not eclipsed by Breslin's concentration on O'Neill. Breslin respects their effort, and describes in detail their persistence, coordination and sheer stamina. Rodino worked so hard that...
...BRESLIN'S IDEALIZATION of O'Neill as the intrepid initiator of the pre-impeachment proceedings is a bit misleading, and ignores other important factors in the course of events of '73-'74. O'Neill has a great capacity for understanding the movement of politics, and for tapping the current of public opinion. As House Majority Leader, he was indubitably a major force in organizing the House votes against Nixon. But any other Majority Leader would probably have been equally effective, and Breslin presents no clearcut evidence that O'Neill had anything more to do with Nixon's demise than other...
Certainly Breslin is not an objective reporter, and he doesn't pretend to be. He is as vicious to the Bad Guys as he is sympathetic to the Good. He describes Mardian as the type of man who "in the prize-fighting business, they used to call a mutt." And as he is about to begin the story, Breslin gets a little maudlin...