Column
Sorry, Wall Street Journal, But the Field Must Narrow
March 15th, 2016 4:39 PM
It is disheartening that the Wall Street Journal editorial board, for whom I had such respect for years, is discouraging a narrowing of the GOP field if either John Kasich or Marco Rubio wins his home state Tuesday.
It's bad enough for the editors to encourage Rubio to stay in if he wins Florida, but to invite Kasich to stay in is just madness.
Nancy With the Laughing Face
March 14th, 2016 8:00 PM
Why does it take death to bring us together? Why not life? Watching Nancy Reagan's funeral on television, the front-row tableau was a picture of unity, in form, if not in substance. There was Gov. Jerry Brown of California, a Democrat, Michelle Obama (D), former President George Bush (R), Laura Bush (R), Hillary Clinton (D), Rosalyn Carter(D) and Caroline Kennedy (D). Democrats and Republicans…
James Madison: Our Forgotten Statesman
March 14th, 2016 1:08 PM
George Washington, our first president, is probably our greatest and most decent statesman. We celebrate Washington's Birthday each February. But March 16th marks the birthday of probably the second-most important and decent American, James Madison.

The Left Shuts Down Free Speech In Chicago
March 12th, 2016 11:34 PM
On Friday night, American citizens peaceably assembling in Chicago had their First Amendment rights shut down.
The Action Is Not All In Washington
March 11th, 2016 5:45 PM
As the race for the presidential nomination enters the pandemonium stage, I take solace in the soothing wisdom of my friend the British historian, Paul Johnson. He writes: "America is a big country, with vast regions and endless opportunities for polycentrism." Another way of putting it is that America is a federalist system with endless opportunities for variation
The 2016 Finalists: Donald Trump and Ted Cruz
March 10th, 2016 5:36 PM
Donald Trump's lead in the Republican race is real, but far from secure. At the moment, the billionaire has 458 delegates and Ted Cruz has 359. That's a 99 delegate lead with more than 1,400 delegates still to be selected. Cruz has plenty of room to come from behind if he's able to defeat Trump in a head-to-head match-up.
White Poverty and Me
March 9th, 2016 1:16 PM
In his continuing effort to pit races and classes against each other, Democratic presidential candidate and socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) has said that if you are white, "you don't know what it's like to be poor." He should drive some of the roads I've driven in West Virginia, among other places. Some of the homes of the white poor look like throwbacks from an earlier time.
Hillary's Federal Education Jackboot Squad
March 8th, 2016 4:24 PM
Brace yourselves, parents: Hillary Clinton's Fed Ed jackboot squad is from the government and is here to "help."
Our Degraded Culture's Given Rise to the Debased Trump Candidacy
March 7th, 2016 3:46 PM
Looking for someone -- anyone -- to blame for the rise of Donald Trump? Look no further than the culture beast that is primarily responsible for the fundamental transformation of America.
The Death of Liberalism Updated
March 7th, 2016 12:19 AM
I wrote a book in 2011 with the felicitous title The Death of Liberalism. The book's title pretty much said it all. By 2011, the ideology of Adlai Stevenson, of Hubert Humphrey, of Daniel Patrick Moynihan had expired. In the book I explained why liberalism was dead. Today the evidence is even more abundant. A socialist and a liberal naysayer as the sole candidates for the Democratic nomination?…
The Ruling Class Romneys and the Media
March 5th, 2016 5:13 PM
Mitt Romney's condemnation of Donald Trump sounds a lot like his dad George's condemnation of Barry Goldwater.
How to Reform Institutions
March 4th, 2016 1:10 PM
In the film Girl, Interrupted, the character played by Winona Ryder is watching TV in a psychiatric hospital. There is a news report about a demonstration and the narrator says: "We live in troubled times. The institutions we once trusted no longer seem reliable." As I begin the laborious process of doing my income taxes, I am again reminded -- thanks to withholding and other payments I must make…
Donald Trump, the Media's American Idol
March 4th, 2016 9:55 AM
Donald Trump likes to boast about how little he’s spent on his campaign compared to his primary opponents. That may be true. But let’s be honest here; Trump gets millions of dollars in free advertising because the mainstream media is obsessed with him. They’re searching for ratings, and they’ve found their proverbial cash cow.
It has been extraordinarily difficult for other Republicans –…