Columns ‹ Opinion
Combative, but not cruel, Mr. President
What does it mean to “win” in Washington, or anywhere else in the country? I’ve long described “progress” as the ongoing, incremental expansion of liberty and literacy in stable regimes in or aligned with the West. By that definition, much of President Trump’s administration is “winning.” Still, I worry that Trump’s escalating battle with the...
Read More
Combative, but not cruel, Mr. President
What does it mean to “win” in Washington, or anywhere else in the country? I’ve long described “progress” as the ongoing, incremental expansion of liberty and literacy in stable regimes in or aligned with the West. By that definition, much of President Trump’s administration is “winning.” Still, I worry that Trump’s escalating battle with the...
Read More
Combative, but not cruel, Mr. President
What does it mean to “win” in Washington, or anywhere else in the country? I’ve long described “progress” as the ongoing, incremental expansion of liberty and literacy in stable regimes in or aligned with the West. By that definition, much of President Trump’s administration is “winning.” Still, I worry that Trump’s escalating battle with the...
Read More
Combative, but not cruel, Mr. President
What does it mean to “win” in Washington, or anywhere else in the country? I’ve long described “progress” as the ongoing, incremental expansion of liberty and literacy in stable regimes in or aligned with the West. By that definition, much of President Trump’s administration is “winning.” Still, I worry that Trump’s escalating battle with the...
Read More
Combative, but not cruel, Mr. President
What does it mean to “win” in Washington, or anywhere else in the country? I’ve long described “progress” as the ongoing, incremental expansion of liberty and literacy in stable regimes in or aligned with the West. By that definition, much of President Trump’s administration is “winning.” Still, I worry that Trump’s escalating battle with the...
Read More
Combative, but not cruel, Mr. President
What does it mean to “win” in Washington, or anywhere else in the country? I’ve long described “progress” as the ongoing, incremental expansion of liberty and literacy in stable regimes in or aligned with the West. By that definition, much of President Trump’s administration is “winning.” Still, I worry that Trump’s escalating battle with the...
Read More
Combative, but not cruel, Mr. President
What does it mean to “win” in Washington, or anywhere else in the country? I’ve long described “progress” as the ongoing, incremental expansion of liberty and literacy in stable regimes in or aligned with the West. By that definition, much of President Trump’s administration is “winning.” Still, I worry that Trump’s escalating battle with the...
Read More
Combative, but not cruel, Mr. President
What does it mean to “win” in Washington, or anywhere else in the country? I’ve long described “progress” as the ongoing, incremental expansion of liberty and literacy in stable regimes in or aligned with the West. By that definition, much of President Trump’s administration is “winning.” Still, I worry that Trump’s escalating battle with the...
Read More
Combative, but not cruel, Mr. President
What does it mean to “win” in Washington, or anywhere else in the country? I’ve long described “progress” as the ongoing, incremental expansion of liberty and literacy in stable regimes in or aligned with the West. By that definition, much of President Trump’s administration is “winning.” Still, I worry that Trump’s escalating battle with the...
Read More
Combative, but not cruel, Mr. President
What does it mean to “win” in Washington, or anywhere else in the country? I’ve long described “progress” as the ongoing, incremental expansion of liberty and literacy in stable regimes in or aligned with the West. By that definition, much of President Trump’s administration is “winning.” Still, I worry that Trump’s escalating battle with the...
Read More
Combative, but not cruel, Mr. President
What does it mean to “win” in Washington, or anywhere else in the country? I’ve long described “progress” as the ongoing, incremental expansion of liberty and literacy in stable regimes in or aligned with the West. By that definition, much of President Trump’s administration is “winning.” Still, I worry that Trump’s escalating battle with the...
Read More
Combative, but not cruel, Mr. President
What does it mean to “win” in Washington, or anywhere else in the country? I’ve long described “progress” as the ongoing, incremental expansion of liberty and literacy in stable regimes in or aligned with the West. By that definition, much of President Trump’s administration is “winning.” Still, I worry that Trump’s escalating battle with the...
Read More
Infatuation With Obama; Rage Against Trump
President Trump and his supporters are absolutely right that there’s a glaring contrast between the way media treat this president and way the press handled his predecessor, Barack Obama.
With Obama, potentially devastating scandals—Benghazi, the IRS, Fast and Furious, the VA—never gained momentum; the press never blamed Obama personally when things went...
Read More
Double Standards in the War between White House and Media
For all his vast power, the President of the United States—any president—is always at a structural disadvantage in a “war” with the media. The First Amendment protects press rights to criticize the government, and everyone expects such criticism. But if government—or the president, as head of government—strikes back by assailing media, there’s an...
Read More
Defying the “Success Sequence”
The New York Times recently acknowledged that some of the recent changes in marriage and childbearing have damaged our country. Noting that a big majority—55 percent—of first children born to millennial couples are now born outside of marriage, columnist David Leonhardt explained that this “new normal” violates the “success sequence” established...
Read More
If GOP senators blow this, say hello to single-payer health care
The iceberg approaches for the Senate GOP’s ship, but unlike with the Titanic, there is plenty of time to turn. Republicans slowed the engines and thus the speed by postponing a vote until after the July 4 recess, but they are still set to collide with the consequences of breaking a core promise to the voters who sent them to Washington. If the GOP does not...
Read More
