Historian Jon Meacham has become a reliable storyteller of past presidents. They come alive in his pages through the many stories that illustrate who they were and what they stood for. However, in The Soul of America – the Battle for Our Better Angels, Meacham is concerned with more than historical biography. Alarmed by the man who inhabits the White...

Taylor Swift is a most unlikely political firebrand, and yet the 28-year old pop singer is stirring up voters in her adopted home state of Tennessee like no one else. In an Instagram post to 112 million of her followers (yes, that’s right, one-third of the country!), Swift writes movingly about who she is voting for and why. “In the...

Eighteenth century French philosopher Voltaire once observed, “Common sense is not so common.” In Washington, it’s virtually extinct. But if you travel Northwest to Columbus, Ohio, you will find one man who reflects the kind of practical intelligence we need right now. In case anyone forgot, among the hodgepodge of hopefuls trying to overtake The Trump Reality show in 2016,...

After two weeks of turmoil and rage, what more could possibly happen? We’ve given up the common ground for my ground. We’ve gone from dissent to disrespect; from disrespect to hatred. Before we face the next bitter Division Du Jour, perhaps it’s time for us to consider what we stand for? I believe Judge Brett Kavanaugh is, fundamentally, a good...

With Two Updates — Last night, before the close of the Senate’s business, before reading the FBI report that is scheduled to be available to Senators as early as 8:00 am this morning, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “I am filing cloture (closure) on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination this evening, so the process can move forward, as I indicated...

At the end of this commentary, I will ask a question of Republican Senate Judiciary Committee members. After watching several moments of the committee’s hearing with sexual assault victim Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, followed by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, several things stood out. The Obvious – After several weeks of only reading about Dr. Blasey Ford’s allegations, the committee...

At the 1991 confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, law professor and former co-worker of Thomas, Anita Hill, gave graphic testimony regarding allegations of sexual harassment. As reported by CBS News (Sept.19), here’s some of what Hill had to sit through. Republican Senator Arlen Specter: “You testified this morning that the most embarrassing question involved — this is...

Who to believe? The sexual assault allegations leveled against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh are yet another stunning shock to an administration that is already shell-shocked from revelations in the last 10 days: Bob Woodward’s book, “Fear” which details an out-of-control president; an anonymous insider who confirms an out-of-control president; and former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort’s unexpected “flip” to...

When President Trump addressed a group of evangelical leaders at the White House recently, he offered this stark warning: “This November 6 election is very much a referendum on not only me, it’s a referendum on your religion, it’s a referendum on free speech and the First Amendment. … “It’s not a question of like or dislike, it’s a question...

For years, during and after Watergate, that was the singular political question that many were interested in knowing the answer. Deep Throat was the secret and anonymous source in the Executive Branch who pointed Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in the right direction to uncover the covert and illegal operations that were taking place in the Nixon...