Continued from Tuesday’s commentary, I offer two Senate leaders from the past. Tuesday, I spoke of the integrity of Republican John Williams. Today, I offer the character of Senator Philip Hart as excerpted with permission from The Buying of the Congress (1998) by Charles Lewis, whose response appeared in my book, “What Do You Stand For?” John Williams and Philip...

Embed from Getty Images Let’s face it, we’re a mess. We’re living moment to moment, crisis to crisis at home and abroad. Every time you watch the news it feels like another brick to the head. I want a respite from the endless bombardment of anger, hate, and violence. I want a moment of triumph where everyone stands up and...

At a time when trust in Washington leadership is at its lowest point, it’s more vital than ever to revisit the lessons from our past. As a freshman Senator from Maine, a deeply republican state, Margaret Chase Smith had been concerned about Communism’s threat to the United States. However, she had become increasingly troubled about the extremist actions of Senator...

Embed from Getty Images In the 1950s, a junior senator from Wisconsin blanketed America with lies and conspiracies. The “Red Scare” he created led millions to believe that communists had infiltrated the federal government, and he persecuted those who stood up for the Constitution. The cycle repeats with a former president who continues to lie and spread conspiracies as easily...

With divided Americans talking past one another, this is a good time to remember what really makes America great. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” — Declaration of Independence Common Sense,...

Both willfully compromised the US Secret Service. Among the egregious behaviors former President Donald Trump inflicted on democracy was utilizing, to his own ends, a federal agency whose mandate was the nonpartisan protective mission of the Secret Service. During his time in office, it was axiomatic that anyone in Trump’s orbit faced a Hobson’s choice: loyalty to Trump or the...

Dysfunction is no longer an adequate descriptor of Washington leadership these days. We’re all aware of the key players in this madness. The media recites them in a 24/7 loop of chaotic images and infotainment. Nonetheless, the strong and the good eventually overcame the darker forces in our nation’s past. Before we continue our march toward the abyss of cynicism,...

While Trust and Confidence is now available through several online sources (Amazon, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, Apple), I thought I’d revisit an excerpt from the book when Secret Service director Lewis Merletti was preparing a presentation for Ken Starr. First some Cliff’s Notes. During the 1998 investigation of President Bill Clinton, independent counsel Kenneth Starr compelled Secret Service agents...

Embed from Getty Images It’s been 60 years since Dr. King spoke to 250,000 supporters on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on a warm August afternoon in 1963. King’s stirring words about character, however, were improvised not written. Standing close to the civil rights leader, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson whispered, “Tell ‘em about ‘the dream,’ Martin.” I have a...

In honor of Memorial Day, yesterday, I began by describing the longest battle American forces faced in the the Hürtgen Forest during World War II. I wrote how my father, Private James F. Lichtman, survived an 88mm German canon attack, and a minefield as he crawled to an aid station to receive medical attention for his frozen feet. This is...