SOCIAL MANIPULATION
Thomas Jefferson was a man of infinite personal charm. He was shy of large groups, but around a dinner table, he was magnificent. He gave dinner parties, and when the Congress was in session, he routinely invited everybody to dinner. Magnificent wines, great conversation, great food — he had a French chef. He affected homespun simplicity. He wore frayed slippers and jackets like a country squire at home. But Governor Morris said of him that he was a concealed voluptuary. Now at these dinners, they talked about everything — art, architecture, Greek poetry, and so on. But they never talked politics. Somehow, though, when the people went away, they knew they were going to vote for whatever it was the President was for. Jefferson manipulated them. But he continued to maintain the principle of the separation of powers. From Bill Moyers, A World of Ideas, p. 113.
To view this resource, log in or sign up for a subscription plan
