In the future, historians and political scientists will speak of the "Ryan Gap." That moniker will be used to measure the yawning chasm between the shining image a politician manufactures for him or herself and the brutal truth of their failed ideas and meager accomplishments. Of course, the inspiration for that damning delta between perception […]

The passing of President George H.W. Bush this week presented Americans with an opportunity to reflect on a life lived in service to the United States. A child of privilege, at age 18 Bush nevertheless volunteered for the military after Pearl Harbor. A bomber pilot who survived after his plane was shot down, Bush would […]

In the Age of Trump, the tidal wave of major news stories is often overwhelming, sometimes drowning even the most informed in a state of cognitive shutdown. Occasionally, though, even seemingly unrelated revelations tell a larger tale whose lessons shouldn't go unnoticed. So it was this week. As John McCain was laid to rest, news […]

When Senator John McCain was laid to rest on Sunday at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, the nation lost one of the giants of American public life. For six decades, McCain served his nation as a naval airman, a military liaison to Capitol Hill, a congressman, a senator and as a two-time […]

During the 2016 presidential campaign, candidate Donald Trump gave full-throated support for resurrecting the Bush administration's regime of torture for terror detainees. But Trump's brand of state-sanctioned sadism promised to go much further. Trump warned he would seek reprisals against the kin of suspected terrorists, "because they may not care much about their lives, but […]

If nothing else, Donald Trump is a one-of-a-kind occupant of the Oval Office. His jaw-dropping corruption, staggering incompetence, mind-numbing policy ignorance, puerile penchant for payback, and unprecedented deceit put the Trump presidency in a class by itself. Nevertheless, Trump's courtiers, sycophants, and water-carriers have tried to elevate his leadership to a place among the greatest […]

Just in time for the Fourth of July, Gallup released the results of its latest survey of patriotism. Its primary finding? For the first time in Gallup's 18-year history asking U.S. adults how proud they are to be Americans, fewer than a majority say they are "extremely proud." Currently, 47% describe themselves this way, down […]

If Donald Trump was a Marvel character, his name might be something like "DeceptiCon." That is, the never-before-seen frequency and magnitude of Trump's lies combine to create a Cloak of Confusion, a black hole-like force from which the truth seemingly cannot escape. Defying the laws of physics and logic, he was after all a Schrödinger's […]

By now, most Americans know not to take former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at his word. The Fox News regular and failed GOP presidential candidate, after all, is on his third religion and his third wife. (Callista Bisek, currently Mrs. Gingrich No. 3 and U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, was previously known as Newt's "frequent […]

On Dec. 12, Alabamans will go to the polls in a special election to determine the replacement for Sen. Jeff Sessions, who is now Donald Trump's hatchet man at the Justice Department. Despite Republican control of every statewide office, there is a remote chance the "Heart of Dixie" may send a Democrat to the Senate […]