The Presidential Greatness Project, led by Professors Brandon Rottinghaus and Justin Vaughn, is a research effort that evaluates U.S. presidents through the lens of expert scholars in the field of presidential politics. Every few years, these scholars weigh in on which presidents exemplify greatness based on their leadership, historical significance, and legacy. In 2024, not surprisingly, Abraham Lincoln still holds...

Embed from Getty Images Saturday’s attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump is a stark sign that political hate speech has taken on an urgency we have not seen in decades and has reinforced the belief that the upcoming presidential election is a battle between “Us vs. Them.” Identity politics has reached a point where we see each, not as...

I’ve written about Artificial Intelligence (AI) before. Last February, I wrote about an obscure science fiction film from 1970 entitled, Colossus: The Forbin Project. The premise of the story goes like this: to prevent the mass destruction of civilization, a brilliant US scientist builds an immense computer that, once the key is turned, can stop all nuclear global conflicts. And...

Moderate House Republicans have been run over by their hard-right colleagues who continue their reckless abandonment of reason—all in fealty to a demagogue who, if he returns to the White House, will tear apart democratic principles in service to himself. The country has faced demagogues before. On February 9, 1950, Senator Joseph R. McCarthy stood before the County Women’s Republican...

UPDATE: We’re heading into the home stretch for the release of “Trust and Confidence” which is expected to become available no later than September 28  through most bookseller sites. In the meantime, this commentary goes back in time where decisions that required character and courage were formidable but faced the challenge, nonetheless. Arizona’s Republican House Speaker “Rusty” Bowers exemplifies that...

In the late 1400s, the city of Florence, Italy was not only a center of art and culture but was one of the wealthiest cities in Europe rigorously ruled by the Medici family. Building on an underlying discontent, Girolamo Savonarola, a Dominican friar, led a religious crusade preaching that art and literature led to an increase in moral decay. After...

He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it, is really cooperating with it. —Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. What should Republicans do to save themselves and the country? They should begin by listening to former vice-president Mike Pence. “President Trump asked...

The power of those two simple words should not be underestimated. A few weeks ago, a friend and I went to breakfast, and I picked up the check as a way of thanking her, not only for the support she constantly gives to our community, but for her compassionate heart that listens, empathizes, and serves as a role model to...

In a courtroom in Wilmington, Delaware; with the jurors and judge seated waiting for the opening arguments to begin in Dominion Voting Systems versus Fox News Corporation, the two sides announced, what is believed to be the largest defamation suit in US history: $787 million is to be paid to Dominion. It’s not enough. And it’s not just about the...

Friday, January 20, 1961. I watched as my 7th grade teacher wheeled a big TV into the classroom and announced that we would be watching the inauguration of a new president. Any excuse to watch TV was great. When it was over, I realized I was part of a moment in history that I would never forget. The day was...