Word: breslin
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...Jimmy Breslin's book, which bristles with anecdotes and is embellished with Irish blarney, is the best...
...Jimmy Breslin shows the bias of a clubhouse politician who understands the fast fix and the low squeeze; still he has nothing but disdain for any high flyer who thinks he can corrupt and deceive a whole nation. Last summer Breslin had the productive and pleasant idea of guzzling and gabbing regularly with a savvy fellow Irishman: Democratic House Leader Thomas P. ("Tip") O'Neill (TIME cover, Feb. 4, 1974). It is Breslin's theory that those Washington politicians who create around them the "illusion of power" (like "beautiful blue smoke rolling over the surface of highly polished...
Beyond the Pale. As Breslin tells it the story is fascinating. O'Neill first realized that Nixon had gone beyond the political pale when he learned that Democratic businessmen in trouble with federal agencies were being clubbed into becoming Democrats for Nixon in 1972. The experience of George Steinbrenner, owner of an Ohio shipbuilding firm and part owner of the New York Yankees, was the eye opener. Steinbrenner had been a stalwart Democratic fund raiser during the 1968 campaign. Soon he was being investigated by IRS, and the Justice Department. "They are holding the lumber over my head," Steinbrenner...
...Breslin describes how Steinbrenner was advised by a former Nixon law partner, Tom Evans, to see Herbert Kalmbach, Nixon's personal attorney. Speaking euphemistically about Steinbrenner's agency troubles, Kalmbach warned: "You do a lot of business in Washington; you would do well to get with the right people." Kalmbach suggested that Steinbrenner should give $3,000 to each of 33 Nixon committees and $1,000 to another. Total: $100,000. Steinbrenner did just that. After he reluctantly became a Democrat for Nixon, his Government troubles faded (though he later received a fine for illegally using corporate funds...
...Breslin writes, "O'Neill did not know that he was using such terribly unsure methods as instinct, a little anger and a boxcar full of common sense. Soon the word was getting back to O'Neill, mirror fashion: impeachment was in the wind. Slyly, O'Neill labeled such talk "premature." He did not want a hasty vote that Nixon would probably win; once the facts were marshaled, he was sure the votes would be there...