He is one of those people covered with
prestige and on supposedly important committees and boards. If you just
look at all the decorations you would think the man wearing them would be
a man of honor and integrity, wouldn't you?
He is one of those people covered with
prestige and on supposedly important committees and boards. If you just
look at all the decorations you would think the man wearing them would be
a man of honor and integrity, wouldn't you?
I would because he has to strut with all those honors and credentials! He has to be a big dog in the field! This is a man who was Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors under Richard Nixon when the Council was important (it is now almost a nothing).
Means "My eyes doth glaze over" which is what President Nixon used to say to me about McCracken. Nixon thought that McCracken was the biggest bore in the Universe! And Nixon was right.
I was a consultant to the old Tennessee Gas and Transmission Company (TENNECO) for about 20 years. I worked with one CEO after another over that 20 years. One day the then current CEO (the best of them all) invited me to attend the Management meeting in Florida at which McCracken was going to be the after dinner speaker. Within about 15 minutes of the so-called McCracken address about 1/3 of the audience was fast asleep. I have never heard a worst speaker except for Alan Greenspan. McCracken talked in technicalese and in a whisper to himself. My host went fast asleep! After awhile I, too, succumbed!
Naturally McCracken thought he was the All-American whiz kid and his ego exceed his stature, which was below the national average. He was a relatively mean spirited man, had no saving graces, was a total bore, lacked social manners, and was not particularly bright. He got along very well with Arthur Burns for the simple reason that they both belonged to the same club; the club was named "Me; first, last and always!"
And the strangest thing of all was that he was not particularly bright! I used to attend meetings with him in the Executive Office Building and he never once that I can remember contributed a hill of beans! He would sit in a meeting and stare into space. He never once, that I can remember, opened his mouth to say anything. If the meeting lasted more than 15 minutes or so McCracken would fall asleep!
He was and apparently, still is, the epitome of "the get along by going along" types in this world. He always voted with the majority, never said anything, had no ideas of his own and was always visibly outraged when anyone challenged conventional wisdom! He had absolutely no visible talents and it always puzzled me how he got to where he did other than he was a safe bet! He, unlike Dr. Burns, was not known for his brilliance or his contributions to economic knowledge.
But, he did become the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, which at the time was important. Maybe it all goes to prove the wonderful saying that most people rise to their highest level of incompetence!
When I ran for governor of New York in 1990 McCracken told the press that he did not know of any time I met with President Nixon on economic affairs:
People that lie should have perfect recall!
These are the backgrounds of prominent people I have known. The backgrounds may be incomplete or they may be wrong. I am working from memory and the backgrounds I give you are from my personal (not book) knowledge. This is their backgrounds as I knew them. I have not checked out the details and the backgrounds are incomplete but they do jell with my knowledge of them and my experiences with them.
