"Frank the Mank" on Historical Research

[wpbinzel]

(10-29-2014 10:22 PM)Anita Wrote:  There are a number of documented sources going back decades in which Frank Mankiewicz was referred to as "Frank the Mank". The quote below is from a Clip From December 9, 2004 Frank Mankiewicz Roast

" THE SECRET OF FRANK'S SUCCESS IS ACTUALLY VERY SIMPLE: NOT EVEN KARL ROVE CAN SPELL HIS NAME. THAT'S WHY A LOT OF US SIMPLY CALL HIM "FRANK THE MANK."
http://www.c-span.org/video/?c2291389/cl...ewicz-roas

Here's one from 1983.

"Since then Frank the Mank, as he is sometimes called, has made a name for himself apart from his family celebrity: ..."
http://www.csmonitor.com/1983/0224/022437.htm

You may have proved my point. I am not sure that a joke about his name during a roast, or a 30 year-old "as he is sometimes called" reference, is sufficient justification for the statement in The Post's obituary: "In a city where the politically ambitious often let power brokers have the last laugh, “Frank the Mank,” as friends dubbed him, was comfortable one-upping them."

Frankly (and no pun intended), I have no desire or interest in engaging in a debate over, whether in jest or a flippant comment, someone referred to Mr. Mankiewizc as "Frank the Mank" and it happen to catch the ear of a reporter. I don't know. If pressed, I will take Ben at his word, supported by the reaction of 350 of Frank's friends.

The point of my post is that just because someone wrote something about someone -- whether it was last week or 150 years ago -- it does not necessarily mean that it was true. That is the challenge of historical research.