The early 1970s were a tumultuous time for the Republican Party—not unlike today. The party was battling national security risks, wrestling with the expansion of civil rights, and dealing with the political fallout of an embattled president. In order to survive, the Republican Party needed someone to guide them. That someone was James A. Baker III.
Baker was the right-hand man of presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and a major player in constructing modern conservatism, yet his story has gone largely untold until now. Revered political journalists (and husband and wife) Peter Baker of The New York Times and Susan Glasser of The New Yorker have teamed up to tell the story of the man behind the curtain. In their book The Man Who Ran Washington, they describe that man who pieced the Republican Party back together, leading with vision and a loyalty to the party, but also in service to all Americans.
Join us as Baker and Glasser discuss the story of a power broker who influenced America’s future for generations, the current state of politics, and more!
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Part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by The Bernard Osher Foundation
This program contains EXPLICIT language
Peter Baker
Chief White House Correspondent, The New York Times; Co-Author, The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III; Twitter @peterbakernyt
Susan Glasser
Staff Writer, The New Yorker; Co-Author, The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III; Twitter @sbg1
In Conversation with Kori Schake
Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute; Twitter @KoriSchake