Finished the book today. Remember liking the movie some time ago. Book's only 118 pages in the version I read.
"O'Flaherty spoke easily: 'What was the trouble with Duncan? With Frank and with Shellman, for that matter, and with so many of the others we've considered and have had to reject? The damn trouble was that they all had background, too much background! A man's past cripples him: his background turns into a swamp and invites scrutiny!'"
"He waved his arms excitedly. 'But just consider Gardiner. May I stress what you have just heard from a most authoritative voice: Gardiner has no background! And so he's not and cannot be objectionable to anyone! He's personable, well-spoken, and he comes across well on TV!'"
"Being There," Jerzy Kosinski, p. 116. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanich; Bantam edition (1972).
Wish I could remember my MLA cite format. It was erased by law school bluebooking, which I've managed to forget much of, too.
