Presidential comparisons that greeted Barack Obama’s election ranged from the sublime to the transcendent. He was variously described as the second coming of John F. Kennedy, a re-embodiment of Franklin Roosevelt, and even a budding Abraham Lincoln—a sort of Savior-in-Chief … Continue reading
New administrations normally inspire commentators into rummaging through a thesaurus to extract that single phrase or word that is apposite to the times. Instead musing about a reincarnation of The Square Deal, The New Deal, The Great Society, or the … Continue reading
The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama demonstrates at least three important points about the current political scene. First, in a one-word Joe Bidenesque fashion, Mr. Obama’s selection can be described as amazing, stupendous, fantastic, and … Continue reading
Reactions to Governor Palin’s selection as Senator McCain’s running mate ranged from laughter to incredulity and then from alarm to panic. Indeed, editorials on the danger she poses to Senator Obama’s once inevitable coronation in November now radiate furrowed brows … Continue reading
Senator Obama’s pre-emptive election victory tour through Europe has inspired a variety of comparisons, ranging from General Eisenhower’s post-war ticker-tape procession in New York City to Bill and Ted’s excellent adventures through time. Another analogy, one not cited yet (to … Continue reading
What a difference a century makes, specifically a turn of the century. Shortly after the 19th century ended, the United States had a president who was the real deal, whose honesty, sincerity and courage would be challenged only by those … Continue reading
Political Cartoonists are national treasures. The best ones are able to distill an entire think tank’s worth of commentary into a single frame or two, thus saving our country untold barrels of the dark stuff from the national emergency inkwell … Continue reading
In Oscar Wilde’s most chilling work, The Picture of Dorian Gray, the cynical, aging Lord Henry exclaims to his perpetually youthful friend, “I wish I could change places with you, Dorian. The world has cried out against us both, but … Continue reading
One probably had to live through the times to better appreciate the real significance of William F. Buckley. A deserving plethora of encomia—wouldn’t he use a word like this?—currently suffuses conservative media outlets, cataloguing the great man’s kindness, humility, extraordinary … Continue reading
They swoon, they faint, they genuflect, they take pictures, scribble notes, cheer until their voices sound like Darth Vader with a cold, and clap until their fingers explode from their hands like short bursts from an assault rifle. And those … Continue reading
Exactly 218 years ago in February 1790, a group of Quaker representatives submitted petitions to the House of Representatives to end the slave trade immediately, an action that sent Representative James Jackson from Georgia into a sputtering rage. A colleague … Continue reading
When Barack Obama burst onto the national scene after his victory in the Iowa caucuses, many felt that a breath of fresh air was sweeping across the land, one that also gave the Clintons the chills. For other denizens of … Continue reading
If word association and body language were the principal criteria to judge the current crop of Democratic candidates, then Barack Obama would win the most vacuous campaign slogan award—I want change!—and Hillary Clinton would strut away with the Oprah Winfrey … Continue reading
The departure of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from free soil was no doubt accompanied by sighs of relief or expressions of regret, depending on one’s views about the wisdom of inviting to a university a man who has denied the Holocaust, threatened … Continue reading
In 1857 the U.S. Supreme Court handed down what has since been regarded as one of its most notorious decisions. In Dred Scott v. Sandford, Chief Justice Roger Taney delivered the opinion of the court, which, in the words of … Continue reading
Just when you think it’s impossible to improve on the bar scene in Star Wars, the House of Representatives ends its summer session with a script that would have put Steven Spielberg to shame. Although blows were not exactly exchanged, … Continue reading
If President Reagan were to give a speech today, what might he say? Perhaps something like the following. Let’s hear one more from the Gipper: Ladies and Gentlemen: Let me begin by thanking you for your gracious welcome and for … Continue reading
If political rhetoric—on subjects about which elected officials know little or nothing—is discovered to somehow exacerbate global warming, then our weary planet is indeed in deep trouble. Or perhaps not. Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison’s comments that compared Hitler to Bush, … Continue reading
Amidst the rock concert mania surrounding a post-July 4th global warming consciousness raising, it is important for citizens to understand the difference between reasoned debate about public policy and the verbal pyrotechnics of a crusade. The politics of policy formation … Continue reading
The new Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 24 approved a non-binding resolution on the Iraq war that demonstrated the cowardice, lack of wisdom and political posturing of the Senators who voted for it. The committee’s intention, in Senator Biden’s … Continue reading
