The Untouchables

Pat Robertson isn’t a great speaker, but then consider the competition. He keeps up a clear and forceful flow—so forceful that sometimes it runs away from him. The other distraction is his smile. In a way, it is even odder than Jimmy Carter’s. Carter smiled only at the wrong times. Robertson smiles at all times.

After Iowa, his rivals thought of him as a smiling, damned villain. He went on to a fifth place finish in New Hampshire, but looks to do well in Minnesota, South Carolina, and on Super Tuesday. I caught him three days after his first triumph, in a speech to a general court, or joint session, of the New Hampshire legislature in Concord.

About the Author

Richard Brookhiser

Historian Richard Brookhiser is a senior editor of National Review and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute.

Featured Tags

Manage following

Presidential Election

Pat Robertson isn’t a great speaker, but then consider the competition. He keeps up a clear and forceful flow—so forceful that sometimes it runs away from him. The other distraction is his smile. In a way, it is even odder than Jimmy Carter’s. Carter smiled only at the wrong times. Robertson smiles at all times.

After Iowa, his rivals thought of him as a smiling, damned villain. He went on to a fifth place finish in New Hampshire, but looks to do well in Minnesota, South Carolina, and on Super Tuesday. I caught him three days after his first triumph, in a speech to a general court, or joint session, of the New Hampshire legislature in Concord.