All the problems of American political life were encapsulated in my experience in the US Army, so that everything pointed to the fact that nobody had any clear idea of what was happening in the world, why we were there. ((Eisenhower Draft)) And my outfit was actually in the Battle of the Bulge. I was in a town, a small town, very close to Bastogne, where the 101st Airborne was located, that made such a famous — gained such a famous reputation in the Battle of the Bulge, where the General in charge said to the German officer, he said, “It’s time for you to surrender.” And his answer was, “Nuts!” A perfect American answer.

And then, shortly after that, of course, the German fortunes seriously declined, and then the war was nearly over. ((Warpath)) So, all of this has played in to my sense of the terrible illiteracy of the American world in matters of public politics and so on.