Recent Politics Commentaries

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The Ethical Take: Some of the President’s Men
The E.T. is looking at the few, the ignorant, and the humbly-challenged of Trump’s “best people” from his administration. Mick Mulvaney – currently head of the Office of Management and Budget, will temporarily do double-duty as interim director of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since the departure of Richard Cordray who served as the bureau’s first director. Remember the banking excesses...
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November 24, 2017
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The Menendez Fallacy
What should be done about men who do not directly and blatantly sell the favors of their offices for money and so place themselves within the penalties of the law? How do we deal with those who, under the guise of friendship, accept favors which offend the spirit of the law but do not violate its letter? – Senator J....
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November 20, 2017
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Of Hypocrites and Predators
Last night, 60 Minutes offered a powerful story by Aly Raisman about how the U.S. Olympic gymnast was sexually abused years ago by former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. One question that continually comes up during stories like this is, why now? Why didn’t you report this earlier? Raisman’s answer, “Why are we looking at why didn’t the girls speak...
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November 13, 2017
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Let’s Try
Last month Arizona Senator Jeff Flake delivered a declaration on the floor of the Senate worthy of Daniel Webster, about  how, lately, “…our democracy is more defined by our discord and our dysfunction than by our own values and principles.” He offered a passionate plea that “We must never regard as normal the regular and casual undermining of our democratic...
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November 10, 2017
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…and now, Sutherland Springs
On a quiet Sunday morning at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas – a town with a population less than 700 – Devin Kelly, a former Air Force logistics worker, walked into the back of the church armed with a semi-automatic military-style weapon and killed 26 people. “Department of Public Safety Spokesman Freeman Martin said Kelley moved around...
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November 8, 2017
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Listen Up, Democrats
While Republicans struggle to find unity among themselves, Democrats have nothing to cheer about. In a new political memoir from Donna Brazile, the former head of the Democratic National Committee writes scathingly about the battles that took place within the party during the 2016 election. “Ms. Brazile,” The New York Times writes (Nov. 3), “took over as the interim chairwoman...
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November 6, 2017
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The Russian Uranium Deal
On Tuesday, (Oct. 24), two House committees – oversight and intelligence –announced plans to “launch a joint investigation” into the Uranium One deal during the Obama administration. The genesis of this story goes back to the 2016 presidential campaign when then-candidate Trump stated a number of times: “Remember that Hillary Clinton gave Russia 20 percent of American uranium and, you...
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October 30, 2017
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An Unheeded Warning
“Mr. President, I would like to speak briefly and simply about a serious national condition. It is a national feeling of fear and frustration that could result in national suicide, and the end of everything that we Americans hold dear. It is a condition that comes from the lack of effective leadership in either the legislative branch or the executive...
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October 27, 2017
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The Ethical Take: All Spin Edition
The Take has been MIA for a while. So, let’s get to it. Spin Out – Yesterday, the junior senator from Arizona, Jeff Flake, announced he would not be running for re-election. In a surprise announcement from the floor of the Senate, most of Flake’s comments were pointed at the current occupant of the White House whose behavior grows more...
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October 25, 2017
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If I Only Had a Brain
One day – (hopefully), many, many millennia in the future – some grad student will be green-lighted for a doctoral dissertation on President Trump’s tweets to examine, and perhaps shed light on the current “dark age” of American politics, starting here: “Sorry losers and haters, but my I.Q. is one of the highest — and you all know it! Please...
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October 23, 2017

Read Some of the Most Recent Articles
The Latest... And Often Greatest
Why Donald Trump Has Pulled Me Back In—Again
Last August, I wrote that I was “stepping back from the chaos” of Donald Trump. I meant to write about his presidency only when his...
Scott Pelley Responds
During a contentious staff meeting at 60 Minutes, Scott Pelley spoke out sharply, criticizing the judgment and decision-making of CBS News editor in chief Bari...
The Clock is Still Ticking. But Now It’s Ticking for CBS
I began watching 60 Minutes when it premiered on September 24, 1968, when Harry Reasoner and Mike Wallace introduced a new kind of television journalism:...
God Has Chosen Donald Trump
At a Trump-backed Christian prayer rally on the National Mall in Washington on May 17, officially called Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise...
The White House as Profit Center
There was a time—not very long ago—when public service required sacrifice. In 2006, when President George W. Bush nominated Hank Paulson, then C.E.O. of Goldman...
Is Ethics Dead? – Conclusion
What kind of leadership… what kind of citizenship, will it take to restore and live the values we claim to believe? It begins with service....