Moses by 1945 had become the practical politician he once condemned

Evidence

The guess, off by approximately fifteen years, was about as good as the assumption that underlay it, an assumption revealing only the depth of the misapprehension about Moses’ true character. For the Robert Moses about whom the Herald Tribune was editorializing hadn’t existed for a long time. The Robert Moses of 1945 was not the foe of the practical politician but the essence of that peculiar animal. He was the complete realist. Willing, in order to accomplish his purposes—purposes which in 1945 revolved around the retention and acquisition of power—to throw onto the table any chip he held, he had, in the election of 1945, with a chance to obtain more power than he had ever possessed before, thrown onto the table the most valuable of all his chips: his name. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 2980

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Belle Moskowitz’s tutelage converted Moses from idealist into a practical politician — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 595; Al Smith despised the uncompromising idealist that Robert Moses once was — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 573; Moses’ reform zeal evaporated the moment he lost Smith’s protection. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 1774 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• The acquisition of power transformed Moses’ character into overt arrogance #expands (0.85) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 1066
• Moses’ motive shifted from building works to seizing power itself #expands (0.82) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 2594