Cynicism Is What Passes For Insight Among

Political Courage Requires Clarity. The Obama Administration Chose The Tortured Route Of Arguing The Legality Of The Individual Mandate Via The Interstate Commerce Clause For One Simple Reason: It Did Not Want To Take The Political Risk Of Allowing Opponents To Call It A Tax Increase. That Was Stupid. The Republicans Were Calling It A Tax Increase Anyway.

Diversity Has Been Written Into The Dna Of American Life; Any Institution That Lacks A Rainbow Array Has Come To Seem Diminished, If Not Diseased.

I Believe That Poverty Is Often The Result Of Inappropriate Behavior - Out-of-wedlock Births, Dropping Out Of School, Crime And Drugs - Which Should Not Be Rewarded. But Often It Isn't, And Common Decency Requires That We Take Care Of The Least Of These.

Bill Clinton Gives The Appearance Of Taking Stands-for Some Sort Of Tax Cut, Some Sort Of Welfare Reform, Some Sort Of Balanced Budget-but These Are Ploys, Mirages: They Exist Only To Undermine Positions Taken By The Republicans. He Doesn't Fight For Anything Substantive-except Of Course, Re-election. ...he Has Fallen Into The Dangerous Habit Of Lip Synching The Presidency: He Gives The Appearance Of Leadership, But Not The Substance.

I Came To Political Consciousness With John F. Kennedy's Magnificent 1961 Inaugural Address. It Seemed The Start Of Something Fresh And Exciting, And It Was.