Found a pair of remarkable interviews / quotes from 2 seemingly disparate long time female public figures.

First (via LGF) the Times carries some great quotes from a person we haven't heard from in a little while - Maggie Thatcher:

Lady Thatcher said that she had “drunk deep from the same well of ideas” as her great ally, the former US President Ronald Reagan. Both instinctively knew what worked, she said, including low taxes, small government and enterprise. “We knew, too, what did not work, namely socialism in every shape or form. Nowadays socialism is more often dressed up as environmentalism, feminism, or international concern for human rights. All sound good in the abstract.

“But scratch the surface and you will as likely as not discover anti-capitalism, patronising and distorting quotas, and intrusions upon the sovereignty and democracy of nations.”

Lady Thatcher warned that America and Britain faced “a pervasive culture of anti-Westernism" that needed to be challenged. "There are too many people who imagine that there is something sophisticated about always believing the best of those who hate your country, and the worst of those who defend it."

Bravo.   If it weren't for Maggie, companies like EasyJet would not be British today.

Second, and in some ways more remarkable, a fascinating interview with Judith Martin - aka "Miss Manners" (via Innocents Abroad).   While not as overtly political as Maggie, Miss Manners does hit the nail on the head about the relationship between civil society and governance -- for example when describing her stance on smoking laws:

TAE: Are you for or against anti-smoking laws?

MARTIN: I'm against them--but it's the only alternative when people refuse to abide by etiquette rules. Instead of the government of New York passing legislation, we're the ones who should be separating smokers from non-smokers. But people won't go along with it. Laws are being passed because people are refusing to be polite. We had fine rules in place but they were ignored.

Martin surprises me with her sophisticated grasp -- she flows easily between quoting Tocqueville, citing Jefferson, and exploring the master/slave class interplay.   She insightfully describes the origins of "Southern Hospitality" as African in origin.   And I'm just scratching the surface.

TAE: Is there a link between manners and morality?

MARTIN: Sure. Philosophers always considered behavior indicative of the great philosophical and moral questions. The connection between morality and manners is a bit like the one between law and etiquette: The law deals with what affects life, limb, and property; etiquette is supposed to deal with the less lethal aspects of behavior that interfere with the community good. The moral foundation to manners is that we ought to recognize the existence and rights of other people.