Rowan says he replied. (“What a pity,”nhe writes of LBJ in a rare meditativenmoment. “A man so great in so manynways, and so mean and petty innothers.” By contrast, Adlai Stevenson,nwho refused Rowan a car and drivernduring the latter’s brief stint at thenUnited Nations, was well-meaning butnunfit to be President for the unfortunatenif plausible reason that he “lackednballs.”)nThere follows an equally unlikelynexchange the author supposedly hadnwith President Reagan at a Gridironndinner. Needless to say, the “actorturned-rabble-rouser”ngets the worst ofnit, and indeed is reduced to whimperingnwhen his “glib cliches” prove futilenagainst Mr. Rowan’s forthright eloquence:nReagan: “I tried hard to winnfriendship among blacks, but Incouldn’t do it. . . .”nRowan: “And that’s why younwent almost eight years refusingnto talk to the acknowledgednblack leaders of America?”nReagan: (now desperate):n”They attacked me at thenoutset, so I said to hell withn’em.”nRowan (firmly): “Sir, I’venattacked you in my columnsnbecause I believe that anynpresident of all the people mustntalk to all the people and theirnleaders.”nReagan (after “a longnpause”): “You know something?nI should have talked to younseven years ago.”nWhether the leader of the Free Worldnreally fell silent on hearing Carl Rowan’sntrite reformulation of Lincoln’s “ofnthe people, by the people” speech, wencan’t say for sure, but the pattern of allnthese exchanges never varies: Rowan isnoffended by some outrageous statementnor insult about the poor and underprivileged,nRowan can stand it no longer.nWhite Male cowers as Rowan deliversndevastating reply—indeed, so devastatingnand eloquent that years later Rowanncan reconstruct every word, objective,nmasterful, award-winning reporter thatnhe is.nIt was shortly after the Gridironndinner that Mr. Rowan had that littienincident for which, he says sorrowfully,nhe’ll long be remembered. As all thenworid would read, one night Mr. Rowannencountered an unclothed interlopernand lady friend cavorting in his backyardnpool. Seeing Rowan, the man charged,nonly to be laid low by Rowan’s unlicensedngun. It was only a wrist wound,nbut landed the pundit, a passionatengun-control advocate, in criminal court.nLeave aside the details of that ridiculousnepisode, and just consider thisncomplaint, which reveals a good dealnabout Carl Rowan’s world view: “Thenmedia staked out my house, houndingnme everywhere, as though I had suddenlynbecome some grotesque criminal.nIt was as if no one remembered, or gavena damn, that a few months eadier I wasnhosting the Ronald Reagans as presidentnof the Gridiron Club. …”nHere the big columnist, champion ofnthe poor and downtrodden, gets himselfnin a fix — and he wants to bring in thencallous “actor-turned-rabble-rouser” asna character witness. Men have fallennfrom higher places than the presidencynof the Gridiron Club, but one wondersnwhat connection he saw between thendinner and the police investigation.nWhat would he have expected officersnon the scene to say — “Gee, Mr. Rowan,nwish you’d mentioned that Gridironnaffair with the Reagans earlier—wencould have avoided this whole unpleas­nLIBERAL ARTSnON RUSSIANSnYou look at a Russian with a sharpnlittle eye . . .nHe looks at you with a sharpnlittle eye. . . .nAnd everything is understood.nAnd no words are needed.nThat’s just what is impossible with anforeigner.n{In the street.)nant business”?nThat phrase above — the “acknowledgednblack leaders of America” withnwhom all Presidents must deal — justnabout sums up Mr. Rowan’s careernpath. From an early life of true privation,nhe emerged rightly defiant, butnnever quite shook off that “haughtiness.”nHe himself rose “on merit,” butnthen, with other Acknowledged BlacknLeaders, succumbed to the affirmativenaction temptation that would denynothers, black and white, the same privilegenwhile further empowering —nAcknowledged Black Leaders. He dismissesnscornfully the “glib cliches” ofnRepublican white males, and of coursentheir black “quislings” who feel insultednby quotas and timetables, in a memoirnfull of warnings to “lily-white” Republicansnabout “turning back the clock” —nas if these inspired new phrases willnsurely silence those glib cliches.nBreaking Barriers is a testament tonthe capacity of a comfortable Capitalnpundit to become an unquestionednfixture indulged by publishers and publicnalike, trading, like his fellow acknowledgednblack leaders, on yesterday’snreputation, and more concernednwith being “acknowledged” than withnactually being a leader.nn— from Solitaria,nby V.V. Rozanov, 1912nnnJUNE 1991/31n