Not a Clown Show: The Case of Donald TrumpI. To repeat an earlier analysis: What’s going on?Dec 30, 20241Dec 30, 20241
Populism, In Name and Action“what’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet — ”Dec 9, 2024Dec 9, 2024
The Last Confession : Without ApologiesFor some time now, as both professor and writer–including of this blog–I’ve been hemming and hawing about the conflict in democracies…Nov 30, 20241Nov 30, 20241
The Horror, the Horror, Conclusion: The Heart of Darkness I.Ben Rhodes, once Obama’s Deputy Chief of Staff, describes it well:(slightly edited) “The play book for transforming a democracy is clear…Nov 24, 2024Nov 24, 2024
The Horror, the Horror, Part 2: How Did We Get Here?No, this is not an embarrassing instance of self-inflating or virtue-signaling. In the American Political Science Association, of which I…Nov 17, 2024Nov 17, 2024
Reminder:A last-minute reminder to all: The simplest way to look at things, ignoring all the polls and odds-makers, is this:Oct 29, 2024Oct 29, 2024
Downhill all the Way? The Hidden Election, Part 2Borrowing the first line from Yeats:Oct 21, 2024Oct 21, 2024
Downhill all the Way? The Hidden Election, Part 2Borrowing the first line from Yeats:Oct 20, 2024Oct 20, 2024
The Hidden Election: J.D. Vance on the Yellow-Brick RoadI want to begin with a terrifying thought that no one else has had, or at least expressed. As follows:Oct 19, 2024Oct 19, 2024
Some Notes on the Not-so-Great debateAs we approach the end game–perhaps only the beginning of the end game–I’m finding it more and more difficult to write about it. What…Oct 10, 2024Oct 10, 2024
Journalism and the New World: An Insoluble Problem?And not to be outdone, a columnist in WAPO describes the past week (now more than one week) as “turbulent.”Sep 28, 2024Sep 28, 2024
The Great Debate–and BeyondFrom an Arizonian: “Trump’s pitch was a little more convincing,” Miller said. “I guess I’m leaning more on his facts than her vision.”Sep 16, 2024Sep 16, 2024
Reflections On Kamala1. That was the best political speech I’ve heard since…anyone. Barack, maybe. But there was really no one else. I was for her to begin…Aug 25, 2024Aug 25, 2024
Part 2: Democracy and the OtherAs noted at the end of Part 1, I’m going to argue here that free and fair voting–democracy–is the key to understanding the historical, and…Aug 14, 2024Aug 14, 2024
WHY? Why? Why? Why”Part I: The “Other” As I write, Tim Walz has just been named as her Vice-President candidate by Kamala Harris–a choice to which I was…Aug 7, 2024Aug 7, 2024
Donald Trump ‘’American Carnage” words and music by Donald J.Homicides in U.S. Continue to Fall from Pandemic HighsJul 26, 2024Jul 26, 2024