Carrying the Torch for America, the Beautiful. I was at the Rotunda at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, June 3, for the dedication of the statue to President Ronald Reagan. I was there because Bill Clark was there. Judge Clark, … Continue reading
In the concluding paragraph of my article about President-elect Obama’s constitutional philosophy, I opined: “Our Constitution has been terminal for a long time.” President Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court provides a timely opportunity for me to explain what … Continue reading
“Based upon our observations of American soldiers and their officers captured in this war, the following facts are evidenced,” a foreign intelligence officer wrote. “There is little knowledge or understanding, even among United States university graduates, of American political history … Continue reading
In my recent article “Checkmate,” I made the case that President Obama’s grand strategy has outfoxed the opposition, dooming us all to a massive increase in the scope and power of Uncle Sam. Is the situation hopeless? Never! If Americans … Continue reading
Every American, obviously, has heard of Ronald Reagan, and Reagan historians have heard of Bill Clark. Clark was Reagan’s close aide, who, more than any other, laid the foundation for Cold War victory. Few historians, however, knew a 20th century … Continue reading
Economic historian Burton Folsom’s “New Deal or Raw Deal?” is a truly important book. Thoroughly researched, well organized and fluently written, this reader-friendly study of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal is “the real deal”—a fascinating, illuminating study of the politics … Continue reading
“Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball” –Jacques Barzun Right off the bat, Jacques Barzun’s pitch about baseball strikes us today as coming out of left field. First asserted in the 1950s, his … Continue reading
I was in the third row as Rush Limbaugh spoke for nearly 90 minutes to a wildly exuberant audience as he closed this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C. I was also in the third row to … Continue reading
Editor’s Note: “How did this apparent political naïf, this so-called simpleton, this relic of the 19th century, become president? That is a question frequently pondered by conventional historians and political scientists in their best-selling texts. After penning a few lines of … Continue reading
Executive Director of Center for Vision & Values among Scholars Surveyed by C-SPAN for Presidents’ Day Ranking Dr. Paul Kengor, executive director of The Center for Vision & Values and professor of political science at Grove City College, was among … Continue reading
What’s the state of the republic—and its citizens—this Presidents’ Day 2009? It is a state of deep confusion. Here are some polls to ponder, as America considers presidents past and new. Brace yourself. Before he was elected president, Senator Barack … Continue reading
On Feb. 12 we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. The relatively short history of our nation makes this a particularly momentous milestone. Of all of our leaders after the founders, only Franklin Roosevelt approaches Lincoln’s renown and … Continue reading
What is it with Democratic inaugurations and poetry? Poetry and politics do not mix. Never have. One or the other never fully measures up to the task of the historic moment. Alexander the Great lamented that he did not have … Continue reading
Watching the inauguration of President Barack Obama, I was impressed by the graciousness and civility by the two presidents at the platform during the transition. To tepid applause, Obama began his Inaugural Address by thanking George W. Bush for his … Continue reading
I first heard it in an email from a professor in Illinois. We were arguing about something I wrote on Barack Obama. I asked if he agreed that the media had been breathlessly, transparently biased in favor of Obama in … Continue reading
George W. Bush had the misfortune to become president when two long-term trends that predated his presidency reached historical tipping points: First, decades of militant Islamic ferment culminated in 9/11. Second, a combination of a decades-long buildup of debt, reckless … Continue reading
As the country considers the inauguration of Barack Obama, I’m mindful of another inauguration that seems a long time ago, and which speaks volumes to the presidential transition we are about to witness. It was a January day in 1999, … Continue reading
Last Thursday, President-elect Barack Obama delivered a major speech on the economy. I didn’t know if it had that legendary tingling effect on its listeners, but reading the text in black and white, it reads like a manifesto on central … Continue reading
If you’re looking for a book as a Christmas gift, I suggest an oldie but goodie, and in honor of the fact that it was 20 years ago that this nation quietly honored the subject of the book: a hero, … Continue reading
Human nature has a blind spot. We often detect external flaws faster than internal ones—seeing the speck in our neighbor’s eye sooner than the beam in our own, to use the biblical metaphor. This same tendency exists at the national … Continue reading
