UNCANCEL WOODROW WILSON? HOW ABOUT HELL NO.

There is no recognition or discussion in Frum’s defense brief of this central aspect of Wilson’s thought and legacy. I doubt Frum is even aware of the critique, or if he is, he does not take it seriously or think it worth trying to refute.

For a thorough antidote, see William Schambra’s fine extended treatment of Wilson and the recent conservative response to him in his 2007 lecture at the Heritage Foundation entitled “Revisiting Woodrow Wilson’s Progressivism, America’s transformation, and the conservative response.” Or R.J. Pestritto’s indispensable book, Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism.

Chaser: One especially fun quotation that Frum includes that ironically undermines his case is from Arthur Link, Wilson’s most devoted biographer. Here’s Frum’s account:

Arthur S. Link, who edited 69 volumes of Wilson’s papers and wrote five volumes of biography, paid Wilson this tribute: “Aside from St. Paul, Jesus and the great religious prophets, Woodrow Wilson was the most admirable character I’ve ever encountered in history.” [Emphasis added.]

This is precisely why I have always referred to him as “the missing Link.”

Flashback: The Hater’s Guide to Woodrow Wilson. “I come now not to explain Wilson, but to hate him. A national consensus on hating Wilson is long overdue. It is the patriotic duty of every decent American. While conservatives have particular reasons to detest Wilson, and all his works, and all his empty promises, there is more than enough in his record for moderates, liberals, progressives, libertarians, and socialists to join us in this great and unifying cause.”