Playing in Peoria?
How did I play in Peoria? That was the witty (?) question I encountered around the office after returning a couple of weeks ago from speaking at the Creve Coeur Club of Peoria’s 120th annual Washington Birthday banquet. My response was to challenge my interlocutors as to whether they knew the origin of that phrase. None did, as I didn’t, until I did a few minutes of research on the history of Peoria before speaking there.
The phrase doesn’t originate, as I’d assumed it did, in mid-20th century marketing or politics, reflecting an assumption that Peoria is emblematic of Middle America. Rather, as the indispensable Wikipedia informs us (it really has become indispensable, hasn’t it?):
Jack Mabley, writing in the Chicago Tribune, concluded that “if it plays in Peoria it has good taste,” but a more apt meaning is, according to James C. Ballowe, former dean of Peoria’s Bradley University graduate school, that “Peoria is a tough audience.” In other words, “it bombed in Peoria” or “it was great in Peoria” had recognizable meaning from one coast to the other.
In fact, when you read up more on Peoria, it turns out it was once a pretty wild place–a drinking, gambling, and womanizing town, before it was cleaned up after World War II. Those activities seem to have receded now (or at least I didn’t encounter them in my one evening there!), and Peoria does seem today to be an impressive example of Middle American community activity and civic spirit.
And that was my overwhelming takeaway: The country, or at least some of it, is in better shape than one would think from Washington. Peoria has had some setbacks recently (Caterpillar announced they would move their world headquarters from Peoria to the Chicago area last year), but at least the 600 or so civically engaged people who attended this dinner seemed determined to forge ahead, to strengthen local institutions, to try to govern responsibly. They also cherished the tradition of the Washington Birthday dinner, and the evening in fact closed with a toast to President Washington. So without going overboard, I’d say that Tocquevillian America is perhaps healthier than one would think. But, as many Peorians said to me that evening, they could use some help—they don’t really expect leadership, but would at least like some echoing and reinforcement–from Washington, D.C. Which they’re not getting.
Meanwhile, you ask: How, in fact, did the speech play in Peoria? Fine, I think. I was helped by all kinds of local information provided to me by TWS contributor Ike Brannon (some of his articles which discuss Peoria or Central Illinois are here), so that I could make jokes about local figures, bars, and customs (while of course acknowledging I was depending on Ike for this information). A couple of stories about the late Bob Michel, whom I knew a bit and who is a revered figure in his hometown, and a quotation or two from Abraham Lincoln’s great October 16, 1854, speech in Peoria, and I was home free. And I managed to avoid discussing contemporary politics in any detail at all. So that was good.
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Jeff Bell, 1943-2018
If the last part of that week was marked for me by a fun and uplifting dinner in Peoria, it began on a very different note, with a funeral mass for a friend and frequent TWS contributor, Jeff Bell. Jeff died suddenly at age 74, and hundreds of his friends and admirers gathered to pay their respects. A couple of pieces we published—both Fred Barnes in the magazine and Rich Danker and John Mueller online—describe Jeff’s contributions well, as does this obituary in the New York Times.
It’s always hard to capture personality and character. In Jeff’s case, though he was usually fighting uphill politically and culturally, he was always good-natured, with a wry sense of humor and a kind disposition. Intellectually, one of the most impressive things about Jeff was his willingness to be contrarian–not just in what he believed, but analytically. Jeff always was willing to consider the possibility that the conventional wisdom was wrong, that some political development might have different or even opposite effects from what most people expected. He was always thought-provoking (in a genial and good-humored way), and was often right.
Take a look at a few of his most striking articles for us—and also at the conversation I filmed with him, in which his personality and manner of thinking come through, I think.
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Charles Murray
Last week, the Foundation for Constitutional Government released a new Conversation with Charles Murray on Conversations with Bill Kristol. In this discussion, Charles reflects on the major themes of his work and comments on the state of American society in 2018. Engaging the arguments of his major books, including Losing Ground, The Bell Curve, In Pursuit of Happiness and Good Government, and Coming Apart, Murray considers how his views have changed in the years since they were published. Murray also reveals the working title of his next book, “Human Differences: Race, Gender, Class, and Genes” (no reason to think that will be controversial!), and explains how new discoveries in the natural sciences are likely to affect the social sciences in the coming years.
This Conversation and all previous releases are also available as audio podcasts on iTunes and Stitcher. And the FCG has added this Conversation to the homepage of the FCG’s website devoted to the work of Charles Murray on Contemporary Thinkers.
To view Conversations that have been previously posted, click here.
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Save the date! Join us at the 2018 Weekly Standard summit. This May 17-20 at the historic Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs, join Stephen F. Hayes, Fred Barnes, and Michael Warren and special guests Bret Baier and A.B. Stoddard as they discuss the future of American politics. Book your tickets now.
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Onward.
Bill Kristol
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