"COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATIVE" and other old NYT headlines!

[Zomby Woof]

For Christmas 1980, I received a coffee table book showcasing historically important NYT front pages. It is called "Page One: 1920-1980", and I do believe updated editions still come out, and can be found in the bargain section of B&N.

Here are some interesting forgotten bits of history and surprises I uncovered by glancing through it for the first time in many years:

When Prohibition was repealed, FDR urged the states to ban the openings of saloons. He wanted to make sure temperance was still observed in some fashion, but stopped short of a federal mandate banning saloons. So he asked them instead. Chalk that one up as a VERY unworkable idea.

As First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt called for housewives to receive a salary.

When Pope Paul VI was selected in 1963, the NYT hailed him as a "Liberal" in their headline. When he died in 1978, they hailed him, in fairly large font, as a...

"COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATIVE"

Guess that term didn't originate with Karen Hughes or Karl Rove, eh? And in 15 years, the NYT committed a major flip-flop.

Since dead popes have been a popular subject lately, when Pope Benedict XV died in 1922, he was "Praised by leaders of all religions", AND rumors spread of his death the day before he was officially declared dead. Sounds familiar, no?

Found it interesting that Jimmy Carter came under attack from within the party (hence Ted Kennedy's well-known opposition to him in the 1980 race) for cutting social spending and increasing the defense budget for 1980. Carter denied that is what he was doing, but could you imagine the GD Forum had it existed then? "Jimmy Carter is a DINO!" against the "He is doing what is right for America!" crowd. Hahaha... I imagined a LOT of flame wars reading these classic headlines.

My favorite (perhaps) unintended double entendre headline was about the NYC blackout in July 1977. "City Gropes In Dark".


If you get a chance, search the NYT archives for similarly interesting primary source history reading. It was great fun.

[Zomby Woof]

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