fill the Forgotten Majority has changedrnas much as they claim. Popular supportrnfor Bill Clinton during the Lewinskyrnscandal was due not to approval of thernPresident’s outre sexual habits but to therneconomic well-being of the nation andrnperhaps also to a reaction against therntransparent political partisanship of thernRepublican attack on him. It may wellrnbe that white middle-class voters desirernmore government spending on healthrncare, education, and Social Securit)’, andrnsince the Republicans have done nothingrnto help their most loyal supporters inrnthese areas, it would hardly be surprisingrnif they bolted to the Democrats or somernthird-party candidate who does offerrnhelp.rnTeixeira and Rogers, therefore, mavrnnot be correct about the mellowing ofrnMiddle America; it is far more likely thatrnemerging cultural and racial threats tornMiddle Americans in schools, suburbs,rnand occupahons—as well as governmentrnpolicies favoring uncontrolled immigration,rnglobalization, and multiculturalistrnradicalism — will keep the right-wingrnedge on the Middle American saber, especiallyrnif a political and cultural leadershiprnemerges to keep that edge sharp.rnNevertheless, both the Democrats andrnthe Republicans could learn somethingrnimportant from America’s Forgotten Majority,rnalthough ifs doubtful either will.rnThe Democrats cannot afford to diluterntheir commitment to the radical agendasrnof the constituencies on which they dependrnby seeking Forgotten Majority support;rnthe Republicans can always gain arngood deal of that support by invoking thernspecter of the Democrats’ cultural radicalismrnto frighten the majorih’ away fromrntheir rivals, while at the same time avoidingrnpolicies that would serve MiddlernAmerican interests or reinforce MiddlernAmerican cultural beliefs and institutions.rnUntil a leader emerges who canrnconvincingly combine appeals to culturalrntraditionalism and right-wing radicalismrnwith attention to Middle Americanrneconomic interests and anxieties, Americanrnpolitics will continue to swing betweenrntwo false poles that help keep eachrnother empowered by their joint master)’rnof the art of fooling some of the peoplernsome of the time.rnSamuel Francis is a nationally syndicatedrncolumnist.rnCrowned WithrnThorns and Gloryrnby Thomas FlemingrnJefferson Davis: Unconquerable Heartrnby Felicity AllenrnColumbia: University of Missouri Press;rn808 pp., $34.95rnA s the tug bore him away from therni V s h i p , he stood with bared headrnbetween the files of undersized Germanrnand other foreign soldiers on either sidernof him, and as v’e looked, as we thought,rnour last upon his stately form and knightlyrnbearing, he seemed a man of anotherrnand a higher race, upon whom ‘shamernwould not dare to sit.'”rnFelicity Allen begins her superb biographyrnof Jefferson Davis with this portrait,rnsupplied by his wife, of the capturedrnConfederate President as he was beingrnconveyed to Fortress Monroe, where hernwas forced to endure indignity and mistreatmentrndesigned to kill his body andrndestroy his soul. The opening chapterrnreads more like a novel than what wernhave come to expect from a biographyrnwith nearly 200 pages of notes and bibliographv.rnWith the sure instinct of a goodrnnovelist, Mrs. Allen understands thatrnDavis made his greatest impression onrnthe world in defeat, and the rest of herrnmagnificent book unfolds with somethingrnof the sense of inevitability conveyedrnby the novels of Thomas Hardy,rnwith this important difference: Hardy’srntragic heroes get what the)* deserve.rnFrom the first page of Jefferson Davis:rnUnconquerable Heart, the modern readerrnknows he has strayed into alien territory,rninto that strange world of loyaltwrncourage, and honor that we used to knowrnas America. Many will shrink ayvay fromrnthe experience with fear and loathing, asrnat least one merely acadennc historianrnhas done in a thoroughly dishonest review,rnsuggesting that, because the latestrnbibliographical entry is from the 1980’s,rnMrs. Allen has not done her homework,rnthat her work is somehow tendentious.rnIn fact, the truly remarkable accomplishmentrnof this book is the fine interweavingrnof documents and quotations into a narrativerntiiat is always coherent and sometimesrnvery beautiful. Unlike so manyrnmodern biographers who insist onrnputting themselves into their books, Mrs.rnAllen has modestly stayed out of the stor’.rn”The college education I never had.”rnThat’s how more than one reader has described Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture. Chronicles makes an ideal graduationrngift, both for the student about to enter college and the one embarking on his career. And right now, when you give a gift subscriptionrnto someone else at our special introductory rate of only $19, you can renew }our own subscription for only $28 ($11 off of ourrnnormal rate). So do the student in your life a favor-and save some money as well.rnPlease enter the following gift subscription. IrnSend Chronicles as my gift to: Your information:rnNamern.AddressrnNamern.•ddressrnCitv/State/Zip City/Slale/Ziprn• I have entered a gift subscription for $19.rnPlease renew my subscription at the low rate of $28.rn(I have enclosed a check for $47.)rnto order by credit card, please callrn1-800-877-5459rnPlease make check payable to Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture, P.O. Box 800, Mount Morris, IL 61054rn30/CHRONICLESrnrnrn