Recent All The King's Men Commentaries

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When Democracy Comes Dressed as Patriotism
The current American political order is starting to feel like a collision between the films Seven Days in May and All the King’s Men. One warns us about powerful institutions turning against constitutional democracy. The other shows how a populist leader can take grievance, resentment, and loyalty and turn them into a system of rule. I recently watched both films...
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June 18, 2026
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I AM SICKENED
Tonight, protesters are surrounding the Kennedy Center, the living memorial to John F. Kennedy and the heartbeat of Washington’s cultural life. They are there because...
The Courage to Defend a Principle
In 1998, at the height of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, Secret Service Director Lewis Merletti was driving to work when a radio report stopped him cold....
The Better Angels Among Us
By all appearances, we are becoming less the land of the brave than the land of resentment. Every day is Groundhog Day: same arguments, same...
We Remember
On September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 people were killed in terrorist attacks in New York, at the Pentagon, and aboard Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. More...
Mister Roberts!
One of my favorite movies is Mister Roberts, the 1955 comedy-drama set aboard the USS Reluctant in the Pacific during World War II. Henry Fonda...
Where’s the Character
In 1984, Wendy’s ran a television commercial featuring the redoubtable Clara Peller, staring at an enormous hamburger bun. Inside was a burger patty smaller than...