What’s Not the Matter With Kansas
Tonight I happened to attend a pair of extremely interesting, and strikingly juxtaposed, events. The first was a Bradley Lecture at AEI delivered...
The Letter to Iran and Bipartisan Hype
Sioux Center, Iowa. Most Republican members of the U.S. Senate have signed a public letter to the Iranian government warning that any agreement with...
Foreign Policy and the Gift of the World
Devon, PA. In February 2007, as the Iraq war crept to the end of its fourth year, I published this short essay, proposing a...
Playing the Long Game: A Review of Abraham Lincoln’s Statesmanship
The Lincoln that Schaff puts forth cultivated liberal democracy by placing limits and crafting public consensus. In order to see Lincoln in a new light, Schaff applies Aristotle’s ideas of moderation and prudence as his lens. It is not simply that Lincoln knew the good, but, as a good steward of liberal democracy, he embodied the good.
“Open” Primaries and the Illusion of Choice
Claremont, CA. On Tuesday, the residents of this fair state voted to “open” the California primaries. From now on, every voter in the state...
Telling the Truth about Immigration
Berwyn, PA. Nobody wants to. Most politicians would rather appeal to platitudes about America as a "nation of immigrants" than confront their responsibility to...
God and Country
The splendid university where I’ve been privileged to spend the past semester proudly proclaims its commitment to “God, Country, Notre Dame” and means what...
Some Children Must Be Left Behind
Will raising the legal dropout age teach troubled kids anything? Probably not.
Thanksgiving Reflections I
President Washington, in his original Thanksgiving Day proclamation, insisted it the "duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God," and...
A Connecticut Yankee in King Cotton’s Court
Ralph Nader recently spoke at a university in the Heart of Dixie. We tried to build some bridges.