February 2010 – Craig Fehrman

“Secret Handshake to The White House”

23 February 201028 February 2010 by Craig Fehrman, posted in Dissertation ephemera

Late last night, I came across Derek J. Groff’s 2009 dissertation, The Fraternity Factor: Secret Handshake to The White House. Let’s go to the abstract:

At least 60% of America’s 44 presidents were members of secret societies during their ascent to power, a statistic suggesting a phenomenon greater than chance. This study examines that phenomenon, focusing specifically on three groups: Freemasons, Greek-Letter Fraternities, and Yale’s Skull & Bones. It also seeks to identify and analyze the cardinal virtues of secret societies in general, as well as the values of the three groups, in particular. . . . The conclusion suggests that secret societies not only imbue their members with unique values relevant to politics, but that such values have influenced presidential policy, foreign and domestic.

There are histories of everything from presidential physicians to presidential press conferences, so it’s hard to fault the topic. But I can sure fault the trend—and not just as someone who, every April, gets woken up by the crazy Skull & Bones ceremonies that go down in the alley next to my apartment.

Speaking of life experience: the dissertation also promises “the researcher’s own insights as a former Greek-Letter Fraternity president.” If you have access to ProQuest’s Dissertations and Theses database, you can download those insights here.

Correct!

9 February 201014 February 2010 by Craig Fehrman, posted in Dissertation ephemera

How did a perfunctory old story like “Obama’s Back Fund-Raising in New York, Not Quietly” end up with a correction this sublime?

An article on Saturday about fund-raising efforts in New York by Senator Barack Obama misspelled the surname of one of President John F. Kennedy’s closest advisers, who introduced Mr. Obama at a fund-raiser. He is Theodore C. Sorensen, not Sorenson. The error also appeared in an article in The Arts on Feb. 22 about books written by candidates, including “Profiles in Courage,” which then-Senator Kennedy wrote with guidance [!!!] from Mr. Sorensen. (The Times has misspelled Mr. Sorensen’s surname more than 135 [!!!] times in headlines and articles during the 50-plus years he has been a Democratic adviser and well-known author.)

Gregg Easterbrook’s recent Tuesday Morning Quarterback column included a sampling of other great NYT corrections. I remain partial to Sorenso/en, myself.

Did I Inadvertently Predict the Gilbert Arenas Incident?

2 February 201012 February 2010 by Craig Fehrman, posted in Books, Sports

Howard Zinn is dead and Gilbert Arenas is making news for some decidedly right-wing behavior—in other words, my review of Dave Zirin’s A People’s History of Sports (2008) is newly relevant!

Here’s how the review starts:

Last month, Gilbert Arenas, an NBA All-Star, wrote the following on his blog: “Since I’ve been in the NBA I’ve been in the upper class so I’ve been a Republican. If you have any type of money, you’re a Republican, period.”

You can read the rest of it here. (Note: I found it shocking how many people fawned over Zirin’s book; I’ve never felt less guilty about writing a negative review—and for a book I couldn’t wait to read.)