In the 48 hours before the devastating terrorist attacks, the Bush administration was insisting we spend enough on counterterrorism and not enough on national missile defense.
9/11
Posted inPolitics
The Tower Stones of 9/11
A taste of my experiences and writing from a quarter century ago.
Posted inBooks
25 Years After 9/11, What Have We Learned?
A new history of the war on terror shows how badly both America and its enemies misunderstood the consequences of their own actions.
Posted inPolitics
What Mark Twain Could Teach Pete Hegseth About Holy War
Whether a “jihad” or “crusade,” language can serve to sanctify war. Mark Twain skewered such jingoism over a century ago.
Posted inPolitics
How Francis Fukuyama and “The Big Lebowski” Explain Trump’s Victory
Looking at constituencies or issues misses the big point. On Tuesday, nihilism was on display, even a death wish, in a society wrought by cynicism.
Posted inMagazine
The Disorder of Succession
Should the president and vice president both die, you’d think we’d have a well-considered plan to reconstitute the government. In fact, we don’t.
Posted inPolitics
Adam Kinzinger’s Warning to His Fellow Republicans on January 6 and Ukraine
An interview with one of the last remaining anti-Trump conservatives in Congress.
Posted inPolitical Animal
We Can’t Endure Much More Bad Leadership
More than grand historical forces, it’s poor decision-making that led us to our dire straits.
Posted inPolitical Animal
Giuliani’s Leadership Peaked on 9/11. It’s All Gone Downhill Since.
The former New York City mayor genuinely responded to our national tragedy with vision and grace. Now he’s just a grotesque buffoon.
Posted inPolitical Animal
Basket Cases
In his first year on the Court [Clarence Thomas] scarcely ever left the Supreme Court Building on foot, and that was fortunate, in one way, because it meant that he probably never saw the boldly lettered [graffiti] on a Capitol Hill sidewalk across the street. It said, “Anita Told the Truth.” —“The Burden of Clarence […]
